Bill Bennett returned to Las Vegas this week at age 88 to compete in the WSOP Super Seniors event, nearly four decades after claiming poker history. Back in 1984, Bennett won the first Pot-Limit Omaha bracelet ever awarded at the World Series of Poker, defeating 108 players in a game he was still mastering at the time. The achievement makes Bennett a piece of PLO lore, yet the passage of decades has dimmed his memory of the victory itself.
The legendary pro played at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas during the current series, representing a rare return to the tournament grind for a man who witnessed the birth of organized PLO at poker's highest level. Bennett's 1984 win came during a pivotal moment in WSOP history, when Pot-Limit Omaha was establishing itself as a serious poker variant alongside Texas Hold'em. The fact that he learned the game while competing at that level speaks to both his skill and the relatively early stage of PLO's development as a tournament format.
The Super Seniors event attracts veteran players who have spent lifetimes in the game. Bennett's participation at 88 demonstrates the longevity and passion that defines the breed of players who built modern poker. His nearly-forgotten bracelet win remains a historical marker. Few players can claim involvement in a game's foundational tournament moments, yet Bennett's contribution to PLO's legitimacy at the WSOP often gets overlooked.
The story captures something essential about poker's long-form narrative. Players like Bennett shaped the game's structure during its explosive growth period in the 1980s. His bracelet sits in history's record books, even if he cannot fully recall capturing it. That disconnect between legacy and personal memory underscores how vast the poker timeline has become since those early WSOP days.