Now and Then with Perry Green
Perry Green has won three World Series of Poker gold bracelets, all earned during the 1970s. However, it’s the one he narrowly missed which for which he’s most remembered.
In 1981, Green held the chip lead at one point in the WSOP Main Event Championship. He ended up finishing second on that historic occasion to the late Stu Ungar, regarded by many as one of the greatest poker players in history. However, Green outlasted Ungar and most of his peers in a far more significant pursuit. In the bigger game of life where the stakes are truly most meaningful, Green remains one of poker’s greatest champions.
To say that Green has lived an adventurous 79 years would be a gross understatement. After all, how many Jewish-born fur traders from Alaska do you know with three poker titles on their resume? How many poker players of his age are still going strong competing among players who could very well be his own grandchildren?
Even on the cusp of becoming an octogenarian Green shows no signs of slowing down. A couple of years ago, thirty years after that famous second-place finish to Ungar, Green outlasted more than 6,000 players in the Main Event Championship, coming in 152nd — no small feat. He’s already cashed three times this year, as well — including a few days ago when this photo showing a smiling Green was taken just as he made the money.
Way to go, Perry Green!
Here’s an article by Martin Derbyshire at PokerNews with some of Green’s remembrances of what the WSOP used to be like more than four decades ago.