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Jerry Yang, Changing the Face of Poker
By DrCheckRaiseJul 12, 09 01:10 PM
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing 2008 WSOP Champion Jerry Yang for my column.
ENJOY
Jerry Yang, Changing the Face of Poker
Watching poker players on television throw around thousands of dollars on side bets like its nickels and dimes seems to at times show disrespect for money. Over time poker has found charitable players like Barry Greenstein, who donates his net tournament winnings to charity, and Mike Sexton who has made a conscience effort to give poker a better image. They have managed to step into a leadership role of charitable poker players.
Then comes to the scene Jerry Yang, unlike other players who came up through the ranks of the hustle of poker, Jerry was not a hustler. Relatively new to poker he took the poker industry by storm winning 8.25 million dollars as the 2007 WSOP Champion from a $225 satellite entry. Since becoming World Champion, his priorities have not been to see how much he can capitalize on his new found fame for his own personal gain, but has instead focused on a more charitable road. Donating more than one million dollars of his innings to various charities, mostly with a focus on suffering children, such as, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feed the Children, and the Ronald McDonald House, and additionally helping to raise nearly another three quarters of a million dollars for those, and other charitable organizations. There is no doubt that his childhood, being born in Laos, living in a refugee camp and eventually escaping to the United States has had a huge impact on who he is today. The world seems to become a much smaller place when you have had the types of experiences that Jerry Yang has lived through. For most people things that happen on the other side of the world have little impact on our lives, but Jerry Yang seems to understand better than most, the suffering of those who may not have been given the second chance that he was the benefactor of. No doubt we will begin to understand more about what made Jerry Yang the man he is today with the release of his new book, which was to be called “From Tragedy to Triumph”. He has since decided to name the book something different, which I will share with you before I close.
I had never met Jerry Yang, but I knew several people who had. All said basically the same thing. That he was a kind, caring, gentle man, who had a genuine concern for others. After a short conversation I understood what others had difficulty putting into words. He is simply a man who genuinely cares about others without reservation, and without expecting anything in return. Speaking to him on this random day, I find out that even this evening he has plans to meet with the County, City, and State leaders in the California town of Meced, population 80,608, for a fund raiser for the homeless.
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I asked him to tell me about some of the experiences that he has had that he feels have made him the type of man who wants to reach out to others in such a giving way. He said, “I believe that certain people who are put in a position like mine, have a very small window to make a positive impact on others lives, and I want to take advantage of that while I can.” He continued to say, “I intend to give back as much as I can while I can, am so happy that I am able to do this.” And you can tell from his voice that he genuinely is very happy to be making a difference where he can.
He told me with such passion about as a young boy living in a communist controlled refugee camp, malnourished, frightened, and living in fear for his life and wondering when it would all end. A particular memory that haunts him to this day is the memory of having a soldier put an AK-47 to his head and in a moment deciding to not pull the trigger. Jerry tells me that sometimes he still has dreams about that moment. Sometimes in the dreams the soldier does pull the trigger. Either way the dream ends, he wakes up having relived the experience once again.
He is planning more with Feed The Children, and was told in a meeting that before they can actually make sure these children get the nourishment that they need, they must first be de-wormed. Another subject which he has first hand experience with, for while in the refugee camp he too was malnourished with a belly full of worms eating at what little food he was getting as a child. He relates to me about one of the several times that he lost consciousness as a child. There was one particular time when his family actually thought that he was dead and was getting ready to prepare his body for burial before he regain consciousness.
Jerry tells me that the happiest day in his life was the day they were told that they would be coming to the United States, the land of gold in the streets, the land of milk and honey. When they arrived in the United States, they found themselves living in one of the poorest projects in Nashville Tennessee.
Several of these memories Jerry calls “All IN Moments”. Moments that could have ended his life in the blink of an eye. That was why the name of the book has been changed. Changed to, “All In, The Jerry Yang Story, From Laos to Las Vegas”.
Poker is a game of selfishness, win as much as you can with your winning hands and lose as little as possible with your losing hands. There is no room for a charitable attitude on the felt. But Jerry Yang proves to us that this does not mean that our lives away from the felt have to be lived in that same selfish vein.
WATERHORSE
Fantastic post Doc.......... I was rooting for Jerry the year he won..... Always love watching the cinderella story... had tears in my eyes when Jerry won...And what a nice guy he reall is.... not faulse like others in the world.. thanks m8 made my morning reading this