Walter ‘Puggy’ Pearson Dies at 77 in Las Vegas

Tuesday, 18 April 2006

Walter ‘Puggy’ Pearson, the man revered as the father of no-limit freeze out poker, has died. He passed away last Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. The 77-year-old had suffered from a long illness, but will forever be remembered as one of the first

Walter ‘Puggy’ Pearson, the man revered as the father of no-limit freeze out poker, has died. He passed away last Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. The 77-year-old had suffered from a long illness, but will forever be remembered as one of the first wave of truly great poker players who took part in the early years of the World Series of Poker. He won the series in 1973, its fourth year.
Setting a winning precedent for today’s more eccentric players, ‘Puggy’ constantly smoked a cigar and was known for his brilliant style of play. According to his daughter Andrea Elaine Phelan, Pearson would have been a star of the televised game had he still be willing to come to the table. Fittingly, there was a tribute to the great man at the Bellagio last night and he will certainly be remembered at many major poker events coming up this summer. In the meantime, it’s only right for people to carry on playing poker in the eccentric way that Pearson would have wanted.



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