Poker Pro, Venture Capitalist Perry Friedman Dead at 55

Submitted by Ace King on

Written by :

Ace King

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A popular poker player has died at the age of 55 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

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Perry Friedman passed away this week.  He was a WSOP bracelet winner and member of the "Tiltboys" crew.

Perry was actually the first employee hired at Tiltware, the software company used by Full Tilt Poker.

Over his career, Perry had amassed over $1.1 million in live tournament winnings, including a big win at the 2002 World Series of Poker.

Record WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmeth offered his sympathy after learning of Perry's untimely death.

"Horrible news!! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time spent w Perry Friedman, on-and-off, the poker tables. Perry was a great guy, by all accounts, who was always smiling, joking and infecting others w his contagious laughter. He would bring things like 'lighted hats,' Tuxedos, and “sock puppets” to the table. He would unleash the sock puppet in the middle of a hand against you! One time in about 1999, Perry and his lovable crew, the 'TiltBoys' decided to host the official World Championships of 'Rochambeau' ('rock, paper, scissors').

It was a $500 buy in, and they invited me and @themouthmatusow to play. Mikey and I gladly accepted!! We agreed in advance to inform the Guinness Book of World Records of the results. I didn’t think there was any skill in Rochambeau, and I made the Final Four (of like 16 players). Now, in the Final Four, in a match against Perry, he smoked me whilst giving me a running commentary on why I chose what I threw, 'Phil, everyone chooses Rock or paper for their first throw, then…' After our match, I believed that there was skill in Rochambeau, and later found that their are patterns that amateur players consistently employ (there is skill!)."

- Ace King, Gambling911.com

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