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Jeff Gordon Classic Wrap Up
An unknown amateur beat out more than 40 other players to take the title in
the Jeff Gordon Foundation Poker Classic. Mike Suggs, a 59 year old sales
manager for L.A. Car Connection Inc. in California won $17,892 and a seat in
this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event.
Suggs read about the charity tournament at the new poker room in Caesar’s
Palace in Las Vegas online and decided to head to the Mecca of gambling for
the $1,000 buy-in event. Suggs has played poker for more than 30 years, but
says he started taking it “seriously” about a year-and-a-half ago.
The charity title meant that Suggs was up against a few tough professional
competitors who normally wouldn’t be participating in a $1,000 tournament.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Steve Dannenmann, Chris Moneymaker,
and Robert Williamson III all finished lower than the Moor Park, California
amateur. Namesake and organizer of the event Jeff Gordon was bumped out
early on by another amateur player, Anna Bravo. Bravo is a nurse who helps
care for IRL Indy Pro Series™ team owner Sam Schmidt. She took out Gordon in
the first round and was also responsible for the downfall of Ferguson in the
second. Bravo ended up at the final table and finished sixth.
A portion of each buy-in went to the Jeff Gordon Foundation, a nonprofit
organization that supports the physical, social and intellectual needs of
children and their families. The foundation has raised money for many
charities, including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Make-A-Wish
Foundation and Riley Hospital for Children.
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