Fiore "Jimmy" Casella (June 3, 1924 – August 10, 1976) was a prominent poker player at the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

in the 1970s. In the 1971 World Series of Poker, he won the Limit Razz event, but he found his greatest success in the

1974 World Series of Poker The 1974 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held from May 6 to May 11, 1974 at Binion's Horseshoe. Events There were five preliminary events in the 1974 World Series of Poker. Casella became the first player in WSOP h ...

, where he won the Seven Card Razz and the

Seven-Card Stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River, is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was one of the most widely played poker variants in home games across the Unite ...

world championship. For winning these three events, he won $76,225. Casella became the first player in WSOP history to win the first two events of a single World Series with his victories in 1974. After the 1974 World Series of Poker, he did not have another cash in another major poker tournament in that era. He died of a drug overdose on August 10, 1976. Casella was the uncle of Elizabeth Beckwith (a writer, actress, and comic) and Christian philosopher Dr. Francis J. Beckwith, whose father is the brother of Jimmy's first wife, Doris. Casella is mentioned in Dr. Beckwith's book, ''Return to Rome: Confessions of An Evangelical Catholic'' (Brazos Press, 2008)

World Series of Poker bracelets

References

External links

Hendon Mob profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casella, Jimmy American poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners 1924 births 1976 deaths American gamblers Drug-related deaths in the United States