Gary Berland, b. Gardena, CA (d. 2/6/1988) 1986 WSOP Main Event 3rd place ($114,000). Two other unpaid Main Event Top 10 finishes: 1977 2nd place & 1980 10th place. Five bracelets: 1977 $500 Razz ($6,300), 1978 $1,000 Razz ($19,200), 1978 $500 Seven-Card Stud ($17,100), 1979 $500 Seven-Card Stud ($24,000), & 1979 $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo. One of three players, along with Doyle Brunson and Layne Flack, to win multiple bracelets in consecutive years. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
September 23
Hans Lund, b. California as Hans James Lund (better known as "Tuna") (d. 11/6/2009) 1990 WSOP Main Event 2nd place ($334,000), 1992 WSOP Main Event 3rd place ($176,750). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
October 23
Tom Franklin [], b. Fresno, CA 1995 WSOP Main Event 7th place ($69,200) & 2000 WSOP Main Event 8th place ($97,800). 2 Circuit rings. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
1951
March 22
Jim McManus [], b. Manhattan, NY Wrote "Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker" and unexpectedly finished in 5th place in the 2000 WSOP Main Event ($247,760) while doing research for the book. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
March 28
Chip Reese, b. Centerville, OH as David Edward Reese (d. 12/4/2007) Three bracelets: 1978 $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($19,200), 1982 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud ($92,500), & 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($1,716,000). Named Most Valuable Player of 1991 WSOP. Poker Hall of Fame 1991. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
May 8
Humberto Brenes [], b. Costa Rica 1988 WSOP Main Event 4th place ($77,000). Two bracelets: 1993 $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($128,000) & $2,500 Limit Hold 'Em ($149,000). First Costa Rican to win a bracelet. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
July 5
Brad Daugherty [], b. Mountain Grove, MO 1991 WSOP Main Event winner ($1,000,000). 1993 WSOP Main Event 9th place ($24,000). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
August 14
Binion's Horseshoe Opens Casino opens six days after city finally grants a gambling license to frontman Dr. Monte Bernstein after Benny Binion had purchased the Eldorado Club and Hotel Apache earlier in the year. The new casino's features include high betting limits and carpeted floors.
An Tran [], b. Saigon, Vietnam (now called Ho Chi Minh City) 1996 WSOP Main Event 5th place ($128,700). Won 1991 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($87,600). Set record with six cashes in a year in 1992 (not broken until 2021) and led 1990s with 24 cashes (tied with Men Nguyen). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
September 26
Don Zewin, b. Niagara Falls, NY as Don Anthony Zewin (d. 10/31/2021) 1989 Main Event 3rd place ($151,000); 10 final tables including 3rd place in $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. in 2015 ($210,629) and 2017 ($163,557). WSOP.com | Hendon
1953
March 23
Marcel Luske [], b. Amsterdam, Netherlands 2004 WSOP Main Event final table bubble boy (10th place for $373,000). 7 final tables. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
September 8
Stu Ungar, b. Manhattan, NY as Stuart Errol Ungar (d. 11/22/1998) 1980, 1981, & 1997 WSOP Main Event winner ($365,000, $375,000, & $1,000,000). 1990 WSOP Main Event 9th place ($25,050). Two other bracelets: 1981 $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($95,000) & 1983 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud ($110,000). Four bracelets from 1980 to 1989 were the most of any player in the decade. Poker Hall of Fame 2001. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Linda Johnson [], b. Brooklyn, NY Won 1997 $1,500 Razz ($96,000). 5 final tables. Publisher of Card Player magazine for eight years. One of the founders of the World Poker Tour and the Tournament Director’s Association. Poker Hall of Fame 2011 & Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2008. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 11
Joe W. Brown Buys Binion's Horseshoe Because Benny Binion's legal troubles require his divesting his ownership, he finds a temporary steward (who even gets his name on the casino's sign). [Brown was the person who first installed the million dollar horseshoe display. Binion officially took the Horseshoe back in 1958.]
1954
April 1
David Ulliott, b. Kingston upon Hull, England (d. 4/6/2015) Won 1997 $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'Em ($180,310). Poker Hall of Fame 2017. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
April 5
Blair Rodman [], b. Troy, NY Co-author (with Lee Nelson) of "Kill Phil", which provides a blueprint for handling top pros like Phil Hellmuth in big-money tournaments like the World Series of Poker. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 1
Dennis Phillips [], b. Quincy, IL (approximate date) 2008 WSOP Main Event 3rd place ($4,517,773, the largest 3rd prize in Main Event history). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 6
Allyn Shulman [], b. Brooklyn, NY as Allyn Jaffrey (approximate birthdate) Won 2012 Seniors Championship ($603,713). Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2014. WSOP.com | Hendon
December 30
Barry Greenstein [], b. Chicago, IL Three bracelets: 2004 $5,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($296,200), 2005 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($128,505), & 2008 $1,500 Razz ($157,619). Known as the Robin Hood of Poker for donating his tournament profits to charity (especially Children Incorporated). Poker Hall of Fame 2011. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
1955
January 30
Men Nguyen [], b. Phan Thiet, Vietnam 1996 WSOP ME 4th place ($195,000). 7 bracelets from 1992 to 2010. 4 Circuit rings. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
April 22
Starla Brodie, b. Las Vegas, NV as Starla Thompson (d. 4/8/2014) Set the record for youngest bracelet winner at just over 24 years old when she teamed up with Doyle Brunson to win the 1979 Mixed Doubles. Won the 1995 Ladies Championship ($35,200) to set a women's record of 16 years between bracelets. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
July 2
Chau Giang [], b. Vietnam as Chau Tu Giang Three bracelets: 1993 $1,500 Limit Ace-to-Five Draw ($82,800), 1998 $2,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($150,960), & 2004 $2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha ($187,920). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
November 27
Freddy Deeb [], b. Beirut, Lebanon as Kassem Deeb Two bracelets: 1996 $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($146,250) & 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($2,276,832). First Lebanese to win a bracelet. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Johnny Chan [], b. Guangzhou, China as Chan Jinhai Yue Ten bracelets from 1985 to 2005, when he became the first player to reach double digits. 1987 & 1988 WSOP Main Event winner ($625,000 & $700,000). 1989 WSOP Main Event 2nd place ($302,000). 1992 WSOP Main Event 7th place ($25,250). Poker Hall of Fame 2002. [estimated birthdate] Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Kevin Pollak [], b. San Francisco, CA as Kevin Elliot Pollak Last Celebrity Standing in 2012 WSOP Main Event (134th for $52,718). 2019 WSOP Main Event 986th ($15,970). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
November 30
Tony Ma [], b. Vietnam as Hieu Ngoc Ma Two bracelets: 1996 $5,000 Limit Hold 'Em ($236,000) & 2000 $2,000 Limit Hold 'Em ($367,040). 1999 Card Player Player of the Year. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 21
Ray Romano [], b. Queens, NY Last Celebrity Standing in 2013 & 2018 WSOP Main Events (neither in the money). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Dan Shak [], b. New York, NY Tied for first in 2007 $5,000 Ante Up for Africa, donating his $193,369 prize to charity. Won 2017 WSOP Europe €25,000 Super High Roller ($243,817). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
May 21
Nick Cassavetes [], b. New York, NY as Nicholas David Rowland Cassavetes Last Celebrity Standing in 2005 WSOP Main Event (93rd for $77,710). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
August 19
Cyndy Violette [], b. Queens, NY Won $2,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($135,900). Last Woman Standing in 1984 WSOP Main Event (60th place, not paid). First woman to reach 3 final tables in one year (2005). Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2009. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
September 2
Guy Laliberte [], b. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Cirque du Soleil founder and high stakes player who created the One Drop Foundation and added One Drop charity tournaments to the WSOP in 2011. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
October 17
Norm Macdonald, b. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada as Norman Gene Macdonald (d. 9/14/2021) Comedian played WSOP Main Event several times. 3 cashes including 2007 $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em 20th place ($14,608). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
November 6
Erik Seidel [], b. New York, NY 1988 WSOP Main Event 2nd place ($280,000) & 1999 WSOP Main Event 4th place ($279,500). Nine bracelets from 1992 to 2021. 1 World Poker Tour title. 1 European Poker Tour High Roller victory (not counted for Triple Crown). Poker Hall of Fame 2010. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 20
Hoyt Corkins [], b. Glenwood, AL as Hoyt Bricken Corkins Two bracelets: 1992 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha ($96,000) & 2007 $2,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em 6-Max ($515,065). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 24
Tom Schneider [], b. Indianapolis, IN Four bracelets: 2007 $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($214,347), 2007 $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo, 2013 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($258,960), & 2013 $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($318,955). Most recent of eight players to win multiple bracelets in multiple years. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
