At today’s official gold bracelet ceremony, Chad Brown was awarded an honorary World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
Here’s the speech that WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel delivered onstage in front of a packed tournament room that fell eerily silent:
BEFORE WE PROCEED IN HONORING TODAYS CHAMPIONS, WE ASK EACH OF YOU TO PLEASE GIVE US YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION FOR A VERY IMPORTANT BRACELET CEREMONY.
OF COURSE, WINNING A WSOP BRACELET IS ONE OF THE WAYS A POKER PLAYER CAN CREATE THEIR LEGACY. TO MAKE SURE THEY WILL BE REMEMBERED BY THEIR PEERS.
BUT IT IS NOT THE ONLY WAY.
SOMETIMES THERE ARE SPECIAL PEOPLE THAT COME AROUND AND TRANSCEND THAT TRADITIONAL SCORECARD.
A PERSON WHO STANDS FOR SOMETHING. LIKE INTEGRITY, HONOR – AND FRIENDSHIP. A PERSON WHO IS POSITIVE, WARM, AND RESPECTFUL. A PERSON WHO ALWAYS MADE THE GAME BETTER JUST BY BEING AROUND THE TABLE.
A PERSON, LIKE CHAD BROWN.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, CHAD HAS BEEN BATTLING SERIOUS ILLNESS BACK IN NEW YORK AND IS NOW UNDER HOSPICE CARE.
THROUGHOUT HIS JOURNEY HE HAS BEEN HELPING MANY OF US GET PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE AND WHEN IT THROWS YOU BAD BEATS. I WANT TO SHARE SOME OF CHADS OWN WORDS.
“I view my situation like a poker hand. There are only so many correct plays that you can make, and you can make the best play and still lose. But we all have a choice when it comes to how we want to feel about what’s going on in our lives. If you want to feel like a victim, that’s your choice. I choose not to. I don’t feel like a victim. I feel very blessed with the life that I’ve had.”
I KNOW MANY OF US FEEL BLESSED TO HAVE CROSSED PATHS WITH CHAD BROWN.
IT NOW SEEMS A CERTAINTY THAT CHAD WILL NEVER AGAIN PLAY IN THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER OR ANY TOURNAMENT SETTING.
SO TODAY, THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER FAMILY WOULD LIKE TO AWARD CHAD BROWN AN HONORARY BRACELET.
WITH A THIRD AND TWO SECOND PLACE FINISHES ON THE RESUME, WE KNOW IT WAS JUST GOING TO BE A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE WE WERE HANDING YOU THIS.
SO CHAD BUDDY, KEEP FIGHTING AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING MUCH OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME WITH THOSE OF US IN THE POKER COMMUNITY.
WE MISS YOU AND MORE THAN ANYTHING, WE WISH YOU WERE HERE.
VIDEO COURTESY OF WSOP.COM
READ: More on Chad Brown
