Jeffrey Pollack Named WSOP Commissioner Harrah's Entertainment names the VP of sports and entertainment marketing of Harrah's Operating Company as the World Series of Poker's first commissioner in a nod to ts tremendous recent growth.
Puggy Pearson d. 2006 [age 77] (b. 1/29/1929) 1973 WSOP Main Event winner ($130,000). Three other unpaid Top 9 finishes: 1972 2nd, 1974 9th, & 1976 7th. Four other bracelets: 1971 $1,000 Seven-Card Stud ($10,000), 1972 $1,000 Seven-Card Stud (~$10,000; missing from the record books), & 1973 $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em ($17,000). Set record for most bracelets won in one year with three in 1973. Poker Hall of Fame 1987. Seniors Poker Hall of Fame 1995. Obituary | Wikipedia | WSOP.com | Hendon
Chip Reese Wins $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Debut Defeats field of 143, including Andy Bloch in a record 7-1/2 hour heads up session, to win non-Main Event record $1,784,640 in largest buyin event in WSOP history. Bloch also earns over a million dollars ($1,029,600).
Bill Chen Wins $2,500 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold 'Em for Second Bracelet of Year Defeats field of 740 for $442,511 eleven days after winning $3,000 Limit Hold 'Em for $343,618.
WSOP Adds Pot-Limit Omaha Event Last-minute decision to remove rebuys from the $1,500 PLO tournament meets with uproar, so WSOP decides to hold both freezeout and rebuy events. The freezeout starts first and attracts 525 entries, while a few hours later the rebuy version brings in 158 players who rebuy 472 times to create the larger prize pool.
Jeff Madsen Wins $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold 'Em for Second Bracelet of Year Defeats field of 183 (324 rebuys) for $643,381 just six days after winning $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em.
$5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold 'Em (Event #31, began 7/20)
Phil Hellmuth Wins $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em for Tenth Bracelet Defeats field of 754 (1,691 rebuys) for $631,863 to tie Chan and Brunson for the bracelet lead. Daniel Negreanu rebuys 46 times (plus two add-ons), shattering his own record unprofitably as he fails to cash.
T.J. Cloutier and Billy Baxter Inducted Into Poker Hall of Fame Cloutier is a 6-time bracelet winner who was the 2000 WSOP Main Event runner-up, while Baxter is a 7-time bracelet winner who successully sued the IRS to treat poker winnings as earned income (taxed at a lower rate than unearned income).
July 29
"One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stu Ungar" Airs on ESPN The 45-minute documentary directed by Al Szymanski features Jason Blaine and Nicholas Sireci as young Stuey along with many player interviews and video footage of Ungar. [The special would win the Dick Schaap Writing Award and Outstanding Sports Documentary Emmy awards.]
August 4
Annie Duke Becomes First Woman to Cash in Main Event Four Times The Duchess of Poker survives the money bubble after placing 26th in 1994 for $16,800, 10th in 2000 for $52,160, 47th in 2003 for $20,000. She would last another couple days before exiting in 88th for $51,129.
Joe Hachem Last Champ Standing in Main Event Exits in 238th place for $42,882.
Rick Salomon Last Celebrity Standing in WSOP Main Event Ex-husband of Pamela Anderson and Shannen Doherty reaches Day 4 and finishes 196th for $42,882. [He would later become a high stakes poker regular, finishing in the top four in consecutive Big One for One Drop tournaments in 2014 ($2.8 million), 2016 ($3,307,206, non-bracelet event), and 2018 ($2.84 million).]
Jamie Gold Wins 2006 WSOP Main Event Defeats field of 8,773, including Paul Wasicka heads up, for $12,000,000 as WSOP passes $500,000,000 in total prizes awarded. The field size, first prize, twelve $1,000,000+ prizes, and total purse of $82,512,162 are all poker tournament records.
Cyndy Violette Sets Women's Record With Seventh Cash of Year Finishes 24th in year's final event, one of five consecutive $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em tourneys, for $3,372 after also cashing in the Main Event, $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'Em, $5,000 Seven-Card Stud (3rd for $102,648), and $2,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em 6-Max.
