The Gambler

Our estimable cornfed pal David Hogberg (and prize winning poker player) points to yet another anti-war contest winner – this one is a gambler:

Binion’s Horseshoe
World Series of Poker
Pot-limit Hold’em
$1,500 buy-in
212 Entrants
$295,740 Prize Pool

“It was a roller-coaster,” was how Prahlad Friedman described the sixth event of WSOP 2003, pot-limit hold’em. Indeed it was. He started as final-table chip leader with $85,000. With four players left, he had amassed some $190,000 of the $327,000 of chips in play with relentless raising, blind-stealing and bluffing, sometimes showing his successful bluffs, hoping to get an opponent steaming. But some 30 hands later he had managed to lose the lead to Hov Ung. Then, with two players left, he had his final opponent out-chipped at one point by 327k-45k, and managed to lose that lead as well. But after that he surged ahead to take down first place and $109,400 along with not only his first bracelet, but his first WSOP money finish as well.

….Friedman … is a 24-year-old ethnic studies student at UC Berkeley who plays side games in the northern California area at limits up to $400-$800. … A social activist who’s considering law school to practice civil rights or environmental law, he took advantage of his moment in the spotlight following his victory to take the microphone and make a brief anti-war statement and plea for peace ala Michael Moore at this year’s Academy Awards. [Casino.com]

If it was brief it WASN’T like Michael Moore’s crystal meth tirade. At this point, who cares? The dude can spout a little for world peace if he wants like a Miss America contestant, but it would have been much cooler if he had busted out a few lines from Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler“:

You gotta know when to bomb ’em, know when to fawn ’em
Know when to fire away and when to drop the gun
You never count your rebuild contracts when the hospital’s aren’t workin’
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when rebuild’s done

Or something like that.