Today I want to honor a true poker legend that recently passed away. Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson, one of the most colorful characters in the world of poker, has ended his days at the age of 77. Pearson became WSOP champion 1973 and was the second person to be introduced in the Poker Hall of Fame. He was known as the “Rovin’ Gambler” and owned a mobile home with the same name. On the side of the bus he painted “I’ll play any man from any land, any game that he can name, for any amount that I can count (providing I like it),” which sums him up pretty well.

Puggy was one of the few players I have ever heard of that could come in to a poker room and say, “Deal me in”, for the highest game in the room, without knowing what game was played or who was in it. And that is how I want to remember him – as a great gambler with a big heart.