It’s hard to explain the respect that I, as well as many grinders have for Chip Reese.
I guess it’s natural to respect someone that is so talented In areas that your passionate about. I never met Chip in person really, Although I felt like I knew him.
My encounter with Chip was one that many poker players have experienced, Chip would pass through the poker room at Bellagio headed towards the high limit room and you felt like the star of the show had just arrived. This was his office and his office was located wherever the biggest game in town was running. Chip would try to entice others to join him in the game by saying things like “Hey, were playing all your best games over here, I cant believe your not going to take a shot” Chip was a classic like that, playfull yet always kind and respectful to those like me that just wanted to say hello to a legend.
I read a post on a forum last night that was saying “RIP chip, We appreciate all that you did for poker” Did for poker????? What did Chip do for poker? This is one of those things that irritates me to no end about players today – this is not a sport regardless of how much it’s aired on ESPN, These are not heroes who sacrifice of themselves for the betterment of society in this game, Chip sat at a poker table and waited for someone to sit down and play him and he wanted every dollar that person had. Chip relied on poker to support himself and his family, Chip was after your money – And that’s what poker is about and that is why I respected the man! Lets not change or invent things about Chip, He was great the way he was.
How many people know the true history of the World Series Of Poker? do you believe that it was established to determine who the greatest player at that time was? you would be dead wrong! The WSOP was created by those that made their living playing the game, Guys like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss and Puggy Pearson. They wanted it not so they could play against each other – they could do that anytime! They wanted a prestigious event that would draw Millionaires and wealthy doctors, lawyers and businessmen to Las Vegas to play the event – not to get the $10k buy-in from these guys, that was peanuts! They knew that there would be more players for the side games (more fish) the WSOP was created FOR the cash games. Nobody really cared who won the tournament. I have travelled the poker tournament trail for years – And I have never played a WPT or WSOP tournament – I follow the money that flocks to the side games. Chip rarely played the WSOP events besides the main event or the $50k H.O.R.S.E event because he was getting the easy money from the cash games during the WSOP. While others chased the ESPN cameras and longed for the fame and glory of television time, Chip stayed true to what he was, and I am not about to change that.
The man was a true professional and that is what I loved about him! He walked a path that few follow and fewer survive and he flourished! R.I.P Chip!
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AP News Report:
LAS VEGAS (AP) — David “Chip” Reese, a card star who won one of the biggest cash games in the world and three World Series of Poker championships, has died. He was 56.
Reese died in his sleep and was found by his son early Tuesday morning at his Las Vegas home after suffering from symptoms of pneumonia, said poker great Doyle Brunson, his longtime friend.
“I knew him for 35 years, I never saw him get mad or raise his voice,” Brunson said. “He had the most even disposition of anyone I’ve ever met. He’s certainly the best poker player that ever lived.”
After attending Dartmouth College, Reese was on his way to Stanford business school in the early 1970s when he stopped by a Las Vegas poker room and won big, said World Series of Poker media director Nolan Dalla.
“He just accidentally stumbled into Las Vegas and never left,” Dalla said.
His immediate success at cash games and low-key persona won him friends, even among those who wound up passing him their chips.
Despite winning three World Series champion’s bracelets over the last four decades, including a $1.8 million HORSE event in 2005 that combines five poker disciplines, Reese focused his attention on high-stakes cash games away from the limelight.
“I’ve seen him with a million dollars in front of him,” said Dalla, describing how Reese would put out racks of $5,000 chips “like he was betting a few bucks.”
Reese was part of a generation of players in the 1970s that challenged established greats like Brunson, Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston Jr. and Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson, Dalla said.
Brunson and Reese eventually became business partners, investing in everything from oil wells and mining to TV stations and racehorses and becoming sports betting consultants.
None of the ventures was successful, Brunson said.
“We went to look for the Titanic. We went to look for Noah’s Ark. We were two of the biggest suckers whenever it came to business, but we both had poker to fall back on,” Brunson said. “Thank God we could play, so we always survived.”
Reese’s prowess at both cash and tournament play was cemented with his 2005 win, said World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.
“Many consider Chip the greatest cash-game player who ever lived,” Pollack said in a news release. “His victory in the inaugural $50,000 buy-in HORSE championship … made him a part of WSOP lore forever.”
Reese is survived by a son, a daughter and a stepdaughter, Brunson said. He was recently divorced from his wife.
Services are planned for Friday in Las Vegas, Brunson said.
