| High-Limit Poker Pro Johnny “World” Hennigan Takes the Gold
-- Former pool hustler wins second WSOP bracelet and $325,360 in ferocious Limit Hold’em finale
Johnny “World” Hennigan is just as comfortable hanging out at a billiards hall as a poker room. He grew up in Philadelphia and admittedly hustled pool games to make a living before discovering there was far greater fortune to made across a different kind of green felt table. Perhaps it’s because of his shadowy former life that Hennigan still prefers to stay out of the public spotlight. He comes from a “world” where survival depends largely on stealth and surreptitiousness. He rarely plays in poker tournaments. He isn’t interested in appearing on television. He doesn’t promote himself like most of the other top pros. To the contrary, if it were up to Hennigan, he’d be quite content to remain anonymous – just as long as he could play in the biggest games in the world.
Now, Hennigan may have to say goodbye to former life. Hennigan will find it increasingly difficult to stay out of the public eye, especially if he keeps winning gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker. On May 18th, Hennigan crushed a field of 215 players in the $5,000 buy-in Limit Texas Hold’em event. He came to the final table with a decisive chip lead and proceeded to knock off the eight remaining finalists. It took ten long hours on day two for Hennigan to win his second gold bracelet and pocket first-place prize money of $325,360.
Hennigan, a.k.a. “Johnny World” got his urbane nickname from a pack of fellow competitors from his pool playing days, who touted Hennigan as “World Class.” He later dropped the “class” part, and has been known to poker players as “Johnny World” ever since. The name certainly fits – it’s paradoxical and suave – much like Hennigan himself.
In 2002, “Johnny World” burst upon the poker scene when he won the $2,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event at the WSOP. Up until that victory, he had been playing in (and beating) some of the biggest cash games anywhere. Even though he won a bracelet, Hennigan showed no interest in the peripheral “celebrity” status that big time poker brings to world champions. So, Hennigan returned to the top section of the big cardrooms and went about his business.
Fast forward to 2004. On day two of Event #29, Hennigan arrived at the final table with a massive chip lead. His $336,000 (about a third of all the chips in play) dwarfed the other eight competitors. The final table was an eclectic mix of backgrounds and personalities. Four players had previously won titles at the WSOP. Here’s how the finishers were determined:
9th – T.J. Cloutier – Five-time gold bracelet winner, Cloutier was making a bid to win his second WSOP event within the past week. Unfortunately, the attempt failed as David Chiu eliminated Cloutier in 9th place. He received $20,020.
8th – Danny Dang – Vietnamese-born Dang was short-stacked and went out next in 8th place – courtesy of Ellix Powers. He took $30,040.
7th – Ellix Powers – The most incredible “rags to riches” story at this year’s WSOP (and arguably in the 35-year history of the tournament) was Ellix Powers, who once was a homeless man living on the streets prior to cashing in big on the tournament trail. Powers raised a small stake, started playing low-limit poker, entered a few tournaments, and went on a massive rush that continues to this day. He won six-figures at a major tournament in California and came to this WSOP with enough of a bankroll to play in the biggest events in poker. Powers was up front about his impoverished past, and made a number of references to his religious faith – which he says helped him arise from poverty to final table appearances at the World Series. Powers played like a maniac most of the day, often raising without looking at his cards. This made him extremely dangerous and unpredictable to opponents. Powers finally lost his connection when he was eliminated by Hennigan. Powers told an ESPN interviewer, “I’ve been a poor man all my life. The ($40,040 in prize money) is cool. There’s always tomorrow. God bless all of you.”
6th – Jan Sjavik – Nicknamed “The Balrog,” Sjavik is one of the 30-strong Norwegian contingent attending this year’s WSOP. No country has greater per capita representation in this year’s tournament than Norway. Sjavik was eliminated by Hennigan and went out 6th, worth $50,060.
5th – David Chiu – Chinese-born Chiu has won a number of major events during his poker career, but makes far more money playing in big money side action games. Chiu, who won three gold bracelets (1995 Limit Hold’em, 1998 Limit Hold’em, and 2000 Limit Stud) could do no better than fifth place in this event. He collected $60,060.
4th – Jim McManus – McManus finished 5th in the main event of the WSOP in 2000. But his greater fame comes from being the author of the best selling book “Positively Fifth Street,” which rocked the poker world (and the Horseshoe) when it was released a few years ago. In addition to being a fabulous writer, McManus demonstrated just as much talent as a poker player, proven by his 4th place finish. McManus took several beats during the final hour of play and exited with $70,080. Not bad for a writer who came to the WSOP a few years ago for the first time, with an advance royalty check to play in his first poker tournament.
3rd – Patty Gallagher – Another colorful personality was the temperamental lone female finalist. Gallagher, (a.k.a. “Ball Buster”) was born in the Philippines and now lives in San Diego. She had the chip lead at one point, then watched in horror as a terrible run of cards wiped out her chance of victory. Gallagher was not too pleased with her third-place finish. She stood up, gave everyone a “middle finger salute,” and stormed away from the final table. Gallagher received $91,120.
When heads-up play began, An Tran, a former bracelet winner (1991 Pot-Limit Omaha), had the chip lead. The chip counts stood at $635K for Tran to $420K for Hennigan. Tran, nicknamed “The Boss,” then went into a tailspin.
The key hand of the tournament took place when Tran and Henngian got into a raising war on each round of betting, when limits were up to $15K-30K. Hennigan made an ace-high flush to Tran’s king-high flush and dragged a monster-sized pot that effectively swung momentum in Hennigan’s favor. Tran was never able to recover from the beat. He went out 15 minutes later with a no-pair, which lost to Hennigan’s pair of jacks.
“It started out pretty bad for me. I lost some pots right away,” Hennigan said afterward. “I went down to $200K, but then ran it right back up – limit hold’em is fast either way.”
When asked about beating An Tran heads up, Hennigan was modest: “I don’t look at it like I had his number….An Tran is a great player. He’s won a lot of big tournament. A few freaky hands came up, like the spade flush, and I got lucky enough to win some of the big pots.”
“This bracelet was much harder to win. There was much more play to it (longer rounds) and it was a long grind. After 24 ours of play, I’m happy to be sitting here with the bracelet on.”
This event will be remembered as Johnny “World” Hennigan’s debut onto the new stage that is televised tournament poker. A national TV audience will tune in later and see Hennigan – the former pool hustler -- “run the table” on his opponents and “chalk up” yet another monumental victory. Right on “cue.”
-- Official Report by Nolan Dalla, Media Director -- 2004 World Series of Poker
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