Fred “Sarge” Ferris: WSOP Bracelet Winner and Poker Hall of Famer
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 1989
Fred “Sarge” Ferris was an American high-stakes gambler, World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Fame member whose career was rooted in the cash games and lowball action of poker’s early Las Vegas era.
Ferris won his only WSOP bracelet in 1980, capturing a $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event for $150,000. His influence on poker history also extended beyond his own tournament results: Ferris backed Stu Ungar in the 1980 WSOP Main Event, where Ungar won the first of his three Main Event championships.
As of September 3, 2026, the World Series of Poker lists Ferris with one bracelet, one WSOP cash, one final table and $150,000 in WSOP earnings. Historical tournament records place his overall recorded live winnings above $240,000, although the surviving tournament record represents only one part of a career built largely around high-stakes cash gambling.
⠀
Who Was Fred “Sarge” Ferris?
Fred Bernard “Sarge” Ferris was born in Waterville, Maine, in 1928 and became known primarily as a professional gambler rather than a tournament specialist.
The WSOP’s historical account of Poker Hall of Fame members describes Ferris as being of Lebanese descent and says he turned to professional gambling as a way out of the poverty of his youth. He eventually became part of the high-stakes gambling community associated with Las Vegas during the decades when tournament poker was still developing.
Ferris competed in an era when many of poker’s best-known players earned much of their reputations in private games, casino cash games and other forms of gambling rather than through large tournament schedules. That background helps explain why his official tournament statistics are modest compared with the reputation he held among his contemporaries.
⠀
Fred Ferris’s 1980 WSOP Bracelet
Ferris recorded the defining tournament victory of his career at the 1980 World Series of Poker.
On May 10, he won the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Rebuy event. The WSOP’s official player record lists 19 entries and a $150,000 first-place prize.
Deuce-to-seven lowball rewards players for making the lowest possible five-card hand under a ranking system in which straights and flushes count against the player and aces are high. The format became closely associated with many of the elite high-stakes gamblers of Ferris’s generation.
The victory gave Ferris his only WSOP bracelet. The current WSOP database also credits him with one career WSOP cash and one final table, meaning the bracelet victory accounts for his entire recorded WSOP tournament earnings total of $150,000.
⠀
A Reputation Built in High-Stakes Cash Games
Ferris’s tournament record does not fully explain his standing in poker history.
Accounts from players who competed during the same period portray him as an all-around gambler comfortable putting substantial money at risk. In a World Poker Tour account of Billy Baxter’s gambling stories, Baxter remembered Ferris as a fearless gambler who was willing to bet on poker, sports and other propositions.
That reputation placed Ferris among a generation of players whose careers were built as much around cash games as tournaments. His contemporaries included figures such as Doyle Brunson, another player whose career developed through the road-gambling and high-stakes cash-game world before the WSOP became poker’s dominant annual festival.
The same WPT account describes Ferris as someone who had enough standing and financial resources within that community to lend Brunson money during their earlier gambling years.
⠀
Fred Ferris and Stu Ungar’s 1980 WSOP Main Event
One of Ferris’s most important connections to poker history came through Stu Ungar.
Ungar arrived in Las Vegas with an extraordinary reputation as a gin player, but he had comparatively little experience with no-limit Texas Hold’em when he decided to enter the 1980 WSOP Main Event.
According to the World Poker Tour’s historical accounts, Ferris agreed to back Ungar’s $10,000 Main Event entry. Ungar then defeated the field to win the world championship in his first WSOP Main Event appearance.
The result became one of poker’s defining stories. Ungar successfully defended the Main Event championship in 1981 and later returned to win a third title in 1997.
Ferris therefore occupies an unusual place in Main Event history. He never won the championship himself, but his decision to stake Ungar helped launch one of the most celebrated Main Event careers the game has produced.
⠀
Continued Success in Deuce-to-Seven Lowball
Ferris’s strongest documented tournament results came in deuce-to-seven lowball.
Three years after his WSOP bracelet victory, historical tournament records credit him with another major lowball win at Amarillo Slim’s 1983 Super Bowl of Poker.
The repeated success in the same demanding variant supports Ferris’s reputation as an accomplished lowball player rather than someone whose bracelet resulted from a single isolated tournament run.
His results also reflect the poker environment of the period. Mixed games and draw variants played a much larger role in determining a player’s all-around reputation among high-stakes professionals than they would for many later tournament players whose careers centered primarily on no-limit Texas Hold’em.
⠀
The 1983 IRS Seizure at Binion’s Horseshoe
Ferris also became part of one of the more unusual stories from Las Vegas poker history.
An official WSOP historical profile states that Internal Revenue Service agents seized $46,000 in casino chips from Ferris while he was involved in a high-stakes game at Binion’s Horseshoe.
The episode contributed to the mythology surrounding Ferris, but its significance should not overshadow his poker accomplishments. His Hall of Fame standing rests on a broader reputation as a respected high-stakes gambler, lowball specialist and member of the generation that helped establish Las Vegas as the center of professional poker.
⠀
Poker Hall of Fame Induction
Ferris was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1989.
The official WSOP Poker Hall of Fame directory lists Fred “Sarge” Ferris among the 1989 inductees. The current Poker Hall of Fame historical directory also lists Ferris as a United States inductee from that year.
Ferris died in 1989 at age 60. CardPlayer’s historical reporting on the era states that he died of a heart attack.
His induction placed him among the important gamblers from poker’s pre-boom period, when reputation was built through years of high-stakes competition as well as through tournament trophies.
⠀
Fred “Sarge” Ferris’s Tournament Earnings
Ferris’s surviving tournament statistics require some context.
The WSOP currently credits him with $150,000 in career WSOP earnings, all from his 1980 bracelet victory.
The Hendon Mob’s historical player record is the principal tournament database associated with Ferris’s broader live results, and historical poker references based on those records place his recorded tournament winnings above $240,000.
Those figures should not be interpreted as a complete measure of his gambling career. Ferris played during a period when high-stakes cash games were central to professional poker and tournament schedules were far smaller than they are today.
⠀
Fred “Sarge” Ferris Career Highlights
Won the 1980 WSOP $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Rebuy event for $150,000.
Earned one World Series of Poker bracelet.
Was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1989.
Built a reputation as a high-stakes Las Vegas cash-game gambler and accomplished lowball player.
Backed Stu Ungar in the 1980 WSOP Main Event, which Ungar won.
Added another significant deuce-to-seven lowball victory at the 1983 Super Bowl of Poker.
Remains part of the generation that connected poker’s high-stakes gambling era with the developing World Series of Poker.
⠀
Fred Ferris’s Legacy in Poker
Ferris is remembered less for the volume of his recorded tournament results than for the standing he achieved among the high-stakes gamblers of his era.
His 1980 bracelet established his tournament credentials, particularly in deuce-to-seven lowball. His Hall of Fame induction recognized a career whose importance extended well beyond that single victory.
His connection to Stu Ungar adds another lasting dimension to the story. By backing Ungar’s first WSOP Main Event entry, Ferris played a supporting role in the emergence of a three-time world champion and one of poker’s most remarkable tournament careers.
More than three decades after his death, Ferris remains officially recognized as both a WSOP bracelet winner and a Poker Hall of Fame member, preserving his place in the history of American poker.
⠀
Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets did Fred “Sarge” Ferris win?
Fred “Sarge” Ferris won one World Series of Poker bracelet. He captured it at the 1980 WSOP.
⠀
What WSOP event did Fred Ferris win?
Ferris won the 1980 $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Rebuy event. The WSOP lists 19 entries and a $150,000 first-place prize.
⠀
How much did Fred Ferris win at the WSOP?
As of September 3, 2026, the WSOP lists Ferris with $150,000 in career WSOP earnings.
⠀
Did Fred Ferris ever win the WSOP Main Event?
No. Ferris did not win the WSOP Main Event. His best-known connection to the championship was backing Stu Ungar’s $10,000 entry in 1980, when Ungar won the first of his three Main Event titles.
⠀
What was Fred Ferris’s connection to Stu Ungar?
Ferris financially backed Stu Ungar’s entry into the 1980 WSOP Main Event. Ungar went on to win the tournament in his first Main Event appearance.
⠀
Was Fred “Sarge” Ferris a Poker Hall of Fame member?
Yes. Ferris was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1989.
⠀
How many WSOP Circuit rings did Fred Ferris win?
The WSOP lists Ferris with zero Circuit rings.
⠀
What type of poker was Fred Ferris known for?
Ferris was known as a high-stakes all-around gambler, with particularly notable tournament success in no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball.
⠀
Is Fred “Sarge” Ferris still alive?
No. Ferris died in 1989 at age 60. He remains recognized as a WSOP bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Fame member.