JOHNNY MOSS

”Johnny Moss was a great player back in his day. When he was 50, I thought he was the best player I'd ever seen. And then he reached 70 and 80, and he lost it.”
Doyle Brunson on Johnny Moss (in an interview with Nolan Dalla)

With a total of 8 gold bracelets, and World Championship victories in 1970, 1971 and 1974, Johnny Moss is a true poker legend. And despite Doyle Brunson’s opinion above, he did win his last World Championship at the age of 67, after which he continued to win bracelets at the ages 68, 69, 72, 74 and 81.

Besides his three World Championships, Moss is most famous for his semi-private tournament with Nicholas "Nick the Greek" Dandolos in 1949.

Dandolos had been travelling to Las Vegas to play high stakes poker, and he asked a certain Benny Binion to arrange a truly high stakes game. Dandolos and Moss ended up playing for five months with other players joining occasionally until they got cleaned by Dandolos and Moss. But Moss consistently won over Dandolos. In the end Dandolos lost between two and four million dollars and ended the game with the legendary poker quote: "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go."

Johnny Moss’ career is also proof of the amazing development we have seen in poker. In his 1971 World Championship win he received $30,000. Three years later it was $160,000. And today the winners receive several millions.

Johnny Moss died in 1997 at the age of 90.

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