130:, Hal contacted Harrah's Casino to see if he would be allowed to participate in the tournament with a reader. According to tournament rules, players are not allowed to confer or be helped by others. Harrah's management told him that he would not be allowed to have assistance at the table, to which Hal reportedly told them, "I'm not trying to give you trouble, but I could probably make more money suing you than playing in the tournament." Hal also mentioned William Rockwell, a player without arms whose mother had assisted him at the 2005 WSOP. Harrah's Casino quickly relented and agreed to allow Hal to participate with a reader.
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Dennis and wanted to know if Hal would play. At first Hal declined, but Donna insisted stating that he could have a "reader" tell him what the cards were. After the tournament, Donna told Hal that not only was he always welcome at the Mirage, but that they would make him "as comfortable as possible."
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Hal
Lubarsky was 29 when he moved to Las Vegas with the dream of becoming a professional poker player. For over 15 years he routinely competed in the $ 150–300 H.O.R.S.E. games, where he played with many of the biggest names in poker. His poker playing days, however, came to an end in 2004 when he
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mentioned this to Donna Harris, the Mirage Casino's Poker
Manager. A few weeks later Donna called Hal to inform him that an old friend and Mirage Poker Room Shift Manager, Dennis Jackson was dying of cancer. She told him that the Mirage was going to have a charity tournament to raise money for
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Hal returned to the 2008 WSOP, with a new reader, where he "was a favorite of ESPN's television cameras." By the time Hal was knocked out of the 2008 tournament everybody was familiar with his story.
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With the help of Jo Adair, a poker dealer, Hal competed at the 2007 WSOP. Jo would whisper Hal's cards and the community cards into Hal's ear. He cashed in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.
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When Hal first lost his vision, he started playing online with the help of friends who read the screen for him. In 2008, Hal was signed as a poker pro with
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After losing his vision, Hal became very depressed. His brother, an employee at the
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made a short speech and the crowd gave Hal a standing ovation.
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player. He was the first blind poker player to ever cash in a
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101:lost his vision to a hereditary dystrophy known as
214:"Blind Poker Player - The Return of Hal Lubarsky"
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282:"Hal Lubarsky Signed as Full Tilt Sponsored Pro"
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312:"Blind card player has a casino hero"
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248:"Full Tilt Poker Signs Hal Lubarsky"
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292:from the original on July 17, 2011
280:Utick, Adam (September 24, 2008).
258:from the original on April 6, 2024
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246:Cypra, Dan (September 23, 2008).
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176:Colson, Bret (October 7, 2008).
212:Lubarsky, Hal (March 3, 2008).
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84:was an American professional
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128:2007 World Series of Poker
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316:Las Vegas Review-Journal
399:American poker players
409:American blind people
122:World Series of Poker
90:World Series of Poker
38:World Series of Poker
16:American poker player
184:. Poker News Daily.
182:Poker Player Profile
103:retinitis pigmentosa
374:Card Player profile
126:Shortly before the
109:The return to poker
379:Hendon Mob profile
218:We Do It All Vegas
318:. July 18, 2007.
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69:Main Event finish
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384:WSOP profile
354:. Retrieved
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82:Hal Lubarsky
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24:Hal Lubarsky
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286:Tight Poker
139:Nolan Dalla
45:Bracelet(s)
393:Categories
157:References
96:Background
29:Residence
320:Archived
290:Archived
262:April 6,
256:Archived
222:Archived
186:Archived
64:Highest
356:June 3,
296:June 3,
228:June 3,
192:June 3,
92:event.
86:poker
72:197,
358:2009
328:2023
298:2009
264:2024
230:2009
194:2009
74:2007
50:None
66:ITM
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