On Thursday, poker legend Doyle Brunson (pictured) Tweeted out some rather disappointing news about his health. From his Twitter handle, @texdolly, he notified the world, “Got my 3rd melanoma confirmed today. Early stages, should be simple operation. Fortunately, it’s on my head and everybody knows I’m hardheaded.”

Always one to lighten the mood no matter what the circumstance, Brunson added, “Simple or not, this will be my 12th major operation. Gonna play poker now because I always heard you get lucky right before you die.”

Brunson’s Tweets elicited plenty of response from poker pros all over the world, including Allen Kessler, who responded, “Best of luck with your surgery, Doyle.” Another player wrote, “Wish you the best and a quick recovery to you. I hope to see you at the WSOP this year!” Here’s Brunson’s Tweet:

According to CardPlayer, it’s questionable how much we’ll see Brunson at the WSOP in Las Vegas this year. The news site explained, “Even though he still plays cash games in Las Vegas, Brunson said last summer that he is likely done playing in any more WSOP Main Events. Brunson said that playing that many hours of poker in a row makes him feel ‘like a truck ran over me.'”

Brunson is tied with Phil Ivey and Johnny Chan for the second most number of WSOP bracelets won at 10 and took downthe Main Event in 1976 and 1977. In fact, his first six WSOP cashes were all for bracelets. His “Super/System” book series continues to inspire players around the world and he has remained very active in the industry despite his age and health issues.

We wish Brunson the best in his surgery and will be hoping for a quick recovery.

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