RIP Chad Brown

Chad Brown was born in Manhattan in 1961. He started playing poker around New York and when he moved to Hollywood in the early 90s all forms of poker had just been legalized. This was a natural succession for Chad to ease from being a professional actor to professional poker player. Chad never really hit it big in acting (in my opinion he was too nice for the dog-eat-dog world of TV and movies) but found his spot high atop the poker world.

Chad’s tournament record includes $3.6 million in cashes, (more than $1.2 million coming from the WSOP) with 38 WSOP cashes and 10 final tables. Besides tournaments, Chad was a regular at the high-stakes live games in Vegas, LA, Atlantic City or any other of the many casinos he traveled to all over the world. I had hundreds if not thousands of hours playing poker with Chad.

Besides all his success, one thing about Chad’s poker career that was most remarkable to me was his demeanor. I’d have to say he is to this day the only poker player I’ve played with over the years that I never saw ever even come close to losing his temper. Even Phil Hellmuth couldn’t match Chad’s cool.

No one ever had a bad word to say about Chad. His ex-wife Vanessa Rousso (who never stopped being his good friend) related this story about his response to her after she said she didn’t know how she could ever go on without him; “I have had careers most people only dream about. I have hundreds of stamps in my passport. I have loved, and I have adventured. Of course we never know how we will handle something until we’re in that situation, but I know you will have the strength to overcome whatever comes your way.”
At his eulogy others had many great things to say about Chad:

Eli Eslami: “He chose to live his life happy,” and “Chad and I were down in Mexico so Chad could undergo an experimental form of chemo. I mentioned that this looked like a very rough neighborhood. Chad said, Yeah, on our drive up I saw a Chinese guy and a Mexican guy about to fight. The Chinese guy said “I have to warn you, I know Judo!” the Mexican replied “Well I know Mexican Judo. Ju don’t know if I have a knife. Ju don’t know if I have a gun.” That was Chad for you. Even facing death Chad never lost his sense of humor.”

Nolan Dalla: “Is there anybody who has had a better 52 years or given more in 52 years than Chad Brown? Chad lived the life most of us couldn’t fit into 100 years.”

Matt Savage: “The thing I learned most from Chad was courage.”

Vanessa Rousso: “He was fearless and so very strong.”

And finally, my brief say; “When people pass away, no matter what group they belonged to, you always hear people say; He was one of the nicest guys in baseball, the shriners lodge… But I can’t say that about Chad. The reason I can’t say that is he was the nicest person in poker, period.”

It was a touching affair held nostalgically at downtown’s Binions casino, the former home of the WSOP. This was the same casino, even the same room we played the tournaments, where Chad, myself and many of the other attendees battled it out in the hope of acquiring a WSOP gold bracelet.

Chad came close many times, finishing runner up and third three times each. Although he said not winning a bracelet would not define his career, we all knew he wanted one badly. When he couldn’t make this years WSOP it looked as though it wasn’t meant to be. Jack Eiffel, Ty Stewart, and Nolan Dalla decided it was.

In an unprecedented move, the WSOP presented Chad with an honorary bracelet! Chad was quickly fading but his friends and family were able to wake him to show him this honor. Chad managed a smile and high five. He lost his three-year battle with cancer shortly later.

RIP my friend. I will see you soon. Hopefully not too soon.

PS: Around ten years ago, Chad, Scotty Nguyen, Kenny Lambert and I posed together for a picture at the Commerce Casino WPT celebrity tournament. The pics were taken with like 5 different cameras. I can’t find mine but would love a copy if anyone reading this has it. Thanks.

PSS: As an afterthought, Chad and I both loved Affliction clothing. As cheap as I am, I broke down and spent thousands of dollars on a limited edition Affliction leather jacket. I believe there were 750 of them made worldwide. Chad showed up to this tournament wearing the exact jacket and I believe it’s the one he wore in said pic. ♠

_Todd Brunson has been a professional poker player for more than 20 years. While primarily a cash-game player, he still has managed to win 18 major tournaments, for more than $4.2 million. He has won one bracelet and cashed 42 times at the World Series of Poker. The Todd Brunson Montana Poker Challenge is coming up, Check his website, ToddBrunson.com, for details. _