Walter Clyde "Puggy" Pearson (January 29, 1929 – April 12, 2006) was an American professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player. He is best known as the 1973

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

Main Event winner.

Early years

Pearson was born and raised in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in a family with nine siblings. He got his nickname "Puggy" from a childhood accident that left him with a disfigured nose at the age of twelve. He dropped out of school in the fifth grade, and at the age of 17, he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, where he served three terms. He strengthened his skills at poker and gambling while in the Navy.

Professional poker

Prior to 1949, all poker games were cash games; a player could cash out his chips and leave at any time. Pearson originated the idea of a freezeout tournament and shared his idea with fellow gambler "Nick the Greek" Dandolos in the early 1950s. Dandalos later brought the idea to legendary casino owner

Benny Binion Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 5, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American gambling icon, career criminal, and convicted murderer who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area. H ...

. After further urging by Pearson, Amarillo Slim, and

Doyle Brunson Doyle F. Brunson (born August 10, 1933) is a retired American poker player who played professionally for over 50 years. He is a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several ...

, all of whom felt that such a tournament would create great side (cash) game action, Binion founded the

in 1970. Pearson participated in the first World Series of Poker that year along with Amarillo Slim,

Sailor Roberts Bryan W. "Sailor" Roberts (March 7, 1931 – June 23, 1995) was an American professional poker player. Before becoming a poker professional, Roberts was a rounder and traveled the country looking for games with Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim.< ...

Crandell Addington Crandell Addington (born June 2, 1938, in Graham, Texas) is an entrepreneur and poker player who is best known as one of the founders of the World Series of Poker, and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Poker Known as "Dandy" because he w ...

, and Carl Cannon. Pearson won his first

(WSOP) bracelet in the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Limit Seven-Card Stud preliminary event. In

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, he won two preliminary events in the WSOP. In the same World Series, he won the Main Event when his A♠ 7♠ defeated

Johnny Moss Johnny Moss (May 14, 1907 – December 16, 1995) was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of ...

's J♠. With the Main Event victory, he became the first player in WSOP history to win three events in a single year. This record has since been matched by five others. He won four

bracelets A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

, two of which were in

seven-card stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most widely played poker variant in home games across the United States, a ...

and two of which were

No limit hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fac ...

. Pearson was known as a man who would always seek out the biggest game in town, whether it was in the poker room or on the golf course. He owned a RV, which he called the Roving Gambler, with this painted on the side: "I'll play any man from any land any game he can name for any amount I can count, provided I like it." Pearson was inducted into the

Poker Hall of Fame The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded in Las Vegas, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest ...

in 1987. He was also infamously abusive to casino employees, throwing cards at dealers, berating floor persons and not tipping service staff.

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Death

Pearson, who had a long history of heart problems, died on April 12, 2006.Gower, Diana
Puggy Pearson
''The Independent'', April 26, 2006. Accessed June 4, 2017.

Notes

External links

CardPlayer article by Jeff ShulmanHendon Mob tournament resultsWNY Poker thread
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Puggy 1929 births 2006 deaths American gin players American poker players United States Navy sailors World Series of Poker Main Event winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners Super Bowl of Poker event winners People from Tennessee People from the Las Vegas Valley Poker Hall of Fame inductees