American poker player Chip Reese dies at age 56

December 5, 2007 David Edward "Chip" Reese, an American professional poker player, died on December 4, 2007, at the age of 56. Reese died in his sleep at his Las Vegas, Nevada home from the effects of pneumonia.

Reese is generally considered a legend in the world of poker. In 1991, he became the youngest living player to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. His last major win came at the 2006 World Series of Poker, where he won US$1,784,640 in the HORSE event.

"Chip Reese was probably the most successful poker player in history," said Mike Sexton. "Chip has always been admired by players for his success, his demeanor at the table."

"I knew him for 35 years, I never saw him get mad or raise his voice," Doyle Brunson said. "He had the most even disposition of anyone I've ever met. He's certainly the best poker player that ever lived."

His career spanned multiple decades and Reese made the majority of his money when poker gained publicity through national television exposure starting around the turn of the century. Though he never won the "Main Event" in Texas hold'em at the World Series of Poker, Reese was very successful.

"He was a family man like no one else in poker," said fellow poker professional Barry Greenstein. "No matter what the situation was, if his kids had something going on &mdash; a baseball game, a recital, whatever &mdash; he would quit to go to it."

"Probably a lot of us were jealous of him that he was able to do that &mdash; that he had done well enough in poker, that he could always take time off of poker to be involved with his kids," Greenstein added.

Reese earned a degree from Dartmouth College and was accepted to law school at Stanford University, but he was drawn by the lure of big winnings and chose instead to earn his living at the poker table. He once told a reporter that law "doesn't have the same monetary incentive as poker."