- Robert Varkonyi
infobox poker player
firstname=Robert
lastname=Varkonyi
nickname=
caption=Robert Varkonyi at the end of the2002 World Series of Poker
hometown=Great Neck, New York
wsop bracelet count=1
wsop money finishes=2
wsop main event best finish rank=Winner
wsop main event best finish year=2002
wpt titles=
wpt final tables=
wpt money finishes=
ept titles=
ept final tables=
ept money finishes=Robert Varkonyi (born
October 7 ,1961 inNew York ) is a professionalpoker player best known for winning the main event of the2002 World Series of Poker .Varkonyi first started playing poker as an undergraduate at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology . After his graduation in 1983 (with degrees inEECS and from theMIT Sloan School of Management ), he was aninvestment banker inBrooklyn ,New York for a number of years before beginning to play tournament poker. Varkonyi, being an MIT graduate, was coached by J.P. Massar, a.k.a. "Mr. M", founder of theMIT Blackjack Team .Varkonyi is most well known for winning the
2002 World Series of Poker main event, taking the $2 million prize. Because he was a relative newcomer and considered dead money, commentator and fellow poker playerPhil Hellmuth agreed to have his hair shaved off for charity if Varkonyi won. In the final hand, Varkonyi's cards|Q♦|10♠ defeated Julian Gardner's cards|J♣|8♣ on a board of cards|Q♣|4♣|4♠|10♦|10♣, resulting in Varkonyi's full house defeating Gardner's flush. Hellmuth made good on his earlier promise, and even allowed Varkonyi to shave some of his hair off.In the
2003 World Series of Poker Varkonyi's chance of a repeat championship was dashed when his cards|K♥|K♦ metScotty Nguyen 's cards|A♦|A♠.Since his win Varkonyi has become a columnist for "
Card Player Magazine ". He also made an instructional poker video, "Wise Guys on Texas Hold'em", featuring some of the cast of "The Sopranos ".Varkonyi currently resides in
Great Neck, New York with his wife Olga, who also plays poker, and two daughters. He named his first daughter Victoria after his World Series win. Olga made an appearance at the2005 World Series of Poker main event. She finished in the money in 238th place.He also cashed in the main event in 2007, finishing in 177th place in a field of over six thousand players, winning $51,398.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,000,000.
External links
* [http://www.pokerlistings.com/robert-varkonyi-2002-wsop-main-event-winner-906 Interview]
* [http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=469 Hendon Mob tournament results]
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