In February, one of the most popular “non-poker” poker celebrities, Dr. Jerry Buss, passed away. The former owner of the Los Angeles Lakers had been battling cancer for quite some time, finally losing the battle at the age of 80. This Sunday, August 25th, the World Poker Tour Foundation will hold a tournament in his honor at his home casino, the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California.
The Frank Mariani & Jerry Buss No-Limit Hold’em Poker Tournament will require a $365 buy-in and will feature a guaranteed prize pool of $20,000. 25 percent of the prize pool will be donated to the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation, which, according to the Foundation’s website, focuses on “on the use of sports to promote education, teamwork and self-esteem among Los Angeles area youth.”
In addition to the prize money, all players who reach the final table will receive a special framed Jerry Buss/Frank Mariani chip set.
Dr. Jerry Buss grew up poor in Wyoming, eventually earning a degree from the University of Wyoming, where he attended on scholarship, in just two and a half years. By the age of 24, he had earned a Masters and Ph. D. in physical chemistry from the University of Southern California.
As educated as he was, though, chemistry is not how he made his money. When he was a chemistry professor at USC, he met Frank Mariani and the two decided to get involved in real estate together. They saved money and in 1959 teamed up with two other investors to put $4,000 down on a $105,000 apartment building in Los Angeles. When the real estate market exploded in the 1970’s, Buss and Mariani became wealthy men.
After a failed investment in the Los Angeles Strings of the World Team Tennis League, Buss bought the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979 for $67.5 million. The Lakers, though, only comprised $16 million of the deal. Buss also bought the NHL’s L.A. Kings, the Inglewood Forum arena, a ranch, and some other properties, including the Chrysler Building in New York.
Buss put his stamp on sports history after that, building the “Showtime” Lakers, which included such legends as Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers won five NBA titles in the 1980’s and, more recently, five more since 2000.
Buss was an innovator, adding to his fortune by being the first to sell the naming rights to an arena as well as starting the Prime Ticket cable network to broadcast Lakers and Kings games.
In the poker world, Dr. Jerry Buss was known as an enthusiastic, friendly high stakes cash game player. Poker fans may remember him from his many appearances on “High Stakes Poker.” He also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker, finishing as high as third in a tournament. He was considered a solid player by people in the know and was a fun tablemate.
After Buss’s passing, one poster on Two Plus Two summed up how people felt about him very well when he wrote:
I didn’t know Jerry was Lakers’ owner until I had played with him at least half year. I was shocked to know this one day. As I had thought him as a retired man loved this game. He was good at this game and take[sic] it seriously all the time. He also talked friendly with other players on many subjects, very knowlegable [sic] in a respectful manner. I have never seen anything remotely related to show off from a famous person like him. He was a class act and a great ambassador to the poker game.
Those who wish to contribute to the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation but cannot participate in the tournament can visit the Foundation’s donation site.
