| First-time Amateur Gerry Drehobl Demolishes World’s Top Poker Pros in Epic Marathon Victory
This proves that if you have a passion for something and dedicate yourself to it, you can succeed at it.
-- Gerry Drehobl (after winning 2004 WSOP Event #7)
It’s a story that’s been told a thousand or more times, but never gets old. David slays Goliath. Rocky defeats Apollo Creed. Moneymaker triumphs. The latest giant-killer is named GERRY DREHOBL, the owner of a small aviation-related business in Spokane, WA. Incredibly, DREHOBL began playing poker only six months ago. When he came to Las Vegas this year to play in his first major poker tournament, no one, not even DREHOBL himself could have possibly imagined the most implausible of poker victories. DREHOBI overcame immeasurable odds and defeated a huge field of 537 players – including former world champions Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth, Huck Seed, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson – en route to his first tournament victory and a whopping payout of $365,900 in prize money. In fact, the total prize pool of over $1.2 million dollars is now the second event to exceed a million dollars in prize money.
Even more remarkable was DREHOBL’s crafty performance at the final table – against what was undoubtedly one of the toughest and most colorful in recent memory. Poker’s explosion has created huge tournament fields, which, in turn, have made final tables reminiscent of the old game show, “What’s My Line?” Fact is, most final tables are now comprised of relatively unknown players, and with each passing event we are introduced to several new poker personalities. But this table was different for many reasons.
First, there were a number of poker “superstars” present in the finale – well known players sure to attract attention. In a sense, it was a dream table for the ESPN broadcast crew, which televised the event for expected showing during the summer, enticing hundreds of spectators to gather on the second floor of the Horseshoe Casino-Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Those in attendance were fortunate enough to witness poker history being made by a 49-year-old first-time poker player and consummate underdog.
Play began at 5:30 pm PST. The first key hand of the night took place when PAUL PHILLIPS took pocket kings up against JOHN JUANDA's pocket 8s. The kings prevailed, and PHILLIPS quickly doubled up to $120K.
BRIAN STRAHL was the first player to go out when he lost with pocket 5s. An ace on the flop gave JOHN JUANDA top pair with A-J, and it was all over for STRAHL, a 29-year-old poker player from Atlantic City, who was playing at his third final table dating back to 2003. STRAHL collected $25,240.
When asked if he could have possibly avoided elimination by not committing all his chips with the pocket 5s, STRAHL responded, “If I did everything right, I would still be over there playing.”
The elimination of one player from the final table was significant for one bizarre reason. Chip-leader DANIEL NEGREANU had reportedly made 27 re-buys in this event (essentially investing $28,000 in himself to win), which meant that the two-time bracelet winner would need at least an 8th-place finish to ensure a profit. With STAHL’s departure, now NEGREANU would be guaranteed a profit.
LEE MARKHOLT had been primarily responsible for knocking out the "Professor" of tournament poker, Howard Lederer, when there were just ten players remaining. Accordingly, Lederer finished on the “TV bubble.” About an hour into the final table, MARKHOLT had about $100K and blinds were $3K-6K. He found A-Q and announced "all in" after RAM VASWANI had made an initial raise with pocket kings. The pair cowboys became the four horsemen of the apocalypse when the final board showed K-9-9-K-x. Quad kings was massive overkill, and MARKHOLT took his place on the rail as the 8th place finisher. He received $37,860.
“I had a pretty short stack and had to make a move,” MARKHOLT said afterward.
“A-Q was the best hand I found, so I had to go with it. With a short-stack, you don’t have a lot of decisions to make.”
Down to seven, RAM “CRAZY HORSE” VASWANI was low on chips. The pro poker player is part of the “Hendon Mob,” a group of four top London-based players who have terrorized the European circuit with their poker skills for nearly a decade. However, CRAZY HORSE wasn’t able to corral his opponents at this final table and was bucked off the final table in 7th place – good for 50 grand.
Chip leader NEGREANU continued to add to his chip castle. As he stacked yet another pot, he was taunted incessantly by the player on his immediate right – MIKE “MOTORMOUTH” MATUSOW. "You're my hero," MOTORMOUTH snarled in jest. "There's nothing like beating a hero up” – which evoked laughter from the standing room only crowd.
About an hour later, it was NEGREANU who got to laugh when he busted REGGIE “THE WRECKER” CARDIEL. The flop came Q-Q-3 and CARDIEL was the aggressor on the hand, betting $45K. NEGREANU smooth called. A five on the turn put two diamonds on board, and CARDIEL bet out again. NEGREANU called. A third diamond fell on the river, and CARDIEL checked. NEGREANU moved "all in" with Q-J and CARDIEL called reluctantly with 10-10. That was a big mistake, since NEGREANU had trip queens. THE WRECKER was towed away from the final table in 6th place with $63,080.
“You can’t complain about winning sixty thousand dollars,” CARDIEL stated. “But when you get so close to the really big money, then it’s a big disappointment.”
The circus sideshow between NEGREANU and MOTORMOUTH continued. At one point, Tournament Director Matt Savage listed DANIEL NEGREANU's impressive tournament resume, to which MOTORMOUH replied, "Do we have to listen to this again?" Moments later, MOTORMOUTH took another verbal jab at NEGREANU when he barked out, "I remember the last tournament we played (together), I busted you! You remember that, don’t you, Daniel?" More laughter. Even NEGREANU was smiling.
More table madness: As NEGREANU continued to increase his chip lead, MOTORMOUTH squawked, “Don’t get used to stacking those chips, Daniel. Those chips are on temporary loan.”
But there were some serious moments, too. MOTORMOUTH caught a huge break when he tried to make a move with A-4 and got called by JOHN JUANDA with A-J. MOTORMOUTH was “all in” and looked to be in a horrible position shape before the flop – essentially drawing to a three-outer (fours). The MOTORMOUTH’s jaws stopping flapping for an instant as he hoped for a miracle. An act of divine intervention gave MOTORMOUTH a four on the flop, and the colorful Las Vegas pro was granted a temporary reprieve.
Unfortunately, MOTORMOUTH lost everything a short time later. MOTORMOUTH flopped top pair with kings and made a large bet, which was called by dot.com dilettante, PAUL PHILLIPS. The sandal-wearing winner of several major tournaments and emerging poker celebrity caught a flush on the turn. When PHILLIPS bet out on the river, it was enough to put MOTORMOUTH “all in.” MOTORMOUTH called and showed two pair. No good. PHILLIPS’ hand won and MOTORMOUTH took $75,700 as the 5th place finisher.
“They were all moving in, and I didn’t want to play many hands. I was hoping they would break each other….On the last hand I had two pair and I knew (Paul Phillips) didn’t have a set, so I called with the rest of my chips. Of course, that was a mistake,” said MIKE “MOTORMOUTH” MATUSOW.
After a break, blinds increased to $4K-8K. JOHN JUANDA was the first player to deal a serious blow to NEGREANU’s chip lead, when he made top pair with jacks and was called reluctantly by NEGREANU with pocket 8s. The hand essentially put all four finalists close in chips, and the outcome seemed wide open. GERRY DREHOBL sat quietly most of the evening, absorbing the unfolding drama around him. For the most part, he assumed a conservative strategy and played far fewer hands than his three “world class” opponents.
But DREHOBI suddenly came alive on a big hand when he was dealt Q-Q. DREHOBL made it $40K, and JUANDA called. PHILLIPS, with 8-8 moved "all in." DREHOBL moved "all in" over the top, and had more than enough chips to cover PHILLIPS. JUANDA thought, then folded, and showed A-J. The crowd gasped when the flop came A-10-6 (which would have paired JUANDA's ace) and watched as two successive blanks fell on the turn and river -- resulting in a $350,000 pot for DREHOBL and a 4th place finish for Mr. Dot.Com -- otherwise known as the amiable PAUL PHILLIPS. This was PHILLIP’s second final table at this year’s WSOP (he finished 2nd a few days ago).
“I think I played as well as I could,” PHILLIPS said in a post-game interview. “The thing about these tournaments is – it’s not that hard to take second or third place or (make a final table). But it’s really hard to win. I can say that from personal experience, having so many 2nd and 3rd place finishes.”
To just about everyone’s surprise, DREHOBL was now the chip leader with over $700K. The motley trio of battled back and forth for nearly two hours. During the marathon, NEGREANU managed to lose about half his stack -- with most of those chips going across the table to JUANDA. At the next break, the chip counts stood at: DREHOBL ($725K), JUANDA ($443K), and NEGREANU ($164K)
NEGREANU became desperate to stop the flow of chips out of his stack. He moved “all in” after an initial raise by DREHOBL, and knew he was in serious trouble when DREHOBL nearly beat NEGREANU into the pot with his chips. NEGREANU’s instincts were correct. DREHOBL woke up with pocket kings, and NEGREANU’s petty king-queen looked like a couple on the verge of a divorce. The board failed to overturn the decisive odds in DREHOBL’s favor, which meant the final table was down to just two players. NEGREANU, who has two gold bracelets from the World Series of Poker (wins in 1998 and 2003) received $88,320 for 3rd place.
“Third sucks,” said NEGREANU afterward in reference to coming in third. “I always play to win. But I feel that I played well. I don’t think I got outplayed – I got out-carded.”
When asked about investing $28,000 in this tournament (with multiple re-buys) – which “unofficially” may be the largest number of re-buys ever recorded by a single individual in a major tournament -- NEGREANU retorted that he expected profit. “All those people were laughing at me in the beginning – what an idiot! What an idiot! Well, they all lost two or three thousand. Well, I made $70-something thousand and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.”
When heads up play started, DREHOBL enjoyed slightly better than a 2 to 1 chip lead:
DREHOBL: $900K
JUANDA: $400K
The two finalists were about as different as they could possibly be:
JUANDA DREHOBL
Age: 33 49
Birthplace: Indonesia Rapid City, SD
Occupation: Poker Pro Business Owner
Marital Status: Single Married
Children: 0 7
Education: Master’s Degree N/A
Tournament Wins: 20 (est.) 0
WSOP wins: 3 0
Years Playing Poker: 10+ .5
Most observers expected the more-experienced JUANDA to gradually peck away at DREHOBL’s big stack. JUANDA was clearly more savvy at heads-up play and might have been able to take advantage of DREHOBL’s more rigid standards for getting involved in big pots. Therefore, it was quite a surprise that the heads-up match between the polar opposites lasted only three hands.
At 12:30 am, DREHOBL was dealt K-K to JUANDA’s Ac-10s. DREHOBL raised pre-flop and JUANDA called. On the turn, the board showed Qc-7c-7d-6c (three clubs on board) and JUANDA bet $50K. DREHOBL raised $110K. JUANDA announced “all in” on the semi-bluff nut flush draw – and DREHOBL called. A blank 4 fell on the river, which make DREHOBL the unlikeliest of poker champions. JOHN JUANDA received $193,020 as the runner up.
JUANDA was good-natured about his defeat. That’s why you play the game,” he said. “Everyone has a chance to win.”
DREHOBL was the first to agree. “I hoped I could get here someday – five years or ten years, or however long it took,” DREHOBL said later in reference to his relative inexperience as a poker player and newcomer status to the excitement of the World Series. “But this proves that if you have a passion for something and dedicate yourself to it, you can succeed at it.”
“I never expected to be able to come here and compete against the top level players. I thought I’d come (to the Horseshoe) to get a chance to play and learn.”
Immediately following the final hand, at the pinnacle of his fame and glory as poker’s newest champion, DREHOBL’s wife rushed from the crowd and ran onto the ESPN stage where the final table was held. Tears of joy streamed down her face as the two embraced.
“I’m so excited. I’m so proud of him,” she said.
GERRY DREHOBL must have shaken dozens of hands, from those offering congratulations, as he exited the room. He rocketed from total obscurity to “poker champion” overnight -- overcoming one of the toughest final tables in history.
--Price of an entry fee: $1,000
--Price of double add-on: $2,000
--Net value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet: Priceless
Tournament Report by Nolan Dalla
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