Berry Johnston

Rarely does Oklahoma produce poker players of world championship caliber, but when it does, you can pretty much guarantee they all look to Berry Johnston for inspiration. Born in 1935, Johnston showed little interest in the game until age 35, when he chose to hedge his bets and seek his fortune in Las Vegas. Johnston whipped up the competition with a series of high profile victories along the Strip, however, did not formally enter the World Series of Poker until 1980.

A memorable time for many on the World Series of Poker circuit, 1982 was also the year Berry Johnston notched up his first major high finish win, running in third behind Dewey Tomko and Jack Strauss with $104,000. At the 14th World Series of Poker 1983, Johnston secured himself first place against the highly anticipated Ray Zee during a Match Play event, scoring the first of five WSOP bracelets. Berry followed up with a first at the Big Dance 1984, scooping a huge $540,000 in tournament cash. Gracious in victory as well as defeat, Berry Johnston became one of the most prominent and lovable figures in WSOP history, affectionately dubbed the “grandfather of poker” by contemporaries on the Vegas circuit.

Berry Johnston won the remainder of his bracelets between 1993-2001, his fourth from a $1,500 Limit Omaha tournament and his final at the 32nd WSOP 2001, in a $1,500 Razz. He continues to hold the record for the most cash-outs in a main event game (10), additionally noted for making it to over 30 final tables at WSOP. In 2004, Berry Johnston was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame by WSOP and continues to play annually at each and every Vegas tournament event. Johnston's most recent WSOP appearance was in January 2011 at Choctaw, Durant; he came away 50th from a $1,600 No-Limit Hold'em event, adding $3,700 to his $3.4 million live tournament fortune.