Where Are They Now: Ron “The Carolina Express” Stanley Battled Stu Ungar at 1997 WSOP
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Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Ron “The Carolina Express” Stanley, 70, was one of the most feared players in the game. In fact, he even went toe-to-toe with the legendary Stu Ungar at the final table of the 1997 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. It was there that Stanley donned a tuxedo while playing in the intense Las Vegas heat on Fremont Street.
Stanley, who has been playing poker for a living for “at least 50 years,” was recently spotted at the 2022 WSOP and was kind enough to chat with PokerNews.
“My dad used to play poker and he’d take me to the games when I was a kid,” he said about how he learned poker in the first place. “I was watching and it got pretty interesting. He was pretty good at it and I picked it up from him. It’s in my blood I guess.”
While he hasn’t had any major tournament scores since before the Poker Boom, Stanley is still on the grind.
“I play poker 5-6 days a week at least, mostly cash games,” he said. “In Vegas, I mostly play at South Point, but I’ve been in South Carolina for six months playing a lot of home games.”
but the other cards went into the muck.
, Jonathan Little check-raised a bet of 1,200 to 3,500 from his opponent, Michael Gathy, who called. 
and Little led out for 11,000 but was soon raised all in by Gathry, Little called and tabled 
for two pair. However, Little then rolled over 
for a flopped set and had Gathry drawing thin. 
hit the river and gave Gathry the bigger fullhouse and eliminated Little. 
. Kade checked from the cutoff and Schemion tossed in a bet of 6,500 on the button. Kade check-raised to 20,000 but was met with a min-four-bet to 33,500. Kade called and the 
on the river. Faris led out with a bet of 4,500 and Vogelsang gave it some thought. After a minute, the German called and Faris showed 
for a missed flush draw. Vogelsang also missed his flush with 
but his ace-kicker was good enough to win the pot.
and Mulders called a bet of 1,000 from his opponent. 
for a flopped straight and Song flipped over 
