[the3rd]

That was my reaction to Mike's comments on Stuey not self-destructing. If Stu were alive today I don't think there would be a poker boom. It's less likely Varkoni, Moneymaker, Raymer would have been champions. I'm not saying Stu would have won every year or even eliminated them, but I don't think they would have aquired the chips they did with Stu in the game, even if he was never at the same table with them. Imagine how much better young players like Ivey and Negreanu would be if they were playing him every day in the "big game." Their bankrolls might be lighter, but their skills would be better and that goes for many of the elite players. You had to have cajones to play NL with Stu. The pros and grinders would pick off the amateurs more often in tourneys.

Or another equally donkish individual would have won and the story would be the same, just with names changed.