Poker
Furlong began playing poker in 1984, and in his first trip to the World Series of Poker in 1989, he placed 6th in the main event. That final table was won by Phil Hellmuth, and also included two time world champion, Johnny Chan, and business executive and professional poker player, Lyle Berman.
Ten years later, Furlong's biggest win came in the 1999 WSOP main event, in which he won $1 million. He defeated a final table that included professional poker players, Padraig Parkinson, Erik Seidel, Chris Bigler, 1996 world champion Huck Seed, and Alan Goehring, whom Furlong defeated in heads-up play to win the title.
Until Andy Black's 5th place finish at the 2005 World Series of Poker main event, he was the top money-winning Irish poker player in the world. He is currently 6th on the Irish poker tournament money-winning list.
Furlong also won the Irish Poker Open, the longest running tournament in Europe (and now one of the largest), in 1987 and again in 1989. This tournament began in 1980, and has been held nearly every year since that time. Furlong is one of only five players to have won this tournament twice.
In recent years, he has not traveled much to play poker, preferring to concentrate on his business and other interests, while playing occasionally in tournaments in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
As of 2009, Furlong's total live tournament winnings exceed $1,100,000. His 3 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,070,785 of those winnings.
Read more about this topic: Noel Furlong
Famous quotes containing the word poker:
“The poker player learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent.”
—David Mamet (b. 1947)