Sailor Roberts

{{infobox poker player

|name=Sailor Roberts

|nickname=Sailor

|image=SailorRoberts (cropped).jpg

|caption=Roberts at the 1979 World Series of Poker

|hometown=

|birth_date={{birth date|1931|3|7}}

|death_date={{death date and age|1995|6|23|1931|3|7}}

|wsop bracelet count=2

|wsop money finishes=3

|wsop main event best finish rank=Winner

|wsop main event best finish year=1975

}}

Bryan W. "Sailor" Roberts (March 7, 1931 – June 23, 1995){{Cite web |title=Bryan W Roberts |url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=roberts&firstname=bryan&start=21 |publisher=Social Security Death Index |quote=Bryan W Roberts 07 Mar 1931 Jun 23 1995 97223 (Portland, Washington, OR) (none specified) 543-32-2048 Oregon |accessdate=July 31, 2009}} was an American professional poker player.

Biography

Before becoming a poker professional, Roberts was a rounder and traveled the country looking for games with Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim.[http://www.famous-poker-players.com/sailor-roberts-poker-pioneer Sailor Roberts: Poker Pioneer]. Famous Poker Players. In addition to his career as a poker player, he was also a renowned contract bridge player.[http://gaming.unlv.edu/WSOP/player_bios78.html World Series of Poker: A Retrospective - Early Player Bios]. Center for Gaming Research.

Roberts participated in the first World Series of Poker in 1970 along with Amarillo Slim, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson, Crandell Addington, and Carl Cannon.{{Cite web |title=World Series of Poker: A Retrospective: 1970 Summary |url=http://gaming.unlv.edu/WSOP/annual/1970.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813162800/https://gaming.library.unlv.edu/WSOP/annual/1970.html |archive-date=August 13, 2022 |access-date=November 29, 2018 |website=University of Nevada, Las Vegas}} Roberts won his first WSOP bracelet at the 1974 World Series of Poker in the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event. He won the 1975 World Series of Poker Main Event, gaining his second and final WSOP bracelet and $210,000.{{Cite web |date=May 19, 1975 |title='Sailor Roberts' celebrates his triumph at poker table |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JAcQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9o4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6952,2819384 |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=Ellensburg Daily Record|via=Google News|agency=UPI}}

Roberts earned his nickname "Sailor" for having served in the United States Navy during the Korean War.

Roberts died on June 23, 1995, from cirrhosis caused by hepatitis.

He was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2012.{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Julio |date=October 18, 2012 |title=Eric Drache and Brian 'Sailor' Roberts To Be Inducted Into Poker Hall Of Fame - Poker News |url=https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/14262-eric-drache-and-brian-sailor-roberts-to-be-inducted-into-poker-hall-of-fame |access-date=November 29, 2018 |website=Card Player |language=en}}