The 2023 World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) has been a report affair drawing tens of hundreds of gamers. Now, think about these gamers have been allowed to smoke on the desk? That was the case on the WSOP, however due to the efforts of 1983 Foremost Occasion champ and Poker Corridor of Famer Tom McEvoy and associates Casey Kastle and Paul Ladanyi, that each one modified.
Not solely did the WSOP at Binion’s Horseshoe change into smoke free – the second-hand smoke there was typically referred to as the “Horseshoe Crud” – however for probably the most half the complete poker match trade did.
That was due to the “Non-Smoking Event Petition,” which McEvoy and firm circulated in 2001 and in the end collected 522 signatures, together with from among the largest names of the sport.
McEvoy really nonetheless has the initially petition, which he not too long ago shared with PokerNews. It learn:
We, the undersigned poker match gamers, really feel the time has come for casinos to offer a pleasing, wholesome and smoke-free setting for tournaments. We’re now not prepared to endure the annoyance, irritation and well being dangers caused by being compelled to inhale second-hand smoke. California has led the way in which and we’ve discovered how rather more nice it’s to play and be capable of breathe clear air, and we applaud the Event of Champions and Sam’s City for going smoke-free. So strongly will we really feel about this concern that we declare our intention to patronize solely non-smoking tournaments and to boycott people who proceed to condone this unhealthy behavior.
Here is a take a look at only a small pattern of big-name poker gamers who signed the petition.
| Doyle Brunson | Johnny Chan | Barbara Enright | Layne Flack | Dan Harrington |
| Phil Ivey | Berry Johnston | John Juanda | Jack Keller | Daniel Negreanu |
| Scotty Nguyen | Chip Reese | Huck Seed | Henry Orensten | Erik Seidel |
| Dewey Tomko | Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott | Kathy Liebert | John Bonnetti | Gabe Kaplan |
| Chad Brown | Brad Daugherty | Russ Hamilton | Chris Ferguson | Mike Matusow |
| Males Nguyen | Danny Robison | Gavin Smith | Amir Vahedi | Sammy Farha |
| Dewey Weum | Thor Hansen | Andy Bloch | Mason Malmuth | Tom McEvoy |
How Smoke-Free Got here to Be
Whereas a smoke-free match expertise is one thing most gamers take as a right nowadays, it wasn’t all the time that method. In actual fact, should you watch previous broadcasts of the WSOP Foremost Occasion from the 1990s on PokerGO, you’ll probably see extra gamers smoking on the desk than not.
“I had a powerful friendship with Casey Kastle and I knew and revered Paul Ladanyi. All three of us have been very a lot anti-smoking,” McEvoy instructed PokerNews. “We mentioned the scenario with others in addition to ourselves and at last determined to do one thing about it, not simply speak about it. The reply was the petition, which we used to method match administrators and on line casino administration.”
“When questioned about what was occurring, gamers would typically be in a recreation and counsel everybody signal it.”
He continued: “The signatures have been the best a part of the complete course of. The gamers would line as much as signal it – a couple of of us have been circulating it. When questioned about what was occurring, gamers would typically be in a recreation and counsel everybody signal it. They fairly often did precisely that.”
Whereas the petition contained a laundry listing of poker superstars, one title was noticeably lacking.
“The one main title that was unable to be there when the petition was circulated was Phil Hellmuth,” McEvoy shared. “Phil would have gladly signed it, however one way or the other was not round after we have been amassing signatures. Phil was fully in favor of non-smoking tournaments as you’ll be able to nicely think about.”
A four-time bracelet winner, together with 1983 WSOP Foremost Occasion champ, in addition to co-author of over a dozen poker books, it wasn’t shocking to see McEvoy inducted into the Poker Corridor of Fame alongside Scotty Nguyen. Even so, getting poker tournaments to change into smoke free is amongst his best accomplishments.
“That was my best contribution to the poker world,” he mentioned. “On a private foundation, nothing can ever high successful the Foremost Occasion, adopted by getting inducted into the Poker Corridor of Fame. In fact, many different folks additionally have been instrumental in getting poker tournaments smoke free. With out the assistance of so many different distinguished folks within the poker world, it might not have occurred when it did.”
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Poker Gamers Who Liked to Smoke
Going again in poker historical past, there isn’t a scarcity of poker gamers who cherished to smoke. McEvoy knew all of them.
“Hamid Dastmalchi, the 1992 Foremost Occasion champion, was a really heavy smoker. He used to play marathon poker classes and at the least as soon as that I do know of he collapsed and needed to go to the hospital. His chain-smoking was the principle trigger. A number of different previous champions have been typically photographed with a cigarette or cigar of their mouth. Slim and Sailor with cigarettes and Puggy along with his cigar have been acquainted faces in lots of the previous black and white pictures.”
Likewise, McEvoy’s good good friend and co-author of 4 books, T.J. Cloutier, was additionally a heavy smoker.
“T.J., nonetheless, was very thoughtful of non-smokers that had an issue being across the smoke,” mentioned McEvoy. “T.J. was creating well being points due to his smoking and took the pledge in 2001. That was the identical 12 months the petition began circulating and he hasn’t smoked since.”
One other chain smoker was Chris Tsiprailidis.
“I really counted 29 cigarettes that he smoked whereas I used to be on the similar desk as him throughout a WSOP occasion,” McEvoy defined. “I used to be beginning to get sick as a result of it was coming straight at me. He began to get mad after I spoke up and cursed at me. He continued to berate me and mentioned he had been smoking since he was 14 years previous and he didn’t must give up for anybody … I’ve by no means had a single penalty in my total life, this argument was the closest I ever got here.”
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Getting the WSOP on Board
The primary smoke-free match in Nevada occurred at Sam’s City in 1999, which McEvoy hosted.
“It was so profitable it helped the smoke-free trigger immensely … the underside line is that the approval was overwhelming and the demand began to develop for extra of the identical,” mentioned McEvoy.
So, how did the WSOP change into smoke-free for the primary time in 2002?
As McEvoy instructed it: “Most of my conversations have been with Benny Binion Behan. He was a Horseshoe On line casino government in his twenties on the time and the grandson of the founder Benny Binion. The younger Benny favored to play poker and I received to know him after I went to work on the Horseshoe in 2001. He typically performed within the poker site and wasn’t a nasty participant, however may undoubtedly use some teaching.
“I requested him if he would assist me get his mother and father to conform to go non-smoking on the 2002 WSOP in alternate without spending a dime poker classes. He was a smoker himself however agreed to assist. So, his mom, who was in cost, agreed after speaking to each of us.”
Whereas getting that 12 months’s WSOP, and all subsequent editions, to go smoke-free was a hit, McEvoy’s time as an worker at Binion’s Horseshoe didn’t have such a contented ending.
“As to what the entire expertise was like working there – not nice. I used to say I used to be the Poker Room Supervisor at Binion’s for the worst 53 days of my life,” McEvoy defined. “I used to be then given one other title Director of Poker Operations at that time and labored on the scheduling of the 2002 WSOP.”
He continued: “I received my match schedule accepted, employed Matt Savage and Steve Morrow to be Event Administrators, received the match to go non-smoking for the primary time, after which was rewarded by getting fired sooner or later earlier than the WSOP began. This, in fact, value me my share of the tokes. They graciously allowed me to be a participant throughout the WSOP although.”
Not solely has McEvoy continued to play the WSOP every, he’s held onto that authentic petition for greater than twenty years.
“To at the present time I don’t know if any copies are in existence or not,” he mentioned of the petition that helped change poker historical past.
Is Smoking an Situation at 2023 WSOP?
Curiously, the subject of smoking not too long ago made the rounds on Poker Twitter. Whereas smoking is prohibited in match areas, the on line casino space nonetheless permits it and Felipe Ramos took to Twitter to specific his discontent.
https://twitter.com/FelipeMojave/standing/1673049815947825152
Others have been fast to weigh in together with Johnny “Vibes” Moreno, who mentioned: “I’ve seen that whenever you exit the ballroom at Paris there’s a visual cloud of smoke within the hallways. I assumed folks have been solely allowed to smoke within the on line casino and never within the hallways close to ballroom.”
Likewise, Andrew Neeme, who was not too long ago a visitor on The Chad & Jesse Poker Present, mentioned: “The smoke ranges at Horseshoe are thick. It additionally simply typically kinda baffles me that folks smoke indoors. The opposite day there was a line within the restroom (as all the time throughout tourney break) and dude was puffing away at a cigar in there. Wild stuff.”
Veronica Brill provided: “I agree, I feel I am allergic to it and find yourself being stuffed up each time I stroll via there. I additionally hate how I odor each time I’ve to stroll via there I odor horrible and I hate it a lot.”
Others to specific their dissatisfaction with the smoking scenario have been Dan Zack, Taylor Howard, Brian Hastings, Brian “The Golden Blazer” Frenzel, and Nick Palma.
Government Editor U.S.
Government Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
