Tom McEvoy is an American poker player who won the 1983 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He is a four-time WSOP bracelet-winner and in 2013, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
"I consider this the highest honor a poker player can receive next to winning the Main Event of the World Series of Poker," he said at the time. "I feel both deeply honored and humbled to be included with all the other poker greats."
Biography
Born in 1944, McEvoy spent most of his life as an accountant. However, he took up poker in the late 70s and first cashed at the WSOP in 1982.
That year he won the Amarillo Slim Super Bowl of Poker and the following year he won his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,000 Limit Hold'em. It was also the same year that he won the Main Event for $540,000. This was only the second time the tournament attracted more than 100 entries.
Related: Tom McEvoy Reflects on Early Days of the World Series of Poker Main Event
His other bracelet wins were in the $1,000 Limit Razz event in 1986 and in 1992’s $1,500 Omaha Limit event. These two victories helped Tom add a further $121,600 to total live earnings of over $3 million.
In 2006, McEvoy won the third-ever Professional Poker Tour for $225,000. McEvoy won the inaugural WSOP Champions Invitational in 2009, winning a classic 1970 Corvette after defeating 2002 Main Event champion Robert Varkonyi heads-up.
In 2017, his Main Event bracelet was put up for sale on eBay.
Smoking in Casinos
McEvoy is credited with convincing casinos to stop allowing players to smoke at the tables. In 1998, he organized the first tournament where smoking was not allowed. Four years later, he convinced the WSOP to make the tournament non-smoking.
WSOP Main Event Winners 1974-83
| YEAR | ENTRIES | CHAMPION | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 108 | Tom McEvoy | United States | $540,000 |
| 1982 | 104 | Jack Straus | United States | $520,000 |
| 1981 | 75 | Stu Ungar | United States | $375,000 |
| 1980 | 73 | Stu Ungar | United States | $385,000 |
| 1979 | 54 | Hal Fowler | United States | $270,000 |
| 1978 | 42 | Bobby Baldwin | United States | $210,000 |
| 1977 | 34 | Doyle Brunson | United States | $340,000 |
| 1976 | 22 | Doyle Brunson | United States | $220,000 |
| 1975 | 21 | Brian Roberts | United States | $210,000 |
| 1974 | 16 | Johnny Moss | United States | $160,000 |
