Remembering Poker Players Who Died In 2024

The New Yr just isn’t solely a chance for poker gamers to look forward, maybe setting new resolutions and objectives, but in addition an opportunity to look again on the yr passed by.

In 2024, that entails remembering these poker gamers, trade members, and personalities who sadly handed on.

Right here’s a take a look at a few of these we misplaced over the previous yr.

Founding Tiltboy Member Perry Friedman Passes Away

Perry Friedman, one of the colourful characters throughout the “Poker Growth,” handed away in January from pancreatic most cancers on the age of 55. Friedman was referred to as an aggressive jester on the desk, typically sporting multi-colored hairstyles, chattering nonstop, and customarily being the lifetime of the occasion.

Born Could 15, 1968, in Brooklyn, New York, Friedman was a widely known World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) grinder and bracelet winner, in addition to a founding member of the“Tiltboys” alongside Phil Gordon and Dave “Diceboy” Lambert.

Friedman graduated from Lengthy Island’s Sachem Excessive College in 1986 after which attended Stanford College the place he was a member of the biking staff. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematical and Computational Science within the Fall of 1990 and his Masters in Pc Science in 1991. He went on to work for IBM earlier than returning to the Bay Space and getting a job with Oracle. He would finally begin an organization known as Decide’em Sports activities, which was acquired by Web Sports activities Community earlier than collapsing when the Web bubble burst.

In 2003, he was the primary worker employed at Tiltware, the software program firm utilized by Full Tilt Poker within the quickly increasing on-line poker market.

Again in 2002, Perry turned a WSOP gold bracelet winner when he took down Occasion #3: $1,500 Restrict Omaha Hello-Lo for $176,860. He additionally had three third-place finishes in WSOP match, most lately in 2017 within the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship for $104,416. All informed, Perry had $1,055,953 in WSOP earnings, which accounted for practically all his documented cashes courting again to 2000 totaling $1,135,178 based on the Hendon Mob.

Click here to read more on Friedman’s passing.

Two-Time WSOPC Ring Winner Justin Brown Passes Away at 38

Poker professional and two-time World Sequence of Circuit (WSOP) ring winner Justin Brown handed away on February 2 from what his family says was a quick battle with an aggressive type of most cancers.

Brown was simply shy of $400,000 in profession earnings, based on The Hendon Mob. He was repeatedly seen on stops of the Mid-States Poker Tour, Heartland Poker Tour, and WSOP Circuit occasions all through the Midwest — the place he gained rings in Tunica and at Horseshoe Hammond in Indiana. Brown’s career-high rating was a win for $83,302 within the Hollywood Fall Basic exterior Cincinnati in 2011.

A graduate of Indiana College, Brown earned a Bachelor of Arts diploma in Historical past earlier than his ardour for statistics led him to a profession in skilled poker. Outdoors of poker, he loved journey, sports activities, and even mushroom looking. He’s survived by his Mom, Teresa; his father, Gregory; and siblings James, Jeremy, and Katelyn.

The poker world expressed their condolences together with his pal Ari Engel, who informed PokerNews: “Justin cherished his household and he and his brother Jeremy have been as shut as I’ve ever seen brothers be. He was additionally an incredible and dependable friend- each to human associates and his beloved canine Clyde. I’ll at all times have fond recollections of the summers we stayed collectively in Vegas and hanging out at varied minor league stops all through the years. Whereas I’m devastated at dropping my pal, I really feel so honored to have identified such an exquisite individual. You’re and will probably be missed Jbrown.”

Click here to read more about Brown’s passing.

Malaysian Excessive-Stakes Poker Participant Kok Weng Beh Passes Away at 42

In February, Malaysia’s Kok Weng Beh, a high-stakes poker participant who amassed a whole bunch of hundreds in match earnings, handed away on the age of 42.

On the morning of Feb. 16, Triton Poker shared the information of Beh’s dying on social media, noting that his “legacy lives on within the playing cards and group (he) helped form.” In gentle of Beh’s dying, Triton supplied a tribute to the Malaysian poker participant’s “profound influence on our poker group.”

“Wayne’s legacy, deeply woven into the essence of poker at the moment, evokes us to proceed his spirit of camaraderie and excellence,” Triton wrote on X. “Our ideas are together with his household throughout this difficult time.”

Beh’s first poker match money got here in November 2010 from a deep run on the Macau Poker Cup Championship, a collection he would proceed grinding within the following years, based on The Hendon Mob.

By the late 2010s, Beh had moved up stakes and primarily performed excessive curler occasions, together with on the Triton Poker Tremendous Excessive Curler Sequence.

Click here to learn more about Beh’s passing.

Florida Poker Participant Ryan Estrada Passes Away

In March, the poker group lately obtained the unhappy information that Florida poker participant and World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Ring winner Ryan Estrada handed away unexpectedly in a bike accident.

Estrada was a grinder from Dawn, FL who was lively within the Florida poker group and earned $316,969 in live earnings since his first money in February 2021 based on the Hendon Mob.

Fellow Florida poker participant Matthew Sonzogi shared information of Estrada’s dying on X, writing that he was “completely sick to my abdomen” and calling Estrada “one of many nicest youngsters I met in Florida.”

Estrada’s first poker money sport within the type of a victory as he took down a $100 Survivor occasion at Seminole On line casino Coconut Creek for $500.

It was an indication of issues to come back for Estrada as he went on to win tournaments all through Florida, together with a Seminole New Years Sequence $200 occasion ($23,000), a WPT Seminole Onerous Rock Poker Showdown $400 occasion ($6,080) and a Pompano Isle On line casino $250 occasion ($6,000).

One other profession spotlight got here in October 2023 when he took down a $400 Large 30k occasion at WSOPC Pompano Seashore for $15,514 and a Circuit ring. The identical month, he earned his largest money from a runner-up end within the SHR Hollywood Anniversary Large Slick Particular for $30,935.

Poker Corridor of Famer Crandell Addington Passes Away at 85

In April, Crandell Addington, a legendary Texas poker professional, handed away at age 85.

The Poker Corridor of Famer cashed 4 instances within the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Principal Occasion — 3 times within the Seventies — together with runner-up finishes to Johnny Moss (1974), Doyle Brunson (1976), and Bobby Baldwin (1978).

Addington, born June 2, 1938, in Graham, Texas, handed awayon April 14, 2024. He competed within the first-ever World Sequence of Poker in 1970 towards Brunson, Moss, Amarillo Slim, Puggy Pearson, Sailor Roberts, and Carl Cannon. Again then, poker’s world championship occasion was tiny and in its infancy, and the winner — Moss — was decided by a vote.

The late poker legend nonetheless holds the report for many WSOP Principal Occasion ultimate desk appearances with seven. His final WSOP money got here within the 1989 Principal Occasion, a Thirty sixth-place end for $7,500.

Addington was one of many lone remaining Texas street gamblers from the Sixties and Seventies. He got here up in poker competing towards the likes of Brunson, Moss, and Amarillo Slim, all Texans, and fellow Poker Corridor of Famers. In 2005, Addington joined the crew within the HOF, and was inducted alongside Jack Binion.

Click here to learn more about one of the true legends of poker.

Music Icon, Two-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner Steve Albini Passes at 61

In early Could, Steve Albini, a legendary music determine and a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, handed away of a coronary heart assault on Tuesday at 61.

A self-described audio engineer, Albini helped pioneer noise rock within the Nineteen Eighties together with his band Large Black and later produced a few of the most necessary albums in various rock historical past. Music shops together with Pitchfork and Rolling Stone first reported his dying, which was confirmed by Albini’s Electrical Audio Recording in Chicago.

Albini is finest identified for producing Nirvana’s ultimate 1993 album In Utero and in addition labored with various artists together with the Pixies, PJ Harvey, Slint, Low and The Breeders. Later in his profession, he labored with mainstream giants like Jimmy Web page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.

Albini was additionally a passionate poker fanatic — notably shining in blended video games — and repeatedly performed on the WSOP in Las Vegas.

In 2018, he took down a $1,500 Stud occasion for $105,629 and his first bracelet, a feat he adopted up on 4 years later with a $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. victory value $196,089.

Check out PokerNews feature article remembering Albini here!

Northern California Poker Legend Phil Hawkins Passes Away

In Could, PokerNews discovered that Phil Hawkins, a longtime poker participant and former cardroom proprietor from Northern California, has handed away.

Within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, the late NorCal poker legend owned the Sellers Selection Cardroom in Auburn, California. He additionally had success as each a match and money sport participant and left a long-lasting impression on the group.

Years in the past, Hawkins bought his poker site, and the brand new proprietor modified the title to Deuces Wild. The sale did not go nicely for both occasion because the Deuces Wild proprietor had his license revoked and bthe usiness closed.

Hawkins would go on to co-own the Atwood Liquor & Deli. However his true ardour was poker, a sport he started enjoying lengthy earlier than the Chris Moneymaker increase period. In 2004, he earned his largest dwell match rating — $100,102 — for taking down a $1,570 buy-in Omaha Hello/Lo occasion throughout the 5 Diamond World Poker Basic at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

He racked up over $200,000 in dwell match earnings, based on The Hendon Mob. The NorCal poker participant was most lately identified to have performed at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA, a city close to Sacramento.

Click here to learn more about Phil Hawkins.

The Hendon Mob Poker Legend Casey Kastle Passes Away

The poker world is mourning the lack of World Poker Awards winner Casey Kastle who handed away on Monday.

Kastle performed poker for many years, showing in main tournaments such because the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and Aussie Millions. The Slovenian poker professional, born in 1960, left a long-lasting impression on the poker group.

For years, Kastle held one of the spectacular data in poker — being the primary to gather 50 flags on The Hendon Mob. What meaning is he had cashed in poker tournaments throughout 50 nations. That is a mark few have ever or will ever obtain.

Kastle had nice success as a poker participant — $2.2 million in dwell match cashes — however he was equally revered amongst his friends past the felt. The late poker professional’s first recorded money got here in January 1998, a third-place end for $22,800 in a $540 buy-in no-limit maintain’em occasion in Las Vegas.

Since then, he is performed hundreds of tournaments and money video games internationally, profitable tournaments in 13 completely different nations, one other uncommon feat. Kastle’s largest money occurred in 2008 — $137,985 — when he took second place in a $1,500 buy-in pot-limit Omaha occasion on the World Sequence of Poker, the closest he got here to profitable a bracelet.

Kastle has lengthy been identified for his The Hendon Mob report, and it turned a part of who he was throughout the poker group. The accomplishment was lastly acknowledged internationally in 2024 when he obtained the Hendon Mob Award on the Global Poker Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

Learn more about Casey Kastle here.

Associates, Household Mourn Lack of Longtime Poker Participant Esther Rossi

Family and friends members of Esther Rossi, who handed away from most cancers April 1, gathered on Saturday in Las Vegas to have fun her life.

The younger technology of poker gamers may not be conversant in Rossi, however those that adopted the sport within the pre-Chris Moneymaker increase period will definitely acknowledge the title. She was an completed participant and beloved member of the poker group for years, and had many associates within the sport.

Rossi took a step away from the poker world at one level within the 2010s, however she recorded 13 cashes for over $200,000 on the World Series of Poker (WSOP), her first being a runner-up end within the 1998 $500 Girls Restrict 7-Card Stud occasion for $10,625. In accordance with The Hendon Mob, she had $339,000 in dwell match cashes.

The late poker participant is the previous girlfriend of David “Chip” Reese, thought-about by many one of many best poker gamers of all time. Reese, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner, handed away in 2007 at age 56.

Rossi grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and discovered to play playing cards as a toddler thanks in no small half to her father, Armando “Spare” Rossi, who performed playing cards all his life. In 1987, she moved to Las Vegas.

WSOP Bracelet Winner Matthew Parry Unexpectedly Passes Away

The poker world obtained surprising information in June that World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Matthew Parry, who was per week faraway from profitable a Wynn Summer time Basic title, handed away unexpectedly. The information was shared by Parry’s household by way of the next message on his Fb account:

It’s with crushing disappointment that we’re letting associates of Matt’s and our household know that Matt handed away on Saturday, June 15. As lots of you’re conscious, he had 2 true passions – chess and poker. Fortunately, he was in Las Vegas attending the WSOP doing what he cherished when he died. Final yr, he fulfilled his dream when he gained his first bracelet. He’s deeply and without end missed. Right now, preparations are being made and we’ll use FB and e-mail to speak within the occasion you want to be part of us in celebrating his life. Please hold our Matt in your prayers.

Parry, a Scholastic Nationwide Champ at chess, hailed from New York the place he graduated from Fairport Excessive College and studied on the College of Buffalo. He discovered to play poker with associates and on-line.

He had $1,908,422 in lifetime match earnings based on the Hendon Mob together with a career-best $480,122 for profitable the 2023 World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) Occasion #82: $3,000 Pot-Restrict Omaha 6-Handed for a gold bracelet. The win got here three years after he practically gained a web-based bracelet ending runner-up to Nick Guagenti within the 2020 WSOP.com On-line Occasion #29: $2,000 NLH Deepstack.

Parry, who as soon as informed PokerNews he was “principally a money sport participant,” was off to a great begin this summer season ending eleventh within the 2024 WSOP Occasion #18: $1,500 Pot-Restrict Omaha for $19,048, after which two days later profitable the Wynn Summer time Basic $2,200 Pot-Restrict Omaha for $106,645.

For more on Parry and his poker career, click here.

WPT at Sea’s Kurt McPhail Passes Away Unexpectedly

The poker world obtained the unhappy information on Wednesday that Kurt McPhail, a long-time member of the World Poker Tour (WPT) household who based the WPT League again in 2007 and extra lately operated the WPT at Sea Poker Room on Virgin Voyages, handed away unexpectedly.

McPhail, who lived in Mulvane, Kansas however was simply as prone to be crusing the excessive seas over the previous yr, studied at Fort Hays State College and has been married to Kathy McPhail since November 11, 1998.

The WPT launched the next assertion on social media:

“RIP Kurt. You gave me a few of my finest experiences in life. I do know you’re having fun with your everlasting cruise, save a spot for all of us. Love you man,” Tommy Stokes wrote on social media.

Combined Sport Fanatic Mark Dickstein Passes Away

The poker world obtained unhappy information in August as information surfaced that poker participant Mark Dickstein, a famous blended sport fanatic, had handed away.

The information was shared by Ari Engel on social media:

“Unhappy information to report: my pal Mark B. Dickstein has handed away. A lot of you particularly blended sport gamers can have performed with him over time. I solely turned associates with him over the past yr when he was already sick however even in that quick time we had some actually attention-grabbing talks – he had a really completely different perspective to many points – which made for some lengthy (and sometimes heated) forwards and backwards and numerous prop bets. I’ll particularly keep in mind how he made numerous very beneficiant charitable donations that nobody knew about. I’ll miss you Mark- relaxation in peace my pal. Baruch Dayan Haemet”

Dickstein had $775,874 in lifetime earnings courting again to 2004 based on the Hendon Mob. That included a career-best rating of $184,428 for ending third within the 2006 WSOP $10,000 Pot-Restrict Omaha occasion, which was gained by Lee Watkinson. Extra lately, Dickstein had seven cashes this summer season on the 2024 WSOP together with twenty sixth in Occasion #32: $1,500 Limi Seven Card Stud.

Outdoors of poker, Dickstein had made a reputation for himself within the early days of hedge funds. Alongside his enterprise associate, David Brail, Dickstein constructed the agency Dickstein Companions, which was one of many preeminent hedge funds of the time with experience in merger arbitrage and chapter investing. Dickstein was so distinguished on the time that he was even profiled in the New York Times back in 1994.

Matt Snook Passes Away One Month After Taking part in Principal Occasion

Matt Snook, who crossed off a bucket checklist merchandise of enjoying within the World Series of Poker (WSOP) this summer season, handed away a month later in Agusut after a year-long battle with most cancers.

The Kansas Metropolis resident and two-time “The Voice” contestant served as an inspiration when he entered the 2024 WSOP Main Event in July. He was not solely terminally unwell on the time however wasn’t feeling very nicely when he sat right down to play. PokerNews caught up with him for a chat earlier than the Day 1d session started, and he defined why he traveled midway throughout the nation to play within the largest buy-in match of his life.

“I had some associates get collectively, they usually principally helped me out,” Snook mentioned of getting into the world championship occasion. “It is the best match on the earth, and I adore it.”

Snook, a rustic music singer, mentioned final month that he was “identified with a uncommon type of kidney most cancers on January third,” and referred to his look within the Principal Occasion as his “final hoorah.” He knew he had restricted time as a result of his battle with sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma (sRCC), a uncommon, aggressive type of kidney most cancers that may have an effect on different elements of the physique. However he was nonetheless in good spirits getting into the $10,000 buy-in match.

“I’ve lived such a blessed life, I really feel good at the moment, had a troublesome night time final night time, and I am planning on attempting to work by means of what I’ve set to work by means of,” he mentioned. “Poker gamers know that poker is a grind and life is a grind. However I do not need anyone feeling sorry for me. I do not need any empathy. I’ve simply lived a blessed life and I am glad to be right here.”

Snook mentioned these together with his sickness usually dwell for 6-12 months, however he believed he turned unwell a number of months earlier than seeing a health care provider. The musician who appeared on Season 8 of “The Voice,” a singing actuality tv competitors present, was principally a money sport participant in Kansas Metropolis. However he additionally loved tournaments occasionally and had a ardour for the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS).

Learn more about Snook and his interesting life here.

New Jersey Poker Participant Dan Sewnig Passes Away at 33

On-line poker participant and Circuit ring winner Dan Sewnig handed away on August 13 on the age of 33.

Sewnig, who performed beneath the handles “mj23style” and “RedsoxNets5”, amassed over 1,000,000 in on-line earnings and was acknowledged as probably the greatest on-line poker gamers in New Jersey.

Sewnig’s obituary notes that he “discovered success as a self-employed skilled within the poker world” and in addition states he “excelled in athletics” and “cherished enjoying all kinds of video games, in addition to working, climbing, nature walks, and each enjoying and watching basketball.”

PokerNews profiled Sewnig in 2020, noting that he discovered poker from his cousin when he was 11 and was enjoying $5 sit and gos together with his fellow seventh-graders when Chris Moneymaker gained the 2003 Principal Occasion.

“I will at all times keep in mind our pal’s mother requested us who we thought was going to win,” he informed PokerNews. “There have been about 50 gamers left within the TV protection and Ivey and Farha have been the favored solutions. I mentioned, ‘I do not know, I’ve acquired a great feeling about that man Moneymaker.’ She gave me a take a look at the time that I believed meant she thought I used to be silly. I had no thought on the time that these reveals have been prerecorded and he or she already knew that he had gone on to win!”

Sewnig graduated from Ramapo Faculty of New Jersey, the place he ran cross nation, with a level in math and a focus in training. He was on monitor to develop into a trainer earlier than testing the waters of the newly regulated on-line poker market in New Jersey.

Learn more about Sewnig and his poker career here.

Alexander Hill Passes from Most cancers Days After Shedding Son-in-Regulation

The poker group obtained unhappy information in August that Wisconsin’s Alexander Hill, who ultimate tabled the World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) Seniors Occasion two years in the past, died from most cancers.

“The poker group and his poker buddies meant so, a lot to him,” Hill’s son, Alex Kestrel, wrote in a social media submit.

Hill’s passing was particularly tragic for his household as only a few days earlier his son-in-law, Nic Haug, handed away unexpectedly.

Hill notched his first match money in 2017 ending in second place within the MSPT Milwaukee for $60,000. He went on to amass $294,943 in lifetime match earnings based on the Hendon Mob.

In September 2022, Hill topped a 283-entry discipline to win the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs Occasion #9: $400 Monster Stack for $20,375 and a gold ring. Hill had the most important rating of his profession when he positioned ninth within the 2022 WSOP Occasion 47: $1,000 Seniors Championship for $67,471.

Evansville Sports activities Legend Clint Keown Passes Away in Vehicle Accident

Clinton Keown from Evansville, Indiana, handed away on September 22 in an vehicle accident. A famend athlete for each basketball and baseball, Keown was additionally a well-liked poker participant in the neighborhood.

Keown, born February 25, 1980, had $171,271 in lifetime earnings based on the Hendon Mob, which included a career-high $36,480 for ending ninth within the 2005 World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) Circuit $10,000 Championship Occasion at Horseshoe Southern Indiana.

As phrase of Keown’s passing unfold, a number of gamers supplied their condolences on social media.

“The poker world misplaced one of many best real gamblers to ever wager on themselves to a deadly automobile accident,” wrote Michael Laake. “He was each little bit of the following technology’s Huck Seed. Absolute grasp and legend of the sport.”

Learn more about Clint Keown here.

Legendary Gambler Archie Karas Passes Away

In September, PokerNews discovered that famed gambler and avid poker participant Archie Karas has handed away at age 73.

Anargyros Karabourniotis, his delivery title, famously went on a heater merely known as “The Run” in December 1992 when he drove to Las Vegas with simply $50 in his pocket and would later flip that, together with a $10,000 mortgage, into $50 million earlier than giving all of it again a number of years later. He claims to have gambled extra money in casinos than anybody in historical past.

Karas was born on Nov. 1, 1950, in Greece. He’d later tackle the moniker “The Greek,” and has been in comparison with one other high-stakes legendary gambler, Nick the Greek, who handed away over 60 years in the past.

Karas, a Nevada resident who additionally lived in Los Angeles and Portland in his early grownup days, grew up in poverty however would finally gamble his strategy to a extra profitable way of life. He began off his skilled profession ready tables in eating places earlier than taking on pool as a facet hustle.

The pool hustle paid greater than he’d make ready tables. However finally, the prepared opposition to face him on the pool desk dried out. That’s when he took up poker and claimed to have constructed up a bankroll of $2 million within the early Nineteen Nineties. However poker legends on the time equivalent to Doyle Brunson and Chip Reese weren’t overly impressed together with his sport. They’d even give Karas a handicap simply to get him within the sport.

Karas would lose his bankroll by December 1992, apart from $50, which he took with him to Las Vegas the place he satisfied a poker participant to present him a $10,000 mortgage. He spun that cash as much as $30,000 enjoying high-stakes razz, after which paid again his backer.

Utilizing that cash to proceed playing, he gained a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} in pool halls round city. He then took on a high-stakes participant referred to as “Mr. X” at Binion’s Horseshoe, the unique dwelling of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Karas gained a number of million towards Mr. X, and had reportedly constructed a bankroll over $7 million inside a number of months earlier than dropping all of it.

Check outPokerNews‘ full obituary on Karas here.

Remembering Ladies’s Poker Advocate Lori Geer Smith

Lori Geer Smith (March 12, 1959 – November 7, 2024) handed away from most cancers at her dwelling in Chico, Texas.

Lupe Soto, founding father of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, shared the information on the Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) page:

“Heaven has gained an angel… Lori Geer Smith who’s a pal to so lots of our poker sisterhood has handed and we’ll miss her deeply. Our hearts are hurting however none greater than her candy household. Our prayers and love are with all of them. Fly excessive Lori… seat open.”

Smith had $50,149 in lifetime earnings courting again to 2010 based on the Hendon Mob, which included a career-high $10,449 for ending ninth within the 2013 Choctaw Fall Poker Basic $1,100 Championship Occasion.

Smith’s obituary said: “Lori married Ronnie Smith on July 1, 1981. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church, the Ed Henry Stewart Charitable Basis, and the Ladies’s Poker Affiliation. Lori loved touring together with her husband on cruises. However most of all Lori (Marmie) cherished spending time together with her household and associates. She will probably be tremendously missed.”

PokerNews gives its condolences to the family and friends of these listed above. We additionally apologize for any gamers who might have been ignored. If of anybody who needs to be included on this piece, please really feel to succeed in out to Chad Holloway at [email protected]