Ghosts at the Table by Des Wilson

Author:Des Wilson [DES WILSON]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 2011-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Then there were some business disasters. Doyle clearly has some outstanding qualities but choosing what to invest in is not one of them. He even persuaded Chip Reese to invest with him in some religious television stations. Clearly even God didn’t like them because they failed. His biggest mistake was to turn down the chance of investing in the World Poker Tour when it was launched; its founder, Lyle Berman, reckons that decision cost Brunson $50 million. He was to complain (about himself) later that he lost a lot of money investing in things he knew nothing about and, then, when he had the chance to invest in poker, he blew it.

Over the years he has become the doyen of the game, cheered every time he appears in the World Series, honored at functions, interviewed on every radio and television program about the game, and now fronting an Internet poker room, Doyle’s Room. He looks old and, as he limps around on his stick or drives himself around the Rio and other poker palaces in his electric scooter, there’s no mistaking he’s seriously handicapped. Sometimes, when caught unawares at the table, he looks tired, even bored, and yet, when his competitive juices are flowing, his energy can be amazing.

So is his ambition. While the main event was being played out in 2006, I was competing in one of the last remaining gold bracelet events, a $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament. I was amazed to see both Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth playing. Surely this was not in their league—what were they doing? Then I realized: they were now equal, ten bracelets each. Both wanted another. Both wanted to be undisputed King of the World Series. Fair enough for Phil, still relatively young; but isn’t it eloquent testimony to the competitive instincts of Doyle that he was still there, determined to prove he was the best, at seventy-three?

Mike Sexton once said that if there were Halls of Fame for the following, Doyle would be inducted into all of them on the first ballot:

Those who have overcome odds

True competitors—people with heart and a determination to win

High-stakes golfers and sports bettors

Guys who create action

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