Robert Varkonyi
| Robert Varkonyi | |
|---|---|
| Residence | Great Neck, New York |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 2 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | Winner, 2002 |
Robert Varkonyi (born 1961 in New York) is an American poker player, best known for winning the main event of the 2002 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 in EECS and from the MIT Sloan School of Management), he was an investment banker in Brooklyn, New York for a number of years before beginning to play tournament poker.
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 player Phil Hellmuth agreed to have his hair shaved off for charity if Varkonyi won. In the final hand, Varkonyi's defeated Julian Gardner's on a board of , resulting in Varkonyi's full house defeating Gardner's flush. Hellmuth made good on his earlier promise, and had some of his hair shaved off, by Varkonyi, Becky Binion Behnen, Dave Ulliott et al. [1][2]
In the 2003 World Series of Poker Varkonyi's chance of a repeat championship was dashed when his met Scotty Nguyen's .
Since his win, Varkonyi has become a columnist for Card Player Magazine.
He also cashed in the main event in 2007, finishing in 177th place in a field of over six thousand players, winning $51,398.
Varkonyi's lifetime live tournament winnings exceed $2,100,000.[3] His two cashes at the WSOP total $2,051,398.[4]
He 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 the 2005 World Series of Poker main event, finishing in the money in 238th place.
He is currently an options trader at Gargoyle Strategic Investments, LLC, a hedge fund in Englewood, New Jersey.
Notes
- ^ 2002 World Series of Poker Final Table, ESPN coverage
- ^ Phil Hellmuth, Me, My Haircut at the 2002 World Series of Poker & Gabe Kaplan, blog.ultimatebet.com, retrieved on 2009-07-30
- ^ "Robert Varkonyi - Stats". TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ World Series of Poker Earnings, worldseriesofpoker.com