Bill Boyd (poker player)

{{Short description|American poker player (1906–1997)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{infobox poker player

|name=Bill Boyd

|nickname=None

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|birth_date={{birth date|1906|1|27}}

|death_date={{death date and age|1997|11|21|1906|1|27}}

|hometown=McNeil, Arkansas

|wsop bracelet count=4

|wsop money finishes=4

|wsop main event best finish rank=None

|wsop main event best finish year=

|multi-year wsop winner=

|wpt titles=

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}}

William Walter Boyd (January 27, 1906 – November 21, 1997) was a professional poker player.

Boyd was a five-card stud player; he won all four of his World Series of Poker bracelets in five-card stud.{{Cite web |title=Bill Boyd |url=https://www.wsop.com/players/profile/?playerid=18182 |access-date=August 13, 2022 |website=WSOP.com}} Boyd, Doyle Brunson and Loren Klein are the only players in WSOP history to have won bracelets in four consecutive years.{{Cite web |date=June 20, 2019 |title=Loren Klein Wins 4th Bracelet in 4 Years; Claims $127,808 in Event #43: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet |url=https://www.pokernews.com/news/2019/06/loren-klein-wins-4th-wsop-bracelet-in-4-years-34548.htm |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=PokerNews.com |language=en}}

Additionally, Boyd is responsible for the spread of Omaha hold 'em. In 1983, Robert "Chip Burner" Turner approached Boyd, who was then the director of operations at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The game, being previously unnamed, was called Nugget hold 'em. Sometime later, it was renamed to its current name of "Omaha".{{cite web | last=Turner | first=Robert | title=The origins of Omaha Hi/Lo poker | website=Gaming Today | date=2014-11-04 | url=https://www.gamingtoday.com/news/the-origins-of-omaha-hi-lo-poker/ | access-date=2025-01-06}}

Boyd managed the card room at the Golden Nugget from the day it opened in 1946 until its closing in 1988.{{Cite web |date=November 24, 1997 |title=Legendary gambler Boyd dies |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/nov/24/legendary-gambler-boyd-dies/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=Las Vegas Sun |language=en}}

As a tribute to his long career, he was dealt the first poker hand ever at the Mirage. He was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame in 1981.

Boyd died in Las Vegas on November 21, 1997, at the age of 91.