Poker Pioneer and Maestro Doyle Brunson Dies at Age of 89

Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson has spent most of his life at the green felt, championing the game from the early days when it was stigmatized by malcontents to its glory days when poker suddenly became a legitimate way of earning a living.

Dead at the age of 89, Brunson has lived a long and full life worth remembering. In a statement, Brunson’s family said:

He was a beloved Christian man, husband, father, and grandfather. We’ll have more to say over the coming days as we honor his legacy. Please keep Doyle and our family in your prayers. May he rest in peace.

Brunson is one of the few players to have won multiple World Series of Poker tournaments. In fact, he has won 10 such events, second only to Phil Hellmuth who has 16 titles under his belt and he is definitely intent on winning more. The poker community has been quick to pick up the news and respond with an outpouring of regret, sorrow, and hopefulness that Brunson was in a better place now.

A Man Like Brunson Will Never Be Around in Poker Again

Daniel Negreanu, another heavyweight poker player, said that there would never be another Brunson. Scotty Nguyen said that he couldn’t believe that he would not see Brunson again. “You will always be held high in our hearts, the man, the myth, the legend & THE GODFATHER of poker,” Nguyen outpoured.

Brunson was not meant to be a poker player as well. Much like the Gordon Ramsey of his time, he used to be a star athlete who ended up with a bad knee injury and had to retire from making it into the NBA. But just like Ramsey poured his love for soccer into cooking, so did Brunson discover his love for poker which lived on from the mid-20^th century to his taking his dying breath.

Brunson won his first WSOP bracelet decades ago, and his last – in 2005. Over his life, though, Brunson didn’t only play in Las Vegas. Not at all, he was a true globe-trotting poker aficionado. He visited far-flung countries and played all across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Spain, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Malta, and beyond. He travelled to South Africa and China and where he went, he brought with him his immense love of the game.