The 44th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) starts in just two weeks and it promises to be bigger than ever. In one significant way, though, it will be smaller. Doyle Brunson will not be playing.
“The Godfather of Poker” made his announcement Tuesday night via his @TexDolly Twitter account, writing, “Afraid I am finally gonna give in to Father Time and pass on tournament play at WSOP. #toomanyhours”
Of course, this does not mean he won’t grace the Rio with his presence. After all, the juiciest cash games tend to be held during the WSOP, so he will likely sit down to some games either at the Rio or at some of the other casinos in Las Vegas. Plus, virtually the entire poker world will be converging in the city for a month, so it is a great time to catch up with old friends.
Signs had been pointing to Brunson’s retirement from tournament poker for a while, anyway. He will turn 80 years old this summer and grinding it twelve hours a day for days at a time to go deep into tournaments is not something someone of his age is really equipped to do. It is difficult for young pups as it is, let alone one of the elder statesmen of the game.
Brunson’s activity at the World Series of Poker had been declining in recent years. In 2011, he played in only seven WSOP events and last year, he played in only four. The last of his ten WSOP bracelets (which puts him in a tie with Johnny Chan for second all-time behind Phil Hellmuth and his thirteen titles) was earned in 2005, when he won the $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event. It wasn’t the largest of fields for a WSOP tournament, as just 301 people played, but it was an extremely strong final table. Brunson defeated Minh Ly, Scotty Nguyen, Layne Flack, Ayaz Mahmood, and Jason Lester at the six-handed finale en route to victory.
His last cash at the World Series of Poker came in 2009 when he placed 17th in the Championship Event of the WSOP Europe. The latest cash of Doyle Brunson’s career in any live tournament was back in the fall of 2011 when he made a small score at the European Poker Tour London Main Event.
During the better part of the last decade, one of the highlights of the WSOP has been the day Brunson sits down at the Main Event. The eyes of the room are always trained on him, as everyone wants to see if it is going to be the year he makes a deep run. And when he does finally get knocked out, he always gets a standing ovation upon his departure. The last time he made the money in the traditional Main Event was in 2004 when placed 53rd.
