One of the great characters of the game, Puggy Peason, a former World Series Of Poker Main Event winner (1973) and a legendary gambler, has died in Las Vegas at the age of 77.
Walter "Puggy" Pearson grew up impoverished in Tennessee and received only a 5th grade education. He once said that his family was so poor that he didn't know what shoes were until he moved out of home. He joined the navy at 17 and learned how to hustle pool and poker.
Puggy Pearson was known as a fearless gambler who liked to be dealt in regardless of the game or the stakes, but he was also shrewd and liked to know that he had the best of it. He was part of the older generation of rambling poker greats: men like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Sailor Roberts. Puggy was a bit of a rogue and a rascal, but he was also great for the game of poker.
A multiple World Series Of Poker winner and a true legend of poker, Puggy Pearson will be sorely missed.
