Remembering Poker Hall Of Famer Jack McClelland: ‘A Giant In Our Industry’

Jack McClelland, a 2014 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame and the only member known primarily for his work as a tournament director, died Monday at age 74. The exact cause of death was not revealed, but McClelland had battled health problems for several years and had spent the prior three weeks in the hospital, knowing the end was near.

“Jack was a giant in our industry. He was the best tournament director of all-time,” said fellow Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth in a video posted to social media. “He was just a pleasure to be around, a pleasure to talk to. You can ask anybody in poker, they’ll confirm that that’s the case.”

McClelland, an Ohio native and devoted fan of Ohio State University sports, was best known for his work as tournament director of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) from 1984 through the ‘90s, then as a consultant for the World Poker Tour (WPT) from its beginnings in 2002 until his retirement in 2013. The Tour gig overlapped with his 12 years running the Bellagio’s poker room.

“Thank you, Jack McClelland, for your service and unwavering passion for the game,” shared current WSOP CEO Ty Stewart in a statement. “A true poker man and even better gentleman. Whether as player, tournament director, or friend, everyone knew the poker room was made better by your presence.”

Finding his lane

Prior to entering the poker world, McClelland was a semi-professional bowler. He came to Las Vegas in 1976 and worked as a poker dealer at the Sahara before briefly trying to make a go of it as a poker pro and then getting the opportunity to work on the management side for the WSOP.

If there’s a famous WSOP hand from the ‘80s or ‘90s that you’ve seen on ESPN replays (or in the movie Rounders), McClelland is almost sure to be the tournament director working the microphone.

In addition to his tenures with the WSOP, the WPT, and the Bellagio, McClelland ran the Grand Prix of Poker at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, the U.S. Poker Open in Atlantic City, and assorted events at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles and Foxwoods in Connecticut.

He is also credited with helping start the trend of “high roller” tournaments with his suggestion to make the annual WPT World Championship a $25,000 buy-in during an era when the biggest tourneys mostly topped out at $10K.

As a player, McClelland racked up more than $550,000 in live tournament purses, most of it over the past decade, after he’d retired from the operations side and had more time to play. He cashed in 17 WSOP events over the years.

His biggest score came in the 2021 WSOP $10,000 seven-card stud event, in which he placed fifth out of 62 for $40,284. He also won a $200 hold’em event in L.A. in 2000, earning $33,966 for the first-place finish.

McClelland cashed in 16 tournaments in 2025, continuing to play right up until his health would no longer allow it.