Legendary Texas road gambler and Poker Hall of Famer Crandell Addington has passed at the age of 85. Addington, a Graham, Texas native, was one of the central figures in no-limit hold'em in the early years of the World Series of Poker, and he set an unmatchable record by making the final table of what is today known as the WSOP's Main Event in seven consecutive years during the '70s.
Crandell was honored for his contributions to the WSOP and to the growth and popularity of no-limit hold'em by being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2005. Pictured above at far right, at the 2012 PHOF induction ceremony of Eric Drache and Sailor Roberts, Addington was, as always, stylishly attired in the way that earned him the nickname "Dandy". (Addington accepted the PHOF award on behalf of Roberts.)
Addington never won the Main Event nor any other WSOP bracelet, though he did finish as the runner-up three times, in 1974, 1976, and 1978. His largest known tournament win came at the 1969 Texas Gamblers Reunion in Reno, Nevada, which served as the blueprint for the launch of the WSOP the following year. Addington was one of the seven participants in that original 1970 WSOP, where the winner (Johnny Moss) was decided by vote among the seven players.
Addington returned to Texas to pursue business interests
Though Addington was among numerous Texas road gamblers who relocated to Nevada to take part in the no-limit hold'em boom, he turned out not to be a poker lifer. Instead, the Southwestern University grad returned to the San Antonio area and launched his own oil-industry startup, Addington Enterprises, the first of several entrepreneurial endeavors. He returned occasionally to the WSOP, however, and he logged his final recorded WSOP cash in the 1989 Main Event where Phil Hellmuth ended Johnny Chan's dreams of a three-peat.
