6-time WSOP bracelet winner Layne Flack dies at 52

Layne Flack, a six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and one of the early faces of the 2000s poker boom, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 52.

Details on his death were not available.

Tributes poured in on Twitter late Monday from his friends in the poker world. Phil Hellmuth, the all-time leader with 15 WSOP bracelets, posted a statement about “Legendary Layne Flack,” calling him “one of the biggest and best personalities in the poker world!”

“I’ll miss my quick witted, no holds barred, straight up friend,” Hellmuth said in part.

Flack had more than $5 million in career tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.

Flack won his first WSOP bracelet in May 1999 in the $3,000 buy-in Pot-limit Hold’em event, earning $224,400. (The WSOP awards trophy bracelets for its tournament victories.)

Two months later, he acquired the nickname “Back-to-Back Flack” after winning two tournaments in two days in Los Angeles.

Flack was at the top of his game and regarded as one of the best in the world in the early 2000s, winning two WSOP bracelets in 2002 and another two in 2003.

Flack claimed his last WSOP bracelet in 2008, earning his biggest career payday of $577,725 in a $1,500 Pot-limit Omaha event.

Only eight players in history have more WSOP bracelets than Flack.

Along with his considerable ability, Flack became a popular player on TV because of his friendly and talkative personality. Most of the tributes from poker players Monday revolved around Flack’s quick comebacks at the table and his fun-loving style.

“We go way back and I know that he would want us to share the laughs and not the tears,” poker pro Jennifer Harman said on Twitter. “There has never been one time that you haven’t put a smile on my face. I will miss you.”

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-o277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.