John Monnette [] b. in Palmdale, California as John Edward Monnette Won 2011 $2,500 8-Game Mix ($278,144), 2012 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud ($190,826), 2017 $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw ($256,610), 2021 $10,000 Limit Hold 'Em ($245,680), & 2023 $1,500 Limit Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw ($145,863). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Steve O'Dwyer [] b. in Colorado Spring, Colorado 1 World Poker Tour & 2 European Poker Tour titles. Fifty Gala honoree in 2019. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
April 27
$1,000 Seven-Card Razz (Event #1, 2 days [4/26 start])
Winner: Nick Helm ($40,000 & 1st bracelet)
Entries: 80 (8 paid)
Page 6 of the April 28, 1982 Las Vegas Sun spells the winners last name "Heim" (with an "I" instead of an "L").
Jacki Jean Ties Women's Record with Back-to-Back Final Tables Reverses Linda Davis's 1980 result by finishing 3rd in the Mixed Doubles with Stu Ungar after finishing 2nd in the Ladies Championship.
$500 Women's Seven-Card Stud (Event #4, 2 days [5/2 start])
Eric Drache Creates the First WSOP Satellite Tournament Looking to increase the number of entries in the $5,000 Seven-Card Stud event, the tournament director collected $650 each from eight players to compete in winner-take-all single-table satellites.
$1,000 Seven-Card Stud (Event #5, 2 days [5/4 start])
Bingo Palace Runs Satellite for Main Event The Bingo Palace Casino advertises the first multi-table satellite tournament in the May 6 Las Vegas Review-Journal, promising to turn one player's $100 entry into a ticket to the WSOP Main Event. [The turnout was so good, they would hold a second satellite the day before the Main Event began.]
Dennis Zervos Becomes First Foreigner to Cash in WSOP Greek finishes 3rd in the $1,000 Limit Hold 'Em for $20,200. [England's Barry Clayton and the Philippines's Noli Francisco would both make the money later in the week.]
$1,000 Limit Hold 'Em (Event #11, 2 days [5/15 start])
Unemployed Pair Win Consecutive Tournaments 30-year-old John Paquette from Detroit defeats field of 202 for $101,000 in $1,000 Limit Hold 'Em three days before 33-year-old Jim Doman from Las Vegas defeats field of 192 for $96,000 in $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em.
Jack Straus Wins 1982 WSOP Main Event Defeats field of 104, including Dewey Tomko heads up, for $520,000 after recovering from being down to just 525 in chips. The May 25, 1982 Las Vegas Sun clearly states on page six, "At one time in this championship go-round, he was down to his last $525." The next day the WSOP rounded this down to 500 in handwritten notes that were shared with Associated Press reporters. It wasn't until December that Hustler magazine spun the tale about Straus shoving in all of his chips except for "a misplaced $500 chip stuck between the rail and the table."
$10,000 Main Event - No-Limit Hold 'Em (Event #14, 4 days [5/22 start])
Alexandre Gomes [] b. in Curitiba, Brazil Won 2008 $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em for $770,540 and the first bracelet for Brazil and the entire South American continent. Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
August 29
Ronnie Bardah [] b. in Stoughton, Massachusetts First and still only player with 5 straight Main Event cashes (2010 to 2014). Won 2012 $2,500 Limit Hold 'Em 6-Max ($182,088). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
December 14
Lakewood Louie d. 1982 [age 77] (b. 1915) Won 1978 $5,000 Draw High ($21,000), 1979 $2,000 Draw High ($22,800), 1979 $1,000 Ace-to-Five Draw ($22,200), & 1980 $1,000 Razz ($33,600). Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon