LAKE ELSINORE: Poker champion looking for one more bracelet
Former Temecula resident Jerry Yang prepping for 2008 world series, while giving away some of his 2007 winnings
By AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer | ∞
LAKE ELSINORE ---- Jerry Yang was in Reno recently, playing in a poker tournament, when one of his opponents made a comment.
Maybe it was just idle chatter at the table. Maybe it was an attempt to get under Yang's skin.
Yang, a former Temecula resident, called it a joke, "nothing serious."
The guy told Yang ---- the winner of the 2007 World Series of Poker's marquee event, the no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament ---- that he will have to win a second one to prove that he's "really good."
Winning the world series netted Yang more than $8 million. He defeated more than 6,300 challengers who paid the $10,000 buy-in or won a satellite tournament to earn entry.
The native Hmong, who fled Laos for a Thai refugee camp when he was a child, is set for life and he's been using some of the winnings to help out members of his family back in Laos. He's given 10 percent of the $8 million to U.S. charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and Feed The Children.
He's joined an exclusive club that includes poker legends such as Doyle Brunson, Stu Unger and Johnny Chan, the last man to win back-to-back championships.
Yang, a 40-year-old psychologist and married father of six, has a new house near Fresno and new sponsorships and he might be kicking out the first ball at a San Jose Earthquakes soccer game. He said he's hoping to wear a jersey with the number 88, a reference to the pair of eights that helped him win millions of chips during the tournament's final table.
"The Shadow," as Yang is known in poker circles, has got it made and an opponent is telling him that he needs to win again to be "really good"? He's proven it already, hasn't he?
Thing is, Yang kind of agrees with the Reno guy.
"You can't just win one and expect to be respected right away," Yang said during a recent phone interview. "I would love to win a World Poker Tour title and at least one more bracelet."
The bracelet Yang is referring to is given to winners of a World Series of Poker event. Brunson has won 10 bracelets and Phil Hellmuth won 11. And they're still playing, trying to pad their totals and sell more how-to videos and books.
That sort of competition ---- never mind the legion of "donkeys" (bad players) going all in on a whim ---- will make getting that second bracelet tough, but Yang said he is ready for the challenge.
"It's going to be a tough tournament. I've got a huge target on my back. I need to play my best," he said.
The 2008 World Series of Poker's Texas Hold 'Em tournament starts June 3. And Yang will be there to defend his title.
In late May, about a week before the Las Vegas event, the Lake Elsinore Hotel and Casino will be staging the first Jerry Yang No Limit Hold 'Em Tournament Series, five days of poker tournaments starting on Wednesday and finishing Sunday.
The series is the first tournament Yang has endorsed.
He said he picked the Lake Elsinore Hotel and Casino because of his history with the card room there.
Yang, who moved to the U.S. with his family in 1979, busted out of a tournament at the Lake Elsinore card room before he drove to the Pechanga Resort & Casino and won a satellite tournament there that same day. Winning that satellite event secured Yang a seat in the World Series' main event.
Before he left for Vegas, Yang picked up a bunch of hats and T-shirts from the Lake Elsinore Casino, which sponsored him during the event.
"The Lake Elsinore folks there are great: Pat, Kurt, Jim. It's very homey. I like the fact they treat the patrons with courtesy," Yang said.
Pat Wilmes, a Lake Elsinore Hotel and Casino manager, said the feeling is mutual. The casino has a great relationship with the champ and Wilmes said he has tons of fans in the area.
Wilmes, during a recent interview, said he still remembers the call he received the morning when Yang won the World Series.
He had a message on his phone: "This is the new world series champion. Give me a call back."
During a recent visit to the casino, Yang said everyone was very, very kind.
"They accepted me well," he said.
He stopped by the casino, late last month, while he was in Southern California for a charity event hosted by Feed The Children, a Long Beach charity that provides food and care packages for needy families.
During the event, Yang personally handed out toys to underprivileged children. He also made sure that two truckloads of food and personal care items were sent to Riverside, a nod to his time in Southwest County.
Helping children is especially important to Yang, who lived in a Thailand refugee camp with his family when he was young. Two of his siblings died during his four years in the camp, an experience Yang called "traumatic."
While his work with various charities is a priority, Yang is still playing poker.
He has found that some of his opponents respect his play, taking him seriously when he places a large bet or goes all in.
"Which is good for me," Yang said.
Other players want to nail that target on his back. They want the honor of beating a World Series champ.
"They want to brag to their friends," Yang said. "It goes both ways."
Before he heads to Vegas for his title defense, he plans to exercise and meditate and get his mental game ready.
As for the question of whether Yang needs to win another title to prove he's "really good," an Internet forum on www.pokerparked.com/bluffpoker.com asks the loaded question: "Yang a worthy winner?"
Some of the people posting on the site contend Yang's competitors made some boneheaded plays, which helped him win the title. Others said he was merely lucky.
Yang also has supporters on the site who say he was the most aggressive player at exactly the right time.
One man summed up Yang's play and his place in history in seven words:
"He played to win. Plain and simple."
Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com. Comment at www.californian.com.
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Baseball wrote on Apr 6, 2008 8:58 PM:You are not a good journalist, nor are you a good researcher. The last man to win back to back main event titles was Johnny Chan, NOT Stu Unger. Stu Unger is the only three time winner. He won in 80, 81, and 97. You would figure you or your editor would have caught that. You should have just written a fiction piece. If that's the case just put that I won the title last year.
pokerplayer wrote on Apr 6, 2008 10:29 PM:good too see him give back to the community, class act!
CJMacManUSA wrote on Apr 7, 2008 10:57 AM:Reply to Baseball's comment(s):
While errors are human, in the history books Unger is most noted for being a 3 time winner and is often overlooked for winning back-to-back in 80 & 81 but if you look at the facts that really count Unger beat 72 othere players in 80, 74 players in 81 and 311 players in 97. Chan beat 151 players in 87 and 166 players in 88. My point is Jerry Yang only beat 6,357 players. The odds tell the real story, so if a story is written that you feel is fiction and you won I can only conclude that there was only one person in that tournament, you.
Gina wrote on Apr 7, 2008 10:57 AM:To Baseball...gosh you are harsh! Don't be such a hater :-/
Tough Crowd wrote on Apr 7, 2008 12:10 PM:Whoever really cares if it was Johnny or Stu ...
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