Poker Tournament Results

34th Annual World Series of Poker

Chris Ferguson

Tournament Report

BINION'S HORSESHOE -- LAS VEGAS, NEVADA PRESS RELEASE APRIL 17, 2003 Former World Champion Chris "JESUS" Ferguson, from Pacific Palisades, CA wins $2,000 Omaha High-Low Event at 2003 World Series of Poker "There's nothing better than coming into this tournament and winning one of the early events because you know, no matter what, you are not going to have a bad World Series." -- Chris "JESUS" Ferguson For the second time in just three years, Chris "JESUS" Ferguson won the $2,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low event at the World Series of Poker. He now moves into select company, having won a total of four gold bracelets during his lifetime (One more (5)and he will match the same number won by the late Stu Ungar). Given his relatively young age (40) it's quite conceivable Ferguson could eventually challenge living poker legend Doyle Brunson's record for lifetime wins at the World Series of Poker, with eight. Ferguson came to the final table sixth in chips, and faced a 2 to 1 disadvantage to the chip-leader Doug Saab. Over the next five hours, Ferguson went on a rampage. He seized the chip lead with six players remaining in the tournament, then traded the lead back-and-forth several times with Barry Bindelglass, who would turn out to be his toughest adversary at the final table. After a one-hour heads up duel, where Ferguson won an astounding twenty pots in a row at one point versus Bindelglass, the man everyone calls "JESUS" (it's spelled with capital letters -- insists Ferguson) collected $123,680 in prize money and snapped gold bracelet number four on his wrist. "This win tonight is just as satisfying to me as any of the other three," said Ferguson, when asked how the victory compares to his previous wins. "Of course the 2000 World Championship (in the main event) was the best of all, but this one is really special to me because I've won this event before and proved I could win it again." Despite perceptions that former world champions are immune from the troubles that afflict all poker players -- namely running bad -- Ferguson admitted that this win came at a great time. "I've been running bad for a while," he said. "I hadn't made a final table at a tournament in six months. I can't think of a better place to break a cold streak than the World Series of Poker." The win certainly boosted Ferguson's confidence. "There's nothing better than coming into this tournament and winning one of the early events because, you know no matter what, you are not going to have a bad World Series," he said. The key stage of the tournament occurred four hours into the final table when Ferguson was outchipped about 2 to 1 by Barry Bindelglass and it appeared the momentum had shifted away from the former champion. Then out of nowhere, Ferguson went on a monster rush that effectively destroyed any chance of a victory for Bindelglass, who is well-known in Atlantic City as one of the East Coast's best high-limit stud players. Ferguson won an astounding twenty pots in row, including several hands with no flop -- still, an almost inconceivable streak in heads-up play. "He went on a tear," said Bindelglass afterward. "The cards hit me yesterday, and they hit (Ferguson) today. It's when you catch a streak that's important." The final decisive hand of the night, hand number 200, was dealt in front of hundreds of spectators at Binion's Horseshoe and a worldwide audience tuned-in to the live Internet webcast. Desperately short on chips after facing a torrent of bad cards and bad luck, Bindelglass made his last stand with A-J-8-9 against Ferguson's 7-7-6-4. The final board showed 7-4-3-2-K giving Ferguson both a set of 7s and a low, good enough to scoop the entire pot. "I was never any danger of busting in this tournament. I was never low on chips. I was fortunate to catch a couple of big rushes, but my chips stayed steady through the event," Ferguson explained afterward. Interestingly enough, despite his exalted status as a former world poker champion and four-time winner, Ferguson does not consider himself to be a professional poker player. He enters approximately 60 tournaments a year, and refuses to play in cash games. "I consider myself a student," said Ferguson, who earned a Ph.D. in mathematics five years ago from U.C.L.A. For his opponents at the poker table, it's scary to think that Ferguson continues striving to improve his knowledge and skills in poker. Can a fifth gold bracelet be far away?