Poker News

2007 WSOP Grand Champion Jerry Yang

Going home again felt like a good idea, something he could afford to do, so Jerry Yang and his family said goodbye to Southern California and headed north. That was last summer after Yang played his way through 6,357 players to win the $8.25 million first prize that goes with taking the main event at the World Series of Poker.

This kind of money can put big decisions within easy reach, so he and his wife quit their jobs and returnedto the Fresno area where he had gone to high school before heading off to seek his fortune.

The years went by and Yang earned a psychology degree from Loma Linda University and went to work for a service focused on the interests of foster children. All in all, a very satisfying gig, but it had nothing to do with the fortune Yang eventually found in Las Vegas.

Since last July he bought his parents a new home, got rid of his wife’s “very old car” and bought her a new Cadillac Escalade but sees no need to get rid of the 2000 Chrysler Sebring that he continues to drive.

He bought himself a couple of suits at one of the budget-priced men’s stores where he also spotted a good buy on a new pair of shoes.

And that’s about it. “I grew up not having a whole lot of things. I want to save for my kids’ education but I’m not feeling any real need to go out and buy myself a lot of things.” He’s still got the thrill of that victory in his head and it remains fresh enough to reach out and touch as he seems to when telling the story of his big win to friends and acquaintances. It’s sweeter than anything money can buy.

In the meantime, “Life has changed.” He has gone from being Jerry Who, to the reigning world poker champion. It’s enough to get him special attention wherever he goes. A lot of people want a piece of his time. The changes he must contend with now have a lot to do with the decision to move.

“I’m gonna be traveling quite a bit this year and I wanted my wife and kids to be closer to my folks in Fresno.”

Yang’s a long time fan of televised poker-the World Series and those World Poker Tour Tournaments.

Televised poker whetted his appetite, bringing the biggest games and poker’s biggest names into his living room. He began thinking about a trip to the World Series, mostly just seeing it as an opportunity to hang out for a while, close to the poker celebrities who had fueled his interest in the game.

Last spring he began looking for the satellites that might earn him a seat in the Main Event. Without that kind of boost, Yang could not afford the $10,000 buy-in. Everything came together in May at one of the Indian casinos near his Temecula, California, home. His victory in the $225 satellite meant he would get to Las Vegas.

“I didn’t come to Las Vegas with a lot of money. I went over there just with the intention of having some fun.”

Which is exactly what happened. How many of the dozens of World Series tournaments did he enter?

“Just one, the main event. That’s all I could afford.” It was the day before the final table that it suddenly hit Yang. “I have a real shot at this thing,” telling himself that if he made it through the day and to the final table he was going to be aggressive.

“Because that’s the only way you win.”

He had studied the other survivors, those who had made it to the final couple of days, and noticed how conservatively most of them played.

There has not been time for a lot of poker since the World Series. There was the Legends of Poker event? “I didn’t get very far in that”?and a couple of charity events, one in San Diego and another in LA.

First place money provided instant financial stability, but it put a lot of other issues in his path. As the winner of the World Series, he discovered that people everywhere want some of his time. Yang continues considering offersthat may provide him with a sponsor, a possibility he’ll elaborate on when the time is right.

Yang has studied the game of poker carefully, but he makes one thing clear … there is a Higher Power at work in his life and it is not those collections of poker tips authored by the likes of Brunson and Hellmuth. “I give thanks to God,” is what he says.

Yang remembers trying to keep it all balanced in his head at the final table, playing the cards, but also playing the players, trying to remain aggressive but not wanting to be stupid. Yang says that whatever his future tournament victories may be he wants to become an “ambassador for poker … This is a good game, a great game that deserves the support of all who play it.”

World Series spokesman Gary Thompson says Yang is already off and running. “He has distinguished himself as a down to earth champion who embodies all the qualities you like to see in a man who’s accomplished what he has.”

Yang began with $1-$2 hold’em, eventually trying his luck at tournaments and no-limit games with buy-ins of $25-$30. And while he was doing this he watched a lot of televised poker, bought and read a couple of books, and closely studied the myriad poker magazines with their lectures on game strategy.

All part of a long, slow evolution, bringing him to the moment when he decided there was no reason to wait any longer. He’s come a long way from what was a rough beginning.

Born in Laos, Yang and his family of five managed to get out of the country when he was 7, making their way to Thailand where they lived in a refugee camp for nearly four and a half years before getting approval to enter the U.S.

Yang’s father is not sure about all this gambling. “He is like most parents who want their children to study hard, go to school and get nice jobs. He was not a believer in my playing poker until I won the World Series.”

Yang called his dad the night before the final table. “Dad you’ve got to come over and support me. I’m in Vegas playing poker at the World Series.”

From his dad there was an unenthusiastic, “You’re in Vegas, huh.”

“But when I told him the money I was already guaranteed his tone changed and he said, yeah, maybe he should come over and support me.”

Final table money, it can shape new attitudes.

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