Bryan W. "Sailor" Roberts (March 7, 1931 – June 23, 1995) was an American professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player. Before becoming a poker professional, Roberts was a rounder and traveled the country looking for games with Doyle Brunson and

Amarillo Slim Thomas Austin Preston Jr. (December 31, 1928 – April 29, 2012), known as Amarillo Slim, was an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets. Preston won the 1972 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and was ...

.Sailor Roberts: Poker Pioneer
Famous Poker Players. In addition to his career as a poker player, he was also a renowned

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

player. Roberts participated in the first World Series of Poker in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

along with

, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson,

Crandell Addington Crandell Addington (born June 2, 1938, in Graham, Texas) is an entrepreneur and poker player who is best known as one of the founders of the World Series of Poker, and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Poker Known as "Dandy" because he w ...

, and Carl Cannon. Roberts won his first WSOP bracelet at the 1974 World Series of Poker in the $5,000 Deuce to Seven

Draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anythin ...

event. He won the

1975 World Series of Poker The 1975 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held in May 1975 at Binion's Horseshoe. Preliminary events Main Event There were 21 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10K to enter the winner-take-all tournament. F ...

Main Event, gaining his second and final WSOP

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...

and $210,000. Roberts earned his nickname "Sailor" for having served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. Roberts died on June 23, 1995, from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

caused by

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

. He was posthumously inducted into the

Poker Hall of Fame The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded in Las Vegas, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest p ...

in 2012.

World Series of Poker bracelets

References

External links

Hendon Mob tournament results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sailor 1931 births 1995 deaths American poker players American contract bridge players World Series of Poker bracelet winners World Series of Poker Main Event winners United States Navy personnel of the Korean War United States Navy sailors People from Houston People from Las Vegas People from Washington County, Oregon Poker Hall of Fame inductees