Monday, May 13, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Hans "Tuna" Lund began playing poker 35 years ago at age 10.
And since he turned professional in the late 1970s, he has had one dream -- to win the World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold 'em title.
It is a dream that, through a few hard-luck circumstances, has eluded him.
But throughout the first half of the 1990s, no one has come closer -- without actually winning the game that determines the world champion of poker -- than Lund.
The event, the climax to the monthlong granddaddy of all gaming tournaments, starts today and concludes Thursday at Binion's Horseshoe.
In 1990, Lund finished second, losing a heartbreaking hand to eventual champion Mansour Matloubi of England. With Matloubi all-in on a $1.6 million pot, Lund would have won the game if any card but one of the two remaining 10s in the deck fell as the fifth and final community card.
The dealer turned a 10.
"It's painful to watch your career-long dream of winning the world title slip away on the turn of just one card," said Lund of Sparks. "I have had some tough breaks, but to be a 21-1 favorite (on that hand) and lose really hurt."
Two years later, Lund finished third in another near-miss performance.
Lund finished 19th in 1991, 28th in 1993 and 36th in 1994. He averaged better than 18th place for the five-year period -- far better than anyone else in the field.
Last year, Lund was knocked out in the middle of the pack, causing him to question where his place in poker is right now.
"I don't know if I'm one of the top 50 no-limit hold 'em players in the world anymore," Lund said. "I may be 40-1 or 50-1 (to win) going into this year's event."
That's not bad considering there is expected to be more than 270 players -- 274 would be a record -- signed up to play in the game that offers a $1 million prize.
In his World Series career, which dates to 1978, Lund has won $979,681, 14th on the all-time list.
He is two spots behind T.J. Cloutier of Dallas, the only player in World Series history to have won a $1 million without winning the championship event.
Lund, who earlier in the tournament won the $1,500 buy-in ace-to-5 draw championship, rates Cloutier as one of the favorites going into today's game.
"It would either have to be T.J. or (1989 world champion) Phil Hellmuth (as the favorites to win it)," Lund said. "When they are on their game, they are real hard to beat."
But when Lund is on his game, he too is hard to beat.
"I'd say that I am a survivor -- I'll go quite a distance," Lund said of his grinding, never-give-up style of play.
A couple of weeks ago, he displayed that in the $240 buy-in super satellite game he won to earn a tremendously reduced fee for the $10,000 buy-in game. Lund was down to $20 in chips when he turned things around.
Asked what advice he'd give to young players entering today's game, Lund said: "You've got to have the heart of a lion -- play fearless, don't be afraid and, when you roar, they better back up.
"That's not so easy anymore because there are a lot of players who aren't afraid."
Still, Lund has managed to scare them enough to win a few championships.
During his 18-year pro career, Lund has won two World Series events, and other crowns at the Queens Classic at the Four Queens, the Hall of Fame Classic at the Horseshoe and the Diamond Jim Brady Classic in Southern California.
With four in-the-money finishes, Lund's World Series winnings this year have topped the $100,000 mark.
But more than winning the money and earning the title, Lund said he would like to see the image of the game he has chosen as his life's work become more legitimate in gaming and nongaming circles.
"I'd like to see poker viewed as a game of honor and dignity," Lund said. "Poker is my life, but if I ever had to cheat to win, I'd give it up in a minute.
"I'd like to see players who are caught cheating be suspended for three years. We don't need those types. It would really clean up this game."
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