A STRAIGHT WAY TO THE TOP

     ABrooklyn kid in faded jeans and $25 dress shoes took home a cool million Thursday afternoon in the granddaddy of all poker tournaments.
      Stu "The Kid" Ungar, a 43-year-old New York native who now lives in Las Vegas, won the 28th World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe the same improbable way he did 17 years ago -- by hitting an inside straight.
      He becomes only the second man to win the event three times; poker legend Johnny Moss snagged a hat trick in the early 1970s but faced only about 40 opponents over the course of his victories.
      Ungar bested 311 players in this year's showdown. In 1980 and 1981, when his then-Donny Osmond looks justified his nickname, he beat fields of 72 and 74 respectively.
      "Stu's probably one of the most aggressive players there is," said this year's second-place finisher, John Sztremp, president of Treasure Island. "I was hoping I could play heads-up with him a little longer, but the way the cards came down, he won."
      Ungar had been shut out of major tournaments in the '90s and has been struggling as a professional gambler.
      But he went into the final day of the four-day competition with a substantial chip lead. Peering over blue-tinted John Lennon glasses, he opened most pots with $60,000 bets, nervily challenging opponents to get in against him. At one point he ran a $220,000 bluff past fourth-place finisher Ron Stanley.
      On the final hand, the 45-year-old Sztremp took a stand, putting in his stack of nearly $600,000 on his two hole cards -- an ace and an eight. Ungar, meanwhile, held an ace and a four.
      When the final card in the Texas hold 'em tournament was about to be dealt, both players held aces and threes. There were only two cards available that would win it for Ungar, who had plenty of reserves to battle on if he were to lose the $1.1 million pot.
      Ungar was hoping for a four -- which would give him the higher two pair -- or a two, which would give him a straight. The two came.
      He clapped his hands. The champagne was poured. The stacks of $100 bills piled high on the green felt were his.
      "I was sleeping for 15 years," he said afterward. "I decided to wake up.
      "No one has ever beaten me at cards. I've only beaten myself ... I had to get my head together."
      To do that, Ungar said he spoke with his 14-year-old daughter in Florida every day before the tournament, held under the Fremont Street Experience canopy. She gave him simple advice: Don't get knocked out.
      Sztremp took home $583,000 for second place.
      Mel Judah, a crowd favorite from London, aggressively put his entire -- albeit small -- stack of chips on the line enough times to hang on for third and a purse of $371,000.
      Stanley took home $212,000 for fourth.
      Bob Walker, a 57-year-old former college math teacher from Las Vegas, parlayed an $820 investment in a satellite game to a spot in the $10,000 buy-in event and, ultimately, a fifth-place finish worth $161,120.
      "It was miraculous to come this far," Walker said after he was knocked out. "But today was a disappointment. I did not give an interesting account of myself."
      Was winning the event more meaningful to Ungar this year than his two other victories?
      He shrugged.
      "It's not like it's the last victory," he said. "People don't remember what you did 15 years ago. It's what have you done lately."