The longtime Las Vegas resident and one of poker’s most influential players of all time died May 14 at 89.īrunson started playing poker in illegal backroom games in Texas in the 1950s and recorded 54 consecutive winning poker sessions in 1963, according to his agent, Brian Balsbaugh. A near-capacity crowd gathered inside Jubilee Theater at Horseshoe Las Vegas as friends and family shared memories of Brunson. “That free $100 book in the last 40 years has cost me $35 million.”īrunson was remembered for his faith, fearsome negotiating skills on the golf course and character during a celebration of life Sunday. “And then he said, ‘This book I’m selling for $100, but I want you to have it for free as my gift to you,’ ” Kaplan recalled. Gabe Kaplan became captivated with poker after Doyle Brunson won his second straight World Series of Poker Main Event in 1977.Įventually, the actor and comedian ventured to the Horseshoe during the WSOP and met Brunson for the first time.Īs a gesture of friendship, Brunson gifted Kaplan a copy of his poker strategy book “Super System” and wrote an inscription inside. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Todd Brunson, the son of poker legend Doyle Brunson, speaks to the crowd about his father during a celebration of life ceremony for his father on Sunday, July 2, 2023, inside of the Jubilee Theatre at Horseshoe Las Vegas in Las Vegas.
