Doyle Brunson Receives First Ever EPL Lifetime Tour Card

In a first for the fledgling professional poker organization, the Epic Poker League has decided to award Doyle Brunson with a lifetime tour card. The decision to do so was based on the legendary poker player’s lifetime of success in tournament poker, and in honor of everything Brunson had done to help the game of poker.

“The modern history of poker is Doyle’s life,” said Jeffrey Pollack, the Executive Chairman of Federated Sports and Gaming, the parent company of the EPL.

Before Brunson was awarded the special tour card, he was currently eligible for EPL events under the 2-Year “Category A” card, which would have allowed him to continue playing through 2013. Brunson had met the requirements for this card due to having over $2 million in “adjusted lifetime earnings,” as well as having far more than the one required lifetime major tournament titles and at least six cashes for a total of $300,000 since 2008.

While Brunson has not been as active on the tournament circuit in recent years, his achievements are nearly unparalleled in the poker world. Brunson has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, including two consecutive wins in the Main Event.

Brunson said that while it was unnecessary, he was still appreciative of the honorary tour card.

“It’s unnecessary but I guess it’s nice to be remembered for what we went through to get poker to this point,” Brunson told The Associated Press.

Brunson has yet to play in an EPL tournament, and says he’s unlikely to play in many in the future.

“As I’m getting older, these tournaments are getting too hard to come through,” Brunson said. “It’s probably not worth it to me anymore to really go on the tournament grind, so I don’t plan on playing a whole lot of tournaments...I much prefer to play cash games.”

If Texas Dolly does decide to change his mind, his first chance to play in an EPL event with his lifetime membership will come this Wednesday, as the 3^rd EPL event of the league’s first season will begin then. The tournament will features a Mix-Max format similar to the one seen at the WSOP Europe, with tournaments beginning 8-handed but tables shrinking as the tournament goes on, ending with a best two-out-of-three heads up match.