Poker ace returns to the valley

wanbet-bc518

Rasha Aly • January 22, 2009

Poker pro Jerry Yang is returning to what he considers his “'hood” to play in the third annual Coachella Valley Poker Championship this weekend.
Advertisement
Quantcast

Yang, a former Temecula resident who now lives in Fresno, is best known for winning the 2007 World Series of Poker main event.

Yang said he won the opportunity to play in the competition through a satellite poker game at a casino in Temecula.

But he didn't go to Las Vegas expecting to win.

“I went just to have fun and meet some of my poker idols,” Yang said. He wanted to see experts such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Chris Ferguson.

“I was the least experienced,” Yang said about making it to the final table. Of the nine players at the table, only one man, a native Russian, had fewer chips than he did, Yang said.

However, Yang was able to survive and ended up in the No. 1 spot with tournament winnings of $8.25 million. With sponsorships, he collected nearly $9 million.

Now, Yang, the father of six, doesn't have as much time to play poker. He's busy with personal ventures such as the book he's writing, “All In: The Jerry Yang Story from Laos to Las Vegas.”

He was born in Laos, but fled a refugee camp and communist rule in the late 1970s with his family, according to a bio on Yang's Web site, www.jerryyang.name.

Yang's new endeavors include plans to open a restaurant, Pocket 8's Sushi and Grill. Yang said he named the restaurant after the hand he used to win the World Series of Poker.

Yang also is traveling throughout the country hosting different casino tournaments. He occasionally plays in a tournament.

Yang and other celebrities plan to play in Friday's tournament at Spotlight 29 Casino. Other players include hockey player Ron Greschner, who used to play for the New York Rangers, and Kelli Gates of the “Mark & Brian Show,” according to Keri Downs, executive casino host and special events promotion manager.

The tournament will run Friday through Sunday.

Downs expects to have 100 players on Friday and Saturday for a total of 200 players, she said. The top 10 players from each day, a total of 20, will play on Sunday. Each of the 20 players will win some money.

Yang and Gates will play on Saturday. Greschner is playing Friday.

Payouts to the players depend on how many people sign up for the tournament, Downs said. Buy-in for the tournament is $1,000.