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World Series Of Poker To Host First Fifty Gala Honoring Top Players

First Fifty Celebration Open To All WSOP Gold Bracelet Winners

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In continuation of their celebration of the 50th annual World Series of Poker, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino will play host to an event honoring the top 50 poker players in history.

The First Fifty Gala will take place Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m. and will include dinner and an awards presentation.

“It is important we take time out to honor the WSOP’s first 50 years and pay tribute to those that paved the way for where we are today,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “We look forward to getting the poker community together on Saturday and commemorating 50 years of the World Series of Poker.”

The players were voted on by a panel of 26 industry experts and media members, with the only caveat being that they must have played in at least one WSOP event in their lifetime. A total of 173 players received at least one vote. Of the top 50, 45 are still living. Two are women.

Patrik Antonius Allen Cunningham Jennifer Harman Jeff Lisandro Steve O’Dwyer
Bobby Baldwin Shaun Deeb Dan Harrington Adrian Mateos Puggy Pearson
Billy Baxter Tom Dwan Isaac Haxton Jason Mercier Amarillo Slim
Chris Bjorin Eli Elezra Phil Hellmuth Michael Mizrachi Brian Rast
Justin Bonomo Antonio Esfandiari John Hennigan Chris Moorman Chip Reese
Doyle Brunson Chris Ferguson Fedor Holz Carlos Mortensen Huck Seed
Joe Cada Ted Forrest Phil Ivey Johnny Moss Erik Seidel
Johnny Chan Phil Galfond Berry Johnston Daniel Negreanu Vanessa Selbst
Stephen Chidwick Barry Greenstein John Juanda Scotty Nguyen Dewey Tomko
TJ Cloutier Gus Hansen Bryn Kenney Dominik Nitsche Stu Ungar

In addition to the top 50 players, the event will also reveal the winners of the public awards based on seven different categories. Thousands of electronic votes ended up being cast.

The categories are as follows:

1. Most Memorable TV Hand
2. Best Overall WSOP Performance
3. Most Likely To Succeed
4. Fan Favorite
5. WSOP’s Favorite Bad Boy
6. Most Impressive WSOP Main Event Win
7. Four Most Important Players In WSOP History