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High-Limit
Poker Pro Johnny “World” Hennigan
Takes the Gold
--Former
pool hustler wins second WSOP bracelet
and $325,360 in ferocious Limit Hold’em
finale
Johnny
�World� Hennigan is just as comfortable
hanging out at a billiards hall as a poker
room. He grew up in Philadelphia and admittedly
hustled pool games to make a living before
discovering there was far greater fortune
to made across a different kind of green
felt table. Perhaps it�s because of his
shadowy former life that Hennigan still
prefers to stay out of the public spotlight.
He comes from a �world� where survival
depends largely on stealth and surreptitiousness.
He rarely plays in poker tournaments.
He isn�t interested in appearing on television.
He doesn�t promote himself like most of
the other top pros. To the contrary, if
it were up to Hennigan, he�d be quite
content to remain anonymous � just as
long as he could play in the biggest games
in the world.
Now,
Hennigan may have to say goodbye to former
life. Hennigan will find it increasingly
difficult to stay out of the public eye,
especially if he keeps winning gold bracelets
at the World Series of Poker. On May 18th,
Hennigan crushed a field of 215 players
in the $5,000 buy-in Limit Texas Hold�em
event. He came to the final table with
a decisive chip lead and proceeded to
knock off the eight remaining finalists.
It took ten long hours on day two for
Hennigan to win his second gold bracelet
and pocket first-place prize money of
$325,360.
Hennigan,
a.k.a. �Johnny World� got his urbane nickname
from a pack of fellow competitors from
his pool playing days, who touted Hennigan
as �World Class.� He later dropped the
�class� part, and has been known to poker
players as �Johnny World� ever since.
The name certainly fits � it�s paradoxical
and suave � much like Hennigan himself.
In
2002, �Johnny World� burst upon the poker
scene when he won the $2,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E.
event at the WSOP. Up until that victory,
he had been playing in (and beating) some
of the biggest cash games anywhere. Even
though he won a bracelet, Hennigan showed
no interest in the peripheral �celebrity�
status that big time poker brings to world
champions. So, Hennigan returned to the
top section of the big cardrooms and went
about his business.
Fast
forward to 2004. On day two of Event #29,
Hennigan arrived at the final table with
a massive chip lead. His $336,000 (about
a third of all the chips in play) dwarfed
the other eight competitors. The final
table was an eclectic mix of backgrounds
and personalities. Four players had previously
won titles at the WSOP. Here�s how the
finishers were determined:
9th � T.J. Cloutier � Five-time gold bracelet
winner, Cloutier was making a bid to win
his second WSOP event within the past
week. Unfortunately, the attempt failed
as David Chiu eliminated Cloutier in 9th
place. He received $20,020.
8th � Danny Dang � Vietnamese-born Dang
was short-stacked and went out next in
8th place � courtesy of Ellix Powers.
He took $30,040.
7th
� Ellix Powers � The most incredible �rags
to riches� story at this year�s WSOP (and
arguably in the 35-year history of the
tournament) was Ellix Powers, who once
was a homeless man living on the streets
prior to cashing in big on the tournament
trail. Powers raised a small stake, started
playing low-limit poker, entered a few
tournaments, and went on a massive rush
that continues to this day. He won six-figures
at a major tournament in California and
came to this WSOP with enough of a bankroll
to play in the biggest events in poker.
Powers was up front about his impoverished
past, and made a number of references
to his religious faith � which he says
helped him arise from poverty to final
table appearances at the World Series.
Powers played like a maniac most of the
day, often raising without looking at
his cards. This made him extremely dangerous
and unpredictable to opponents. Powers
finally lost his connection when he was
eliminated by Hennigan. Powers told an
ESPN interviewer, �I�ve been a poor man
all my life. The ($40,040 in prize money)
is cool. There�s always tomorrow. God
bless all of you.�
6th
� Jan Sjavik � Nicknamed �The Balrog,�
Sjavik is one of the 30-strong Norwegian
contingent attending this year�s WSOP.
No country as greater per capita representation
in this year�s tournament than Norway.
Sjavik was eliminated by Hennigan and
went out 6th, worth $50,060.
5th
� David Chiu � Chinese-born Chiu has won
a number of major events during his poker
career, but makes far more money playing
in big money side action games. Chiu,
who won three gold bracelets (1995 Limit
Hold�em, 1998 Limit Hold�em, and 2000
Limit Stud) could do no better than fifth
place in this event. He collected $60,060.
4th
� Jim McManus � McManus finished third
in the main event of the WSOP in 2000.
But his greater fame comes from being
the author of the best selling book �Positively
Fifth Street,� which rocked the poker
world (and the Horseshoe) when it was
released a few years ago. In addition
to being a fabulous writer, McManus demonstrated
just as much talent as a poker player,
proven by his 4th place finish. McManus
took several beats during the final hour
of play and exited with $70,080. Not bad
for a writer who came to the WSOP a few
years ago for the first time, with an
advance royalty check to play in his first
poker tournament.
3rd � Patty Gallagher � Another colorful
personality was the temperamental lone
female finalist. Gallagher, (a.k.a. �Ball
Buster�) was born in the Philippines and
now lives in San Diego. She had the chip
lead at one point, then watched in horror
as a terrible run of cards wiped out her
chance of victory. Gallagher was not too
pleased with her third-place finish. She
stood up, gave everyone a �middle finger
salute,� and stormed away from the final
table. Gallagher received $91,120.
When
heads-up play began, An Tran, a former
bracelet winner (1991 Pot-Limit Omaha),
had the chip lead. The chip counts stood
at $635K for Tran to $420K for Hennigan.
Tran, nicknamed �The Boss,� then went
into a tailspin.
The
key hand of the tournament took place
when Tran and Henngian got into a raising
war on each round of betting, when limits
were up to $15K-30K. Hennigan made an
ace-high flush to Tran�s king-high flush
and dragged a monster-sized pot that effectively
swung momentum in Hennigan�s favor. Tran
was never able to recover from the beat.
He went out 15 minutes later with a no-pair,
which lost to Hennigan�s pair of jacks.
�It
started out pretty bad for me. I lost
some pots right away,� Hennigan said afterward.
�I went down to $200K, but then ran it
right back up � limit hold�em is fast
either way.�
When
asked about beating An Tran heads up,
Hennigan was modest: �I don�t look at
it like I had his number�.An Tran is a
great player. He�s won a lot of big tournament.
A few freaky hands came up, like the spade
flush, and I got lucky enough to win some
of the big pots.�
�This
bracelet was much harder to win. There
was much more play to it (longer rounds)
and it was a long grind. After 24 hours
of play, I�m happy to be sitting here
with the bracelet on.�
This
event will be remembered as Johnny �World�
Hennigan�s debut onto the new stage that
is televised tournament poker. A national
TV audience will tune in later and see
Hennigan � the former pool hustler --
�run the table� on his opponents and �chalk
up� yet another monumental victory. Right
on �cue.�
-- Official Report
by Nolan Dalla, Media Director -- 2004
World Series of Poker
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