Dr. Jerry Buss, the recently deceased owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, not only had a passion for the sport of basketball but also a passion for the game of poker, Seven Card Stud in particular. With this in mind, the World Series of Poker could potentially honor Dr. Buss by naming a tournament after him as soon as this year’s event.
According to the folks at TMZ.com (and you know they are constantly on watch in Hollywood), a “representative” of the WSOP informed them that, “At the appropriate time, we will seek to ask the family to honor Dr. Buss’ legacy by possibly naming our WSOP Seven Card Stud Championship after him or awarding the victor a special perpetual trophy in his honor.”
The honor wouldn’t be the first time that the WSOP has acknowledged a player who was an integral part of the history of the game. When he won the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship (now the Poker Players Championship) in 2006, the legendary Chip Reese was already recognized as one of the finest players to ever grace the green baize. After his untimely death in 2007, WSOP officials honored Reese by naming the tournament’s trophy after him. Since that time, players who have won whichever version of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship have also been awarded the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy along with their bracelet and a boatload of cash.
There may be those that ask why Buss would receive such an honor; with a quick look at history, it is easy to see why Dr. Buss would be worthy of such.
Dating back to 1991 (at the minimum), Buss was an active participant on the tournament poker stage. His very first cash, in fact, came in a WSOP Seven Card Stud tournament, where he finished in third place. Over the next 20 years, Buss would earn 38 cashes in various card rooms across the Southwest, with four of those cashes coming in WSOP events. It wasn’t about the money for Dr. Buss (his largest lifetime cash was for a win in a 2005 No Limit Hold’em event at the Winnin’ o’ the Green schedule at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles), it was simply about the love of the game of poker.
While Buss had a rather quiet career in tournament poker (his lifetime winnings only totaled slightly over $172,000), it was his involvement in the game away from the tournament stage that drew people to him. Known for playing the biggest cash games available around the Southwest in particular and the world in general, Buss would follow his passion for poker even at the cost of missing a historical moment for his beloved Lakers. The TMZ article includes a grainy photograph of Dr. Buss in 2009 sitting at the felt, playing poker, while only miles away his Lakers celebrated their fifteenth NBA World Championship (the next year, the Lakers would win their sixteenth title, second only to the Boston Celtics).
“We’re definitely going to miss seeing him,” the unnamed WSOP rep told TMZ. “Even when the Lakers were playing in the NBA Finals, you could often find Dr. Buss playing his favorite game – Seven Card Stud – at the World Series of Poker.”
Following Dr. Buss’ death earlier this week at the age of 80 following a long battle with cancer, the poker world wasted little time in acknowledging his place in the game. “Nobody mentions Jerry Buss’ contribution to Poker Nation,” noted none other than Doyle Brunson on his Twitter feed. “He helped many struggling poker players.” Former Victory Poker CEO, poker player and entrepreneur Dan Fleyshman Tweeted, “Jerry Buss loved the Lakers, the city of Los Angeles, poker and life. He will be missed by many and affected many people’s lives in a positive way.” Marcel Luske wrote on Twitter, “R.I.P, Mr. Buss…you always have been a very nice and special person (as well as) a gentleman poker player.” Finally, 2013 National Heads Up Poker Champion victor Mike Matusow Tweeted, “You were a great person and a great friend. You will be missed greatly in the poker world, I am so grateful to have met you.”