[toc]Doyle Brunson, an 83-year-old poker champion known as “The Godfather of Poker”, told fans how he was nearly the victim of a vicious robbery.
Brunson, who has 10 World Series of Poker bracelets and countless millions in poker earnings, took to Twitter to inform his 420,000 followers of the weekend’s troubling events.
Brunson was visited at home by a police officer on Friday, who informed the poker star that his neighbour had been attacked. The would-be robber cornered his victim in his garage, telling him “I know you’re a poker player” and looking for cash.
The robber took $500 from his victim and said that his cut for robbing Brunson was meant to be $700,000.
Don’t tread on me, says Doyle
Brunson was told the robber said he would kill his informants for giving him the incorrect address, but he wasn’t cowed.
“Don’t these idiots know we leave our money at the casinos?” He said via his Twitter account, “I carry a pistol with me at all times. I get out of my car with a gun in my hand. I have all kinds of silent alarms, motion detectors, etc.
“Plus I’m 83 years old, have been good with guns all my life and am not going to be robbed again. Any aspirations of trying [to rob me] had better be reconsidered!”
Brunson’s previous brushes with crime
Doyle Brunson, sometimes known as “Texas Dolly”, started his professional poker and gambling career over 50 years ago. Back then, he would be traveling from venue to venue and sitting down with less-than-savoury characters.
Most recently, Brunson was robbed at his Las Vegas home in 1998. True to form, he managed to escape with his life only by virtue of running a bluff on the robbers.
Brunson, then 64, faked a heart attack as a pair of masked men stormed his house at gunpoint. Brunson was nevertheless beaten and handcuffed as the men threatened to kill him and his wife. The robbers left with $4,000 in cash and $80,000 in casino chips.
Other poker player robberies
Because professional poker players by their very nature will often have large sums of money, or access to it, it is sadly not uncommon for them to be the target of thieves.
Jonathan Duhamel, the 2010 World Series of Poker champion, was beaten and robbed in his Montreal home by thieves who stole his Rolex watch and his World Series of Poker bracelet.
Poker legend and author David Sklansky was robbed in 2010, after waking up in his Las Vegas bedroom to find a burglar with a handgun in his room. He talked the thief down and gave him $8,000 before he was left unharmed.
In another incident, 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg Raymer was held up outside his room at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Describing himself as “fat and strong,” Raymer attacked the pair and drove them off without losing any money.
