Champion's Ring - Commissioner’s Coins
Epic Poker Champion's Ring and Commissioner's Coin
Epic Poker is creating a new tradition in poker and the standards for success are high. Inherent in any tradition is a sense of ritual and celebration – and commemoration. GOOD ART HLYWD is Epic’s partner in this effort and has designed the Epic Poker Champion’s Ring, which will be awarded to the winner of each Main Event, and the Commissioner’s Coin, which will be awarded to each of the Pro/Am “wild card” seat winners.
Epic Poker is mindful and respectful of the great traditions that already exist in the poker community and sought to create something unique. “We wanted to give out something special, but obviously not a bracelet,” Duke explained. “We set out to create a wearable trophy that players would be proud to win and wear.”
Josh Warner’s company GOOD ART proved equal to the task. Each eighteen-karat white-gold ring will be custom made by Warner following the event. The ring, a prototype of which is pictured here, has the Epic logo in front and the Palms Casino Resort logo on one side. The other side will have the name and date of the event, the winner’s initials, and the cards from the winning hand. According to Duke, “GOOD ART has been a visionary partner in the design process of both the coins and the ring.”
Epic Poker is lucky to have the association. Federated Sports + Gaming Executive Chairman Jeffrey Pollack, who visited Warner’s workshop, was awed by the quality of the work, creativity, and attention to detail. “Josh Warner isn’t just a jeweler. He’s an artisan,” he said. “His work reflects not only our focus on quality, but our sense of style.”
The Pro/Am is the only chance for non-League members to play Epic Poker Main Events. Because those seats are limited and Epic Poker members play at least one Pro/Am per season, the winners have accomplished something rare and difficult. Each of the nine Main Event seat winners will receive a sterling silver Commissioner’s Coin. Warner makes just nine per event and each is inscribed with the date the recipient earned it.
Commissioner Annie Duke: “I challenged Josh to come up with something that compared to one of my most cherished memories in poker. The first time I played in the World Series of Poker, in 1994, it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Series. If you cashed in an event, Jim Albrecht, who ran the World Series with Horseshoe owner Jack Binion and tournament director Jack McClelland, gave you a silver bar, which came inside a little velvet bag.”
Duke cashed in the first event that year and carried the silver bar around in cash games between events. Annie was stricken when the silver bar disappeared. “I went to Jim Albrecht totally heartbroken. ‘I’ll never win another one.’ Jim went in back and gave me silver bar to replace the one I lost. As it turned out, I cashed in another event at that Series and in the Main Event, so I got three of them. I still have them, and I challenged Josh to duplicate what was for me a very personal and special experience.”
“He came back with the design for the Commissioner’s Coins.”
