Thursday, May 7, 2009

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Top 5 least popular WSOP Main Event winners

Jamie Gold was the biggest, but is he the least popular?

By Arthur Crowson

The World Series of Poker has had some exceptional Main Event winners, but it's the unpopular ones that tend to generate the most discussion.

Most people would cite Chris Moneymaker's win at the 2003 WSOP as the catalyst to the poker boom that occurred shortly thereafter.

Moneymaker's amateur status, passion for the game and fortuitous name all helped turn poker into a multi-billion dollar industry and he has to be considered one of the Main Event's most popular winners as a result.

But there have been some winners, especially recently, that have done little to grow the game and, in fact, may have even kept poker from becoming more mainstream.

With the 40th anniversary of the WSOP just weeks away and plans in place to bring every living Main Event champion back for the 2009 Champions Invitational freeroll, the debate has been opened yet again as to the top five least popular WSOP Main Event winners in history.

The top candidates, by common consensus:

Who IS this guy anyways?

5. Jerry Yang (2007)

There's no question Jerry Yang brought his A-game to the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event. The social worker entered the day as the short-stack but quickly went to work knocking out seven of the eight final table players.

He was the most aggressive player and walked away with the biggest prize as a result. Yang also had a fairly inspirational background, including spending four years in a refugee camp in Thailand and winning a $225 satellite into the tournament.

Unfortunately Yang never really embraced his status as an ambassador for poker. And since winning $8.25 million at the 2007 WSOP, Yang has one cash - $1,324 at the Binion's Poker Open.

Yang's religious nature proved difficult to market and even when he took on a poker nickname (The Shadow) it failed to gain him much credibility.

Some poker sites called Yang "a bigger bust then Jamie Gold" and in 2008 Wicked Chops Poker dubbed him "the most anonymous WSOP Main Event winner in recent history."

Yang is an outstanding person and a good citizen, but his contributions to the poker world have been minimal. He will likely go down in history as one of the most forgettable Main Event champions.

Amarillo Slim.

4. Amarillo Slim (1972)

Amarillo Slim (born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr.) was one of the most popular WSOP champions when he won back in 1972.

He went on talk shows and was the face of poker for some 30-odd years.

Although he was often branded a hustler and his character was questioned throughout his life, it wasn't until much later things really went bad for Preston.

In August 2004 Slim was indicted on three charges of indecency with a 12-year-old family member. The charges were reduced to a misdemeanor assault in a plea bargain.

"Slim is a great character and was crucial to the growth of poker and the WSOP in the seventies, but darker recent chapters in his life have tarnished his reputation," explained ESPN columnist Gary Wise, who also runs www.wisehandpoker.com.

"There are many poker players who won't associate with him as a result of the charges brought against him in 2004."

Slim is another classic case of a missed opportunity. The outspoken Texan could still be one of the ambassadors for the game, but instead was cast as a villain.

There were even rumors that Nicolas Cage was set to play Slim in an motion picture before the charges were laid and the movie was canned.

Poker players have long debated Slim's level of guilt and he did explain himself in an exclusive interview with PokerListings.

But at this point it would likely take a miracle to completely clear his name.

"With that in mind, Slim did a lot to grow the game while there have been a number of champions who did little in that regard," added Wise.

No Moneymaker-effect here.

3. Robert Varkonyi (2002)

Robert Varkonyi outlasted 630 players to take down the 2002 WSOP Main Event and the $2 million that came along with it.

Varkonyi was so new to poker and considered by so many people to be a fish that Phil Hellmuth agreed to have his hair shaved off for charity if the MIT graduate won the Main Event. Varkonyi won and Hellmuth made good on his promise.

That was essentially the peak of Varkonyi's poker stardom.

Possibly due to his uninteresting nature, many in the poker industry have Varkonyi pegged as the worst overall champ.

"Not really sure how anybody could make an argument for anyone other than Robert Varkonyi," said Steve "Chops" Preiss of Wicked Chops Poker. "Varkonyi almost single-handedly made poker uncool."

What makes Varkonyi even more intriguing is the fact the very next year another virtually unknown player won the Main Event and changed the landscape of the poker world forever. His name was Chris Moneymaker.

"Had Chris Moneymaker not come along in 2003 and erased the memory of Varkonyi from the collective consciousness, where would the game be today?" Preiss asked.

"Varkonyi seems like a nice enough guy. But there isn't one cool thing about him. If anything, he probably would've turned away all of the hipsters that flooded the game and made it so big.

"Not to mention Varkonyi is probably recognized as the worst player of any winner. So, this one is really a no brainer."

Good as gold? Not quite.

2. Jamie Gold (2006)

The WSOP Main Event peaked in 2006 with 8,773 players. The halls of the Rio were overflowing with sponsors, online poker rooms and professional poker players. In many ways it was the biggest year in the history of poker.

The final table had some compelling stories with Michael Binger, Paul Wasicka and Full Tilt Pro Allen Cunningham all gunning for title.

Instead it was monster chip leader and former Hollywood agent Jamie Gold who took home championship honors and the whopping $12 million that came along with it.

Gold wasn't exactly known as the most honorable player during the tournament as many accused him of angle-shooting and taunting other players. But it was what happened less than a month later that seriously damaged his reputation and his bankroll.

In mid-August, Crispin Leyser, who had allegedly partnered with Gold for half the winnings, sued Gold for not paying up.

Gold eventually settled out of court with Leyser, but the damage to his reputation was already done.

There are a lot of shady moves in the poker world, but the cardinal sin in many players' eyes is welching on a debt.

To make matters worse, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement act was passed in the fall of 2006 and the start of Gold's reign as champion seemed to usher in a dark time for poker.

He wasn't exactly the type of character poker players wanted on late night TV and ESPN promoting the game. Gold was almost universally trashed in the poker world with people calling him a "donk," a "chump" and worse.

In September, an article written by Stanley R. Sludikoff for www.pokerplayernewspaper.com seemed to encompass what most poker players were feeling at the time.

"Now we have a new champion, Jamie Gold, who is leaving a bad taste in our collective mouths, by showing us a side of his character that appears to be despicable," wrote Sludikoff.

It didn't help Gold's case that he came directly after Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, considered by most industry insiders to be huge advocates for the game.

Gold won the biggest tournament in poker history and yet most people in the poker industry seem to prefer to forget about him completely, speaking volumes about his marketability.

The overwhelming worst WSOP winner.

1. Russ Hamilton (1994)

So you've heard it all. Some of the worst WSOP champions in history. In all their boring, controversial and distasteful glory.

But there's one name that rises above the rest.

Only one of those Main Event winners would go on to help run one of the most popular poker rooms on the Internet and allegedly cheat players out of their money.

Russ Hamilton won the 1994 WSOP Main Event and the $1 million that came with the title. Strangely, Hamilton also won his body weight in silver thanks to a promotion run by the World Series.

At the time, many considered Hamilton a great champion as he was a popular Las Vegas insider with plenty of poker experience.

Everything changed in the fall of 2008 when the Kahnawake Gaming Commission claimed it had found evidence that Hamilton was the main person behind the multiple cheating incidents that had occurred at Ultimate Bet.

The reaction from the poker world was both predictable and passionate.

"I gotta think that Russ Hamilton is clearly the worst for poker," said Dan Michalski, founder of the popular Pokerati.com blog.

"Who would have thought when he won in 1994 and received a hefty overlay in silver - a celebration of his gluttony - that he would later become the poster boy for just how bad poker can be sometimes."

Hamilton was slagged by almost every media source in the poker world and some players were even less kind.

2006 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider was particularly incensed by Hamilton's bad behavior.

"He has done more to hurt poker than the next 100 worst [players] combined," said Schneider.

"He has tainted poker nearly beyond repair and has ruined and hurt more poker player's lives than anybody else."

According to Schneider the damage went deeper than simply taking a few bucks.

"He made winning players question their abilities, had people borrow money to pay him off and had people questioning their whole existence," he said. "No one is even close."

Hamilton's fall from grace proves that when large amounts of money are being traded back and forth, there's always the risk of corruption.

On the plus side, the situation has reminded poker players around the world to be ever-vigilant and always aware of what's going on in their poker game.

That's the list. Glaring omissions, bad picks and new suggestions are all welcome in the comments below.

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