Poker news tagged with 'rip'

The 54th World Series of Poker officially started on Tuesday, May 30 with the $500 Casino Employees NLHE event that is open only for individuals who work in the gambling industry.

Read more » WSOP kicks off with Moment of Silence for late Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson, a legendary poker player, has died Sunday, May 14 in Las Vegas. He was 89.

Read more » Poker Legend Doyle Brunson dies at 89

Darvin Moon, the notable 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up, sadly passed away Saturday due to complications from surgery. Details of the cause of death are not yet publicly disclosed. The American self-employed logger and amateur poker player from Maryland was 56.

Read more » WSOP 2009 Main Event Runner-up Darvin Moon Passes Away at 56

Mike Sexton had been battling prostate cancer quietly...

On September 6 Sunday night, the poker community lost one of the rare gems in the game, the legendary Mike Sexton.

Read more » WPT Commentator and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton Passes Away at 72

The year 2020 should be a year of new beginnings, but nobody thought that this week, the world lost one of the most famous icons in the basketball world, and he's just at his early 40s - it's kinda ironic since there goes a saying "Life begins at 40", right?

January 26, 2020, Sunday was supposed to be a day filled with adrenaline-pumping competition on a basketball court. Instead it was a day tainted by a tragic accident that took nine lives and left the entire world, whether basketball fans or not, utterly heartbroken.

Read more » Poker Players Mourn Loss of NBA Champ Kobe Bryant

A 26-year-old lady tagged as Russia's "sexiest" or "most beautiful" poker player has been found dead in her bathroom. It is believed that she died due to a massive electric shock from a hairdryer.

Liliya Novikova was at home alone when her lifeless body was discovered on the floor at her bathroom in Moscow on Tuesday, June 11.

Read more » Female Russian Poker Player Dies from Electrocution in Bathroom

Gavin Smith, age 50, passed away while he was sleeping last Monday (January 14). The cause of his death is still not determined. He is survived by his two young sons.

The next day after he was found dead, one of his close friends Josh Arieh opened up a GoFundMe page so that the poker community could help support Gavin Smith's children. In just 4 short days, 445 people donated to the cause, raising $67,504 out of the $100,000 goal.

Read more » Doyle Brunson gets flak for questioning Fundraiser for late Gavin Smith

Canadian poker pro Gavin Smith, who possesses a pleasant, friendly and energetic personality and is highly popular especially during the poker boom era, has passed away unexpectedly whilst sleeping on Monday, January 14. The cause of death is still unknown. He was 50 years old.

Read more » Poker Pro Gavin Smith Passes Away at 50

When Thor Hansen, the Godfather of Norwegian Poker, passed away on December 5 after a long battle with cancer, the poker world lost another good man a day after that. His name is Jim Meehan, known also by the nickname ‘Minneapolis Jim' Meehan.

Read more » WSOP bracelet winner ‘Minneapolis Jim' Passes Away at 66

Thor Hansen, also known as the "Godfather of Norwegian Poker", has passed away on Tuesday evening after a long battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.

Read more » Thor Hansen, Godfather of Norwegian Poker, Passes Away at 71

No one thought that tragedy would strike at a certain player while at a poker tournament scheduled on September 1 Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Read more » Poker Pro Suddenly Dies from Heart Attack at Tournament in Oklahoma Casino

Emma Fryer was called the British "Queen of Poker" by friends and players who knew her well. The 42-year old player died instantly in a car crash in the Czech Republic. More than 200 mourners have filled ChristChurch in Alsager to capacity, requiring some well-wishers to stand outside for the morning service.

Read more » Hundreds Mourn Death of UK’s ‘Queen of Poker’

Richard Cole, age 30, resident of Dursley in Gloucestershire, England, went missing after going to various bars located in the Thorbeckeplein area on January 25, 2016. Authorities have recovered the body of a British male from an Amsterdam canal.

Read more » Body of Missing Poker Player Richard Cole found in Herengracht canal in Amsterdam

Deceased 31-year old Puerto Rican, Henry Rosario Martinez, has one of the most unusual requests from his loved ones prior to his death. He asked them that they dress his embalmed body in his usual attire and sunglass and be sat upright at a poker table with friends and family for one last time.

Read more » Deceased Man Gets His Last Poker Game

On Thursday, PokerNews delivered the sad news that American poker pro Chad "lilholdem954" Batista had passed away.

"It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved son, nephew, cousin, brother and friend, Chad 'lilholdem954' Batista. Chad died suddenly this beautiful Thursday afternoon with his family surrounding him. We ask that our privacy be respected at this difficult time and we thank you for your prayers," his family wrote in a statement.

Read more » RIP: Chad "lilholdem954" Batista Dies at 35

On Monday, it was reported that Canadian poker pro and 2011 CPT Player of that Year Norman Overdijk, 54, had died in an tragic accident on July 18th, 2015. According to PokerNews, Overdijk and a 26-year-old passenger crashed shortly after takeoff in a two-seater paraplane somwhere in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Read more » Canadian Poker Pro Dies in Plane Crash

As most of you probably are aware of, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott passed away at the age of 61 on April 6, 2015 after losing a battle against terminal bowel and liver cancer. Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Shak and many other poker pros all over the world have paid tribute to his memory via Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms since his death.

Read more » From Prison Inmate To Poker Millionaire

Some very sad news this morning. British poker legend Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott passed away on Monday, April 6. According to an announcement by his son on Twitter, Dave Ulliott, who has been fighting terminal bowel and liver cancer since earlier this year, died peacefully surrounded by his loves ones. Ulliot, who has $6.2 million in live tournament earnings (the second biggest winner of all time in the UK), leaves behind his wife and eight children.

RIP

Read more » Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott Dies at 61

In March 2014, poker player Mehmet Hassan was found dead in his London flat after his sister became concerned about his welfare and called the police. The police suspected that it was a premeditated burglary and it didn't take long before they arrested and charged three people (Leonie Granger, Kyrron Jackson and Nicholas Chandler) with murder, robbery and false imprisonment.

Read more » The Murder of Poker Player Mehmet Hassan: Trial Underway

German poker professional Johannes Strassmann, who went missing last week in Slovenia, was confirmed dead a few days ago after a DNA test. Strassmann was visiting some friends in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana and was reported missing on June 21.

Read more » Missing Poker Pro Found Dead in River

Matthew Anthony Roth, of Fairbanks, Alaska, made a living from playing online poker since he was 18 and had a very bright future ahead of him, but his life (and many others) changed drastically on April 15, 2011 when online poker was shut down in the U.S. by FBI (Poker's Black Friday). Roth (in the middle of the picture) spent months reclaiming his funds, which were spread around several poker sites. Although he recovered most of his money and graduated in 2012 with a degree in finance - his life never became what it once was.

Read more » Poker Pro Commits Suicide - Father Blames Black Friday

Poker pro Ryan Young passed away on Monday at the age of 28. There are very few details of Young's death, but most sources claim that he died in a car accident. Young was a well-known face in the poker community for his fantastic achievements at the World Series of Poker, where he has cashed 12 times and won 1 bracelet (2007 WSOP event #35: $1,500 No Limit Hold'em).

Read more » Ryan Young Killed in Car Accident

In Doyle Brunson's latest blog "You Only Live once. If you work it right, once is enough" the 78-year-old poker legend writes about his good old friend Amarillo Slim, who passed away last month at the age of 83. Brunson writes, for example, about the phone call he made to Amarillo Slim when he was in a hospice and when the two of them traveled the US looking for poker games to take part in.

Below is the full version of Doyle's blog "You Only Live once. If you work it right, once is enough".

Read more » Doyle Brunsons's Tribute to Amarillo Slim

The poker world lost an icon yesterday as five-time World Series of Poker Champion "Amarillo Slim" Preston passed away just after midnight at a hospice near his home in Amarillo, Texas.

His family was by his side from the day he was hospitalized till the very end. Preston's daughter confirmed the poker legend's death by releasing a statement regarding her father's passing:

Read more » Amarillo Slim Passes Away at 83

The Russian poker community has lost one of its greatest players as poker pro Nikolay Evdakov passed away on Monday this week. He died at the age of only 47 and no reason to his sudden death has been given.

Evdakov made a name for himself in the poker world during the 2008 World Series of Poker when he beat the most cashes during one WSOP record. In total, he cashed in 10 events and his best result was a 14th place in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. Last year he reached the quarter finals in the WSOP $25k NLH heads-up event, and the year before that he finished 9th in the World Poker Tour Final.

The funeral of Nikolay Evdakov will be held in his hometown next Wednesday. Rest in peace! 

According to a Swedish poker news site, a young Swedish poker player died just a few days before Christmas Eve in a fire at a hotel in Bali, Asia. The news site writes that it most probably was an accident and that the young Swede was the only one in room that caught fire.

The man, whose name we have decided not to write here, is from the North of Sweden and he was in Asia on a longer holiday. He has been playing in quite a few major tournaments but has no cashes, according to different live tournament tracking sites, however, he was a very talented cash game player and a very respected person among many professional poker players.

Rest in peace.

In Doyle Brunson's latest blog, Live as if you were going to die tomorrow, learn as if you were going to live forever, he shares some really sad news with his fans and the rest of the poker world - his sister took her own life last month.

He describes his only sister, Lavada Hale, as a very strong person all her life, but when she recently lost her eyesight due to glaucoma and related eye diseases, she became very depressed and decided to end her life as she couldn't stand the thought of living the rest of her life in darkness.

Read more » Doyle's sister took her own life (RIP)