This week, the sports world - and the world as a whole - lost an icon when Dr. Jerry Buss passed away after a long battle with cancer. The much-beloved majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers brought 10 championships to the city and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and enshrined as a contributor to the sport.

But it wasn't only the basketball world that lost this larger-than-life figure, the poker world has also mourned this loss. Buss was an avid poker player, friend and fan, and was a regular on the California poker scene since the early 80s and placed third in the 1991 World Series of Poker seven-card stud event. He entered the national spotlight when he took 2nd place in the WPT Celebrity Invitational in 2003 and followed that up with appearances on NBC's Poker After Dark, the $25k National Heads-Up Championship and GSN's High Stakes Poker.

This Saturday, February 23, many of the biggest names in poker from around the world, including 13-time WSOP champ Phil Hellmuth and WPT Host Mike Sexton, will be paying tribute to Jerry Buss at the commencement of the World Poker Tour LA Poker Classic, a filmed for national TV event, held at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. The tribute will begin at 11:45AM.

The specially dedicated Shuffle Up and Deal will celebrate and honor the impact Jerry Buss made on the poker world.

Buss played the WPT LA Poker Classic multiple times throughout the 11 years that the event has taken place - Seasons 3, 4 and 6 - and also played the WPT Celebrity Invitational - Seasons 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9 - and WPT Legends of Poker Season 4.

http://blog.worldpokertour.com