The 2007
World Series of Poker main-event title and its $8.25 million first-place prize belong to Jerry Yang. The 39-year-old self-professed amateur parlayed a $225 satellite win at Pechanga Resort and Casino into a championship title and a return on his initial investment of more than 36,000 percent.
Yang has been playing poker for only a short time. Like any player who cuts through thousands of opponents on the way to victory, he got lucky at times. But, Yang shined at the final table. He steamrolled the competition, eliminating seven of his eight opponents. He played to win, kicking up the aggression right from the start, throwing off his opponents and forcing them to make difficult decisions. You can read all about the event in this issue.
Jerry could be the best thing to happen to poker since Chris Moneymaker. This year, lawsuits and infighting will not dominate the final-table discussion. Instead, it will be a discussion of philanthropy and Yang's amazing story.
Jerry is an ordinary, average guy who was humble in victory and acted like a complete gentleman. After the win, he announced that 10 percent of his winnings would be split between the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feed the Children, and the Ronald McDonald House. Yang says children are important to him, as he has six of his own.
Jerry was born in Laos. He made his way to America as a Hmong refugee after he escaped from the country's Communist regime via Thailand after spending time in a refugee camp.
In the victory limelight, Jerry acknowledged that he'll have to get used to being the champ. As poker's torchbearer for the upcoming year, here are the things I'd like to see Jerry do:
1. Support and promote poker as much as possible
2. Fight for poker players' rights, so that everyone is entitled to enjoy our game
3. Be a good ambassador for poker and help improve poker's acceptance
4. Spread the gospel of poker internationally
Jerry already has proven to be a class act, and all of us at
Card Player welcome him to center stage.
