Poker ‘Superstar’ Quietly Passes Away

By Vinnie Iyer
I was at Yahoo!‘s main page today, and this was one of top four featured links (not in the sports tab, not in the entertainment tab): “Poker star who once won $1.8 million dies.”
So, as someone who stays up late enough to catch NBC’s Poker After Dark to watch some cards and catch the occasional glimpse of hostess Shana Hiatt, I immediately clicked on this story. It turns out the deceased player is David “Chip” Reese (widely considered the best poker player in the world), 56, with the cause being symptoms of pneumonia.
My condolences go out to the Reese family, but my question is, should poker players get equal treatment as beloved former TV stars or athletes in the media’s coverage of obituaries? It’s not like some major sports network has already hinted that poker superstars just might deserve equal celebrity to professional athletes. Oh wait.
Although I like watching poker on television only once in a while to help me become a better poker player, I’ve somehow absorbed the famous names of poker. It’s wrong that I know the likes of Doyle Brunson, Gus Hansen, Sammy Farha, Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon, Phil Ivey, and [insert some other Phil here] over say, the entire Kansas City Royals roster.
Before it was just ESPN showing the World Series of Poker once a year. Then there was the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. Then NBC put it on the Sunday afternoon sports schedule. Then Game Show Network changed its name to the more ambiguous GSN, so it could show High Stakes Poker, and eventually get the WPT, thus putting the airing of classic episodes of Press Your Luck and Tic Tac Dough in serious Jeopardy!
So why are a bunch of card players being celebrated? And how can a “sport” have so many superstars? So, you’re telling me anyone of these 100s of poker “superstars” can win a tournament based on what cards they have at certain times? Unbelievable. It’s not like someone can go sign up on a poker website, win an online tournament and beat all these guys and gals. Oh yeah, that already happened when that Chris Moneymaker (like that’s his real name) won the whole shebang.
So Mr. Chip Reese, rest in peace. I just hope Yahoo! has the sense to make sure I know when one of the world’s greatest gin rummiers passes, too.
> Poker Player Reese Dies at 56 | Yahoo!
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Vinny Iyer is a staff writer for Sporting News who covers NFL and fantasy football. He also has a minor gambling problem. ↵