Following a cancer scare in 1963, Brunson used his poker winnings to pay his medical bills. He will be missed by many, the Godfather of Poker #RIPDoyle /Y88BsrDhhPīrunson played in illegal poker games in Fort Worth, and he teamed up with famed Texas road gamblers “Amarillo Slim” Preston and Bryan “Sailor” Roberts, traveling the state in search of the biggest poker games. There will never be another Doyle Brunson “I didn’t need one of Burroughs machines to tell me those numbers didn’t add up. “I cleared a month’s salary in less than three hours,” he wrote. While on his route, Brunson sat in a poker game in the backroom of a pool hall. Instead, Brunson went to graduate school and traveled to college towns across Texas on the weekends to play poker.Īfter he earned a master’s degree in business and education, Brunson took a job selling Burroughs business machines.

He was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2009.īrunson was scouted by the Minneapolis Lakers, but he sustained a broken leg while working a summer job that ended his basketball career. He won the Texas Class 2A state championship in the mile in 1950 and was named to the 2A state basketball all-tournament team.īrunson attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and helped the basketball team reach the NCAA Tournament in 1953 as a junior. 10, 1933, he grew up on a farm with no indoor plumbing in Longworth, Texas, where he was a standout athlete. May he rest in peace.”Īs he detailed in his memoir, “The Godfather of Poker,” Brunson saw poker grow from illegal games in Texas backrooms, with players often shunned by society, to nationally televised broadcasts that made players, including Brunson, into celebrities.īorn Aug. Please keep Doyle and our family in your prayers. We’ll have more to say over the coming days as we honor his legacy. He was a beloved Christian man, husband, father and grandfather. “It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our father, Doyle Brunson. His book “Super System” influenced a generation of poker players, and he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.īrunson’s agent, Brian Balsbaugh, posted a statement on Twitter from the Brunson family. Nicknamed “Texas Dolly,” Brunson won 10 World Series of Poker tournaments, including the Main Event in 19. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Brunson, widely regarded as the “Godfather of Poker,” died Sunday in Las Vegas. Legendary poker player Doyle Brunson gives a remote welcome to all during final table play at the WSOP Main Event within the Bally's Event Center on Friday, July 15, 2022, in Las Vegas.

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