David Chiu [], b. Nanning, China 1996 WSOP Main Event final table bubble boy ($31,200); Five bracelets: 1996 $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($396,000), 1998 $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($205,200), 2000 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud ($202,000), 2005 $5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo ($347,410), & 2013 $2,500 Seven-Card Stud ($145,520). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
October 10
Toto Leonidas [], b. Bacolod, Philippines as Alfredo C. Leonidas Won 2003 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($98,760). 9 final tables. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
November 24
Eli Elezra [], b. Jerusalem, Israel as Eliahu Ilan Elezra Five bracelets: 2007 $3,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($198,984), 2013 $2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw ($173,236), 2015 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($112,591), 2019 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($93,766), 2022 $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($611,362). Poker Hall of Fame 2021. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
1961
February 25
Amir Vahedi, b. Tehran, Iran (d. 1/8/2010) 2003 WSOP Main Event 6th place ($250,000). Won 2003 $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($270,000) to become the first Iranian with a bracelet. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
August 13
Chad Brown, b. New York, NY as Chad Lewis Brown (d. 7/2/2014) Shortly before he passed away, was given an honorary WSOP bracelet for his overall contributions to the game of poker. 9 final tables. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Nolan Dalla [], b. Dallas, TX WSOP Media Director from 2002 to 2016, initial called the Director of Public Relations for the Horseshoe. Hendon
February 17
Lou Diamond Phillips [], b. U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, Zambales, Philippines as Lou Diamond Upchurch La Bamba actor was the Last Celebrity Standing in 2009 WSOP Main Event (186th for $36,626). Wikipedia | Hendon
Rob Hollink [], b. Enschede, Netherlands Won 2008 $10,000 Limit Hold 'Em ($496,931) to become the first Dutchman with a bracelet. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
April 19
Hasan Habib [], b. Karachi, Pakistan 2000 WSOP Main Event 4th place ($326,000). Won 2004 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($93,060). 8 final tables. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
June 25
Dan Heimiller [], b. California Two bracelets: 2002 $2,000 Limit Hold 'Em/Seven-Card Stud ($108,300) & 2014 $1,000 Seniors Championship ($627,462). 2 Circuit rings. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
July 22
Steve Albini [], b. Pasadena, CA Two bracelets: 2018 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($105,629) & 2022 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($196,089). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
October 28
Scotty Nguyen [], b. Nha Trang, Vietnam as Thuan B. Nguyen 1998 WSOP Main Event winner ($1,000,000). Four other bracelets: 1997 $2,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($156,950), 2001 $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($178,480), 2001 $5,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($207,580), & 2008 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. ($1,989,120; only player to win both Main Event and H.O.R.S.E. Championship). Poker Hall of Fame 2013. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
1963
April 11
Chris Ferguson [], b. Los Angeles, CA 2000 WSOP Main Event winner ($1,500,000). 1997 WSOP Main Event bubble boy. 6 bracelets from 2000 to 2017 & 3 rings. WSOP Circuit's leading money winner. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Howard Lederer [], b. Concord, NH as Howard Henry Lederer Two bracelets: 2000 $5,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($198,000) & 2001 $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($165,870). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Bill Edler [], b. Evanston, IL Won 2007 $5,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em 6-Max. 1 Circuit ring. 2007 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
May 22
Hossain Ensan [], b. Tehran, Iran 2019 WSOP Main Event winner ($10,000,000). At 55 years, 1 month, and 25 days old, the oldest to win in 20 years. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Phil Hellmuth [], b. Madison, WI as Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. 1989 WSOP Main Event winner ($755,000). Set record as youngest Main Event winner at 24 years, 10 months, and 3 days. 2001 WSOP Main Event 5th place ($303,705). Has won a record 16 bracelets from 1989 to 2018, including a record-tying three in one year in 1993. Record 29 years between first and last bracelets (tied with Doyle Brunson). Five bracelets from 1990 to 1999 were the most of any player in the decade. Poker Hall of Fame 2007. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
September 24
Ted Forrest [], b. Syracuse, NY as William Ted Forrest Six bracelets, including a record-tying three in one year in 1993. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
November 29
Jennifer Harman [], b. Reno, NV as Jennifer Cecile Caramella Two bracelets: 200 $5,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($146,250) & 2002 $5,000 Limit Hold 'Em. First woman to win two open bracelets. Tied women's record by reaching multiple final tables three times in 2002, 2003, & 2010. Big Game player who was part of the Corporation who played against Andy Beal. Poker Hall of Fame 2015 & Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2010. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
1965
April 10
J.J. Liu [], b. Taipei, Taiwan as Liu Jishung 1999 Last Woman Standing when she was known as Joanne Bortner (busted shortly before money bubble). 6 final tables. Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2012. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Jeff Lisandro [], b. Perth, Australia Six bracelets from 2007 to 2014, including a record-tying three in one year in 2009. Second player (after Daniel Negreanu) to win WSOP (2007), WSOP Europe (2010), and WSOP Asia-Pacific (2014) bracelets. 1 Circuit ring. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
September 13
Annie Duke [], b. Concord, NH as Anne LaBarr Lederer Last Woman Standing in 2000 WSOP Main Event (10th for $52,160 while eight months pregnant) & 2003 (47th for $20,000). Won 2004 $3,000 Omaha Hi/Lo ($137,860). First woman to reach two final tables in one year (1995) and repeated feat in 1996 and 2003. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Cliff Josephy [], b. Long Island, NY 2016 WSOP Main Event 3rd place ($3,453,035). Two bracelets: 2005 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($192,100) & 2013 $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em Shootout ($299,486). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Lee Watkinson [], b. Washington 2007 WSOP Main Event 8th place ($585,699). Won 2006 $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha ($655,746). WSOP.com | Hendon
December 25
Nick Dandolos d. 1966 [age 83] (b. 4/27/1883) Credited with inspiring the World Series of Poker by playing a months-long highs stakes heads-up match against Johnny Moss in front of the Horseshoe in 1951. Poker Hall of Fame 1979. Obituary | Wikipedia
1967
February 10
David Pham [], b. Vietnam Three bracelets: 2001 $2,000 S.H.O.E. ($140,455), 2006 $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em Shootout ($240,222), & 2017 $1,50 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($391,960). 1 Circuit ring. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
March 1
Tom Abdo d. 1967 [age 72] (b. 4/12/1894) High stakes poker player who often played in the Big Game at the Aladdin casino. Poker Hall of Fame 1982. Wikipedia
March 24
Minh Ly [], b. Vietnam as Minh Hoang Ly 2002 WSOP Main Event 9th place ($85,000). 8 final tables. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Mark Seif [], b. Cairo, Egypt Two bracelets: 2005 $1,500 Limit Hold 'Em ($181,330) & 2005 $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($611,145). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
1968
February 26
Frank Kassela [], b. Chicago, IL 2010 WSOP Player of the Year when he won two of his three bracelets ($10,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo for $447,446 & $2,500 Razz for $214,085). Also won 2017 $1,500 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($89,151). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
April 30
Mike Matusow [], b. Los Angeles, CA 2001 WSOP Main Event 6th place ($239,765) & 2005 WSOP Main Event 9th place ($1,000,000). Four bracelets: 1999 $3,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($265,475), 2002 $5,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, 2008 $5,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw, & 2013 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($266,503). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Gavin Smith, b. Guelph, Ontario, Canada (d. 1/14/2019) Won 2010 $2,500 Mixed Hold 'Em ($268,238). 2005 World Poker Tour Player of the Year. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Corky McCorquodale d. 1968 [age 64] (b. 8/23/1904) Texas road gambler who introduced Texas Hold 'Em to Las Vegas in 1963 at the downtown California Club. Poker Hall of Fame 1979. Wikipedia
1969
January 15
Huck Seed [], b. Santa Clara, CA 1996 WSOP Main Event winner ($1,000,000). 1999 WSOP Main Event 6th place ($167,700). Three other bracelets: 1994 $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($167,000), 2000 $5,000 Razz ($77,400), & 2003 $5,000 Razz ($71,500). 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions winner ($500,000). Poker Hall of Fame 2020. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
January 24
Rick Salomon [], b. Neptune Township, NJ as Richard Allan Salomon Last Celebrity Standing in 2006 WSOP Main Event (196th for $42,882). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
April 9
Texas Gamblers Reunion in Reno, Nevada Tom Moore organizes the Second Annual Gaming Fraternity Convention at his Holiday Casino, switching from the previous year's variety of table games to poker. The event is popular with the players but not a moneymaker for Moore, so he gladly lets Benny Binion have the idea, creating the World Series of Poker. [Estimated date]
Layne Flack, b. Rapid City, SD (d. 7/19/2021) Six bracelets: 1999 $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'Em ($224,400), 2002 $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($303,880), 2002 $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($268,020), 2003 $2,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($119,260), 2003 $1,500 Limit Hold 'Em Shootout ($120,000), & 2008 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha ($577,725). One of three players, along with Doyle Brunson and Gary Berland, to win multiple bracelets in consecutive years. Poker Hall of Fame 2022. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
June 1
Andy Bloch [], b. New Haven, CT as Andrew Elliot Bloch Won 2012 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($126,363). 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. 2nd place ($1,029,600). 2012 $50,000 Poker Players Championship 3rd place ($561,738). 1 Circuit ring. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
August 7
Todd Brunson [], b. El Paso, TX as Todd Alan Brunson Won 2005 $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo ($255,945). With Doyle Brunson, first father and son to both win WSOP bracelets. Poker Hall of Fame 2016. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Colson Whitehead [], b. New York, NY Multi-Pulitzer Prize-winning author who wrote the 2014 book, "The Noble Hustle", about his attempt to go from complete poker amateur to the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Wikipedia
