The newest de facto worldwide ambassador for poker spent part of his youth in a refugee camp in Thailand, began playing the game only two years ago and prays to a deity who’s fluent in poker lingo.
Jerry Yang, a 39-year-old psychologist, social worker and deeply spiritual man from Temecula, Calif., has pledged to donate to charity 10 percent of the $8.25 million he won at the World Series of Poker and plans to devote even more to missionary efforts.
But there were a couple of times Yang was on the verge of elimination from the World Series championship no-limit Texas hold ’em tournament, he said after winning the 2007 “Big One” early Wednesday at the Rio.
Once, for instance, he risked a big chunk of his stack of chips with just a pair of 4s and ran smack into an opponent’s higher pocket pair.
It was then Yang – like a lot of poker players, including some who are probably more reluctant to admit it – turned to prayer.
Las Vegas Sun (07/19/07)
The Popularity of America's Card Game 