Generally it is believed that being a good person is incompatible with being a good poker player. But for Brian “Sailor” Roberts that was the picture he presented to the others. Growing up in San Angelo, TX, Roberts’ first gambling that he took a shine to was craps. As a 12 year old caddie in local golf club he specialized in shooting craps against his colleagues.
He did not cherish gambling as his only goal and aim. He was a talented football player during his high school days and had planned to play the same at the college level as well. But then a change of mind landed him the Navy. His duty years coincided with the years of Korean War. He had almost become familiar with all types of war ships. The nickname “Sailor” came to him in this fashion. But one thing was certain. All through his times in the Navy he continued his craps game and seemed determined to be a professional gambler when once permanently found foothold on land.
In the 1950s he teamed up with Amarillo Slim Preston and Doyle Brunson. The group travelled throughout the country. They specialized in playing poker and sports-betting. For an unbroken period of six years this continued. The provisions of the Federal Wire Act caught up with Roberts in 1962 and he was arrested for conducting betting on sports over the telephone. After a year’s prison life Roberts concentrated only on poker.
In 1970 when World Series of Poker was in its infancy, Roberts was among the invitees for the first game. He was a regular in the event for many years. It was in 1974 that he got his first WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 2-7 Draw Event. His prize earnings were $35,850 when he won over Larry Perkins. In the following year he achieved cherished goal winning the WSOP Main Event. This he accomplished by outlasting 20 players. He took home the Championship Bracelet and prize earnings of $210,000.
It was the practice until 1975 to award the Main Event Winner just a trophy and the prize money. In 1975 the idea of giving a physical bracelet began. In this sense Roberts may be said to be the first person to have won a bracelet. Subsequently past champions were also awarded the bracelets retrospectively as a decision had been made that for Main Event Champions the bracelet would be the reward of recognition.
Roberts continued to play at the WSOP for many more years though he did not meet with a high level of success. The 1982 Main Event saw him finish in the 8th place. He passed away later on due to sclerosis caused by hepatitis. He was fondly recollected for his generosity to every one. In 1961 he looked after Doyle Brunson who had just then undergone an emergency surgery. He was also noted for compassion for a luckless fellow gambler and helped such people often. The best tribute to his personal popularity was when nobody felt jealous when he won the Main Event.
Despite a relatively short career in the poker world, he was noted for being a good man and that was not said of many in the field. It is true that this did not guarantee substantial earnings at the table, but it brought him the unreserved respect from others.
Walter “Puggy” Pearson was known as one of the all time greats of the poker world. He picked up poker and other forms of gambling while serving in the United States Navy. In the early days of poker, most every poker game was a cash game. Pearson would change that in 1949 when he shared the idea of a freezeout tournament with a fellow player known as “Nick the Greek” Dandalos. Dandalos eventually approached Benny Binion of Binion’s Horseshoe and the freezeout tournament was born.
Pearson won one of the first WSOP preliminary events in 1971 when he won the Limit Seven Card Stud event. This win won him $10,000. His greatest achievement happened in the 1973 World Series of Poker Main Event. The Main Event that year drew 13 players who put up $10,000 each to try and capture the world championship. The final table of six came down to Puggy Pearson, Johnny Moss, Jack Straus, Bobby Brazil, Bob Hooks, and Sailor Roberts. The final table worked its way down until Pearson and Moss was heads up for the title. The final hand of the event put Johnny Moss all in with Kh-Js against Pearson’s As-7s. Pearson’s hand held up and the 1973 World Title and $130,000 in cash went his way.
Puggy Pearson won four WSOP bracelets. Three of his bracelets came in 1973. Besides his main event win, Pearson won the $1,000 no limit holdem event and the $4,000 Limit Seven Card Stud titles. He took home $17,000 for the nl holdem win and $32,000 for the stud win. After 1973, Pearson made three other final tables. Two were in 1981 and one in 1982. Two of the final tables were in razz and the other in seven card stud. Stud was considered Pearson’s best game. In addition to his final tables, Pearson cashed in the 1987 and 1989 Main Event.
Pearson is the only player to play in every World Series of Poker from 1970 to 2005. One reason is that for a few years, several of the top poker players considered tournament poker a waste of their time and focused on cash games. Later in life, Pearson bought a tour bus with “Puggy Pearson – Roving Gambler” painted on the side. Up until the time of his death in 2006, Pearson traveled around the country playing poker. Pearson was also remembered by many people to be a man that gave a lot back to people. It was said that if someone was ill or had a death in the family, Pearson would be one of the first people to help them.
Puggy Pearson started out as a high stakes gambler, but over time became a legend of the game. His idea of the freezeout tournament was a contribution to poker that will likely be remembered as long as tournament poker is played. While his heyday in poker may have been in the early years of the World Series of Poker, his legend will continue for many years to come.
The “Grand old man of poker” was the first ever World Series of Poker Champion. The first World Series of Poker champion was determined in 1970 by a vote. Benny Binion gathered the seven best poker players in the world and held a series of cash games. At the end of the event, he put the vote to the players to determine who the best player was. The players in attendance were Johnny Moss, Carl Cannon, Doyle Brunson, “Amarillo Slim” Preston, Sailor Roberts, and Puggy Pearson.
According to legend, there were two votes conducted to determine the world champion. The first time they voted, each player cast a vote for themselves, which naturally resulted in a 7 way tie. Players were then asked to cast a vote for the second best player and the results of the voting placed Johnny Moss as the World Champion of poker. The prize for being elected the World Champion of Poker was a silver cup. Bracelets were not awarded as the top prize until 1976.
The following year, the World Series of Poker was expanded to a set of tournaments and the World Champion was decided by a freeze out tournament. Six players entered the Main Event in 1971. Each player put up $5,000 of their own money. The top prize was $30,000 and was a winner takes all prize. Head up saw Johnny Moss face Walter “Puggy” Pearson. In the end, Moss emerged the victor and took the $30,000 prize and his second straight world title.
By the time 1974 came around, the World Series of Poker was not at 5 preliminary events and the Main Event. The Main Event saw 16 people put up $10,000 to take a shot at the world title. The top prize for this event was $160,000 and was again a winner take all prize. Johnny Moss and Crandell Addington faced each other heads up for the title. Addington put up a fight but in the end Johnny Moss took his third World Series of Poker World Championship.
Johnny Moss would make three more final tables in the Main Event after his win in 1974 but the best he would finish is 4th in 1980. Moss finished his career with 9 bracelets in all and is still only one of two players to win the Main Event three times.
For the first 25 years of the World Series of Poker’s existence, Johnny Moss was a staple of the games. He played all the games well and was a respected man at the poker tables. In addition, Moss’ nickname of the “Grand Old Man of Poker” was not just a term of endearment, but also a fact. Moss was 63 years old when he won his first main event title and was 81 years of age when he won his last bracelet in 1988. The ace-ten is typically referred to as the Johnny Moss. Moss was one of the original members of the Poker Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1979.
Generally it is believed that being a good person is incompatible with being a good poker player. But for Brian “Sailor” Roberts that was the picture he presented to the others. Growing up in San Angelo, TX, Roberts’ first gambling that he took a shine to was craps. As a 12 year old caddie in local golf club he specialized in shooting craps against his colleagues.
