Las Vegas, Nevada (AP) - Jerry Yang, a 39-year-old psychologist and social worker from Temecula, Calif., won the $10,000 buy-in main event of the World Series of Poker and its $8.25 million top prize.
Yang, who said he uses his professional training and reads of players as a weapon, vaulted quickly from eighth to the chip lead soon after final table play began shortly after noon Tuesday.
Nearly 16 hours later, just before 4 a.m. Wednesday, a devout Yang made a straight on the river when his pocket eights looked beat versus a pair of queens, giving him the win.
"I've seen the miracles of God with my own eyes," said the married father of six. "I did a lot of bluffing also."
Yang not only made it through a field of 6,358 players that began play July 6, he knocked out seven of his eight final table opponents single-handedly, reminiscent of last year's final table when Jamie Gold ran over his opponents.
The main difference, Yang did it from the back of the pack.
"The only way I would win this tournament is to be aggressive from the very beginning and that's exactly what I did," he said.
An ethnic Hmong who grew up poor in Laos and escaped as a refugee to the United States when he was 13, Yang said he would donate 10 percent of his winnings to charity, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feed the Children, and the Ronald McDonald House.
"I know what it's like to be poor," he said.
Yang won his way into the main event from a $225 satellite tournament at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula. He said he only began playing poker two years ago. His family stayed in a rundown Las Vegas hotel before finally moving into the host Rio casino-hotel when he made the final table.
Despite his 5-foot-3 stature -- often standing up from his seat to move chips or stare down opponents -- Yang was an intimidating force at the table from the beginning.
He aggressively raised pots and became the first player at the table to go all-in. On the ninth hand, he forced Lee Childs, a 35-year-old software engineer from Reston, Va., to fold pocket queens, face up, on a board with a seven, four and deuce.
"The only way I would win this tournament was to be aggressive from the very beginning and that's exactly what I did," Yang said.
Yang began heads-up play about 2 a.m. with a giant chip lead against Tuan Lam, a 40-year-old professional online poker player from Mississauga, Ontario. Yang had 104.5 million in chips to Lam's 23 million.
On the last hand, with a huge mound of cash deposited on the felt, Lam moved all-in with an ace and queen of diamonds and Yang called with pocket eights.
When a queen, five and nine came on the flop, Lam made a pair of queens. It looked like Lam, waving a Canadian flag, was on the verge of a miracle comeback.
But a seven on the turn and a six on the river gave Yang a straight, sealing the victory.
Lam, who won $4.8 million for his second-place finish, was also a refugee who found his way to Canada from Vietnam. He said he'd be returning to his village, Bao Trinh, to help those who need it.
"I was patient and waited for the big hand, but the cards came out different," Lam said. "I have been through a hard life. And I will be going back to Vietnam and giving back."
Yang burst out of the blocks shortly after play began, and the carnage began quickly.
Refusing to be pushed around, 31-year-old Dane Philip Hilm made a stand with a flush draw and a pair of fives on the flop, pushing all-in against Yang. Yang made the call holding an ace and king for a pair of kings and Hilm never improved, finishing ninth for $525,934.
Lee Watkinson, a 40-year-old poker pro from Cheney, Wash., also fought back, pushing all-in before the flop with an ace and seven, but Yang read through the show of strength by calling with an ace and nine and Watkinson fell in eighth when neither improved, for a $585,699 payday.
"I was playing for the bracelet," Watkinson said. "I wasn't going for third, fourth or even second. I wanted to make a play and be a contender."
Childs, who quit his job a month ago to play poker for a living, finished seventh with $705,229 when he went all-in with a king and jack against Yang, with a jack and eight. Childs lost when an eight came on the turn.
"My goal when I came in to the tournament was to trust my instincts, make the right decision and hopefully not get unlucky," Childs said. "I was that close to doubling up."
Jon Kalmar, a 34-year-old poker pro from Chorley, England, was the only player to bust out against someone other than Yang. He lost a head-to-head bet against South African retiree Raymond Rahme when his ace and king failed to improve against Rahme's pocket jacks.
Kalmar proclaimed himself "thrilled" with his prize and said he intended to use his winnings to pay bills and perhaps buy a car back home.
Hevad Khan, an Internet poker pro from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., finished in sixth when his ace and queen of spades couldn't top a pair of jacks belonging to a surging Yang. Khan didn't seem disappointed with sixth place and his $956,243 payday as he celebrated with friends in the audience.
Alex Kravchenko, 36, was Yang's fifth victim, when he was all-in before the flop with an ace and king but Yang nailed three of a kind, holding a pocket pair of eights. Kravchenko finished in fourth with $1,852,721.
Finally, Rahme went down when he pushed all-in with pocket kings on a board with an ace. After several minutes of pacing and a staredown, Yang made the call holding an ace and a five, for two aces, and Rahme shook his head in resignation.
"That was the only mistake I made in the whole tournament," Rahme said.
The finalists ranged in age from 22 to 62, and hailed from five nations: the U.S., Canada, Russia, England and South Africa. By birthplace, players also were from Laos, Vietnam and Denmark.
Each had their section of fans in the audience, and the arena took on the air of the Olympics, as supporters broke out into national songs every time their player won a big hand.
Like many former main event winners, Yang planned to take care of his family first and then embark on a poker career.
"I plan to go back to work ... at least to give my two weeks' notice," he said.
