Poker News

WSoP icon David Reese dead

2007-12-05 15:11:35

Poker champion David "Chip" Reese has died at the age of 56 in Las Vegas after suffering from a bout of pneumonia.

The winner of three World Series of Poker (WSoP) championships was described by one friend as "certainly the best poker player that ever lived".

Ohio-born Reese was well-liked on the poker circuit and his victory in the 2006 $50,000 buy-in HORSE championship - the largest buy-in event in the history of the WSoP - made him famous in international gambling circles.

Despite his many successes, he preferred to keep a low profile and play high-stakes cash games.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Reese was the youngest-ever poker player to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Reese, who was a regular at the Big Game at the Bellagio, accrued almost $3.5 million (£1.75 million) in winnings over his gambling lifetime.