En
Français English
AUDIOVISUAL : The Stu Ungar legend will soon have its own TV series !
2025-04-25 - Fabien RICHARD
Share
The prodigy, the legend, the controversial player, there aren't enough superlatives to describe him. Soon Stu Ungar will have his own TV series !

For many years, poker lovers, enthusiasts and content creators dreamed of it — and now, the "miracle" is finally happening: Stu Ungar will finally have a television series that will tell his story, that of the greatest poker legend of all time, that of a fallen angel in the world of poker.

 

Eric and Geoff Roth: Telling the Story of Poker’s Cursed Child

 

 

For many years, poker lovers, enthusiasts and content creators dreamed of it — and now, the "miracle" is finally happening: Stu Ungar will finally have a television series that will tell his story, that of the greatest poker legend of all time, that of a fallen angel in the world of poker.

At just 27 years old, Stu Ungar, a card prodigy, had already won two consecutive World Series of Poker titles, after a blazing gin rummy career so dominant that he reportedly struggled to find opponents willing to face him.

Seventeen years later, after a life marked by addiction, he was found dead in a Las Vegas motel room, the victim of a heart attack, with a small amount of drugs in his system. Just one year earlier, he had claimed his third WSOP title — a feat no one else has accomplished to this day.

His extraordinary journey has already been brought to the screen, notably in the unauthorized 2003 film High Roller (where he was portrayed by The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli) and in ESPN’s 2006 documentary One of a Kind. But for the first time, a creative team has secured the exclusive rights to his story directly from his family, with the ambition of delving deeper into the fascinating and tumultuous life of Stu Ungar.

At the helm of the project is a father-son duo: Eric Roth, Oscar-winning screenwriter (Forrest Gump, Dune, Killers of the Flower Moon) and his son Geoff Roth, whose script The Way You Remember Me was featured on the prestigious 2021 Black List. Their goal: to adapt Stu Ungar’s life into a limited television series. The project is currently in development, and the Roths plan to begin a series of interviews and in-depth research soon.

“We couldn’t be more excited to tell Stuey’s story. He was a one-of-a-kind, a captivating figure, truly one of one,” said the Roths in a statement. “We’re honored to be part of this project and grateful to his family for trusting us with his legacy.”

For her part, Stefanie Ungar, Stu’s daughter, said that she and her mother had long felt the need to protect the story. “We never felt ready to share it — until now. When I met Eric and Geoff Roth, we knew we had found the right people to tell my father’s story,” she said. “Eric first met my dad in 1979 while watching him play cards in Las Vegas. That personal connection adds a unique dimension to this project. We’re finally ready to honor my father and show the world who he really was.”

Born in Manhattan’s Lower East Side to a bookmaker father, Stu Ungar was introduced to card games very early. In New York, he quickly earned the nickname “The Mozart of the Card Table,” according to New York Magazine. He became a legend in Las Vegas, winning (and losing) millions, and rising to the status of local celebrity. His life, full of dazzling triumphs and dramatic falls, remains one of the most emblematic stories in poker history.

The Roths recently collaborated on film scripts inspired by the John Mayer song Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967 and Peter Heller’s novel The River for Amazon.

The project is represented by Ziffren Brittenham on behalf of the Ungar family. Eric Roth is represented by CAA, Adam Berkowitz (Lenore Entertainment) and Darren Trattner (Jackoway Austen). Geoff Roth is represented by Luke Maxwell and Luke Dillon (3Arts), along with Ryan Goodell and Ashley Briskman (Yorn Levine).

Home
News
Favorites
Ranking
Casinos