Thomas Keller Poker
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Thomas keller Customer Service Manager at Oats Overnight Phoenix, Arizona Area 65 connections. Join to Connect. Stanford University. Online poker affiliate, gaming educator. The latest tweets from @thunderkeller. Thomas “Thunder” Keller, the newest World Series of Poker champion, was joined at the final table by his new wife. The happy couple was married only two weeks ago. As he departed the Las Vegas Horseshoe with his new bride, it’s unknown whether or not Thunder took his winnings in cash, or check.
May 6, 2004Sign up to receive daily news from VegasInsider
by Nolan Dalla
Special to VegasInsider.com
Official Results:
If you don’t know the name Thomas Keller yet, you soon will. Keller, better known as “Thunder,” blasted away 253 players in the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas hold’em event and collected $382,020. At age 23, he is one of the youngest players ever to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Remarkably, his feat comes only 24-hours after Scott Fischman, also aged 23, won his second gold bracelet at this year’s tournament. This is fast becoming “the year of the young guns.”
“He’s the best young poker player in the world,” said one Arizona local – who goes by the name Shoe. “I must have played with him 50 times, and fifty times he won. I’ve never seen anything like him.”
Thunder reportedly beat the game so consistently, at one point he cornered the market on every one of the casino’s $100 chips. Instead of cashing out at the end of each session, Thunder stashed his winnings inside the trunk of his car. After several months, Thunder’s car was awash in black chips, rack after rack piled up inside the back of the car.
Finally, the day came when the big cash game players wanted to play poker and there were no $100 chips left inside the casino. Thunder had locked up all the black chips -- estimated to be worth well over a million dollars. Then and there, Thunder sold off racks of chips to the players, $10,000 at a time, directly from the back of his car.
And so, the date May 4th rolled around and Thunder decided to enter his first-ever tournament at the World Series of Poker. Thunder’s name was absent amongst the table chatter, as players and onlookers looked around and began speculating who might win the 13th event at this year’s World Series. At one point during the tournament, all eyes in the room were on Chris Moneymaker, the defending world poker champion. Moneymaker had ten percent of all the chips in play when there were 60 players remaining (he busted out 32nd). There were other well-known faces, too – including Mickey Appleman, Billy Baxter, John Bonetti, Johnny Chan, Eskimo Clark, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, Dan Harrington, Dan Heimiller, Berry Johnston, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Toto Leonidas, O’Neil Longson, Carlos Mortensen, Mike Matusow, Jim Meehan, Daniel Negreanu, Men Nguyen, Minh Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, David Pham, Barry Shulman, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, Mike Sexton, Bob Stupak, Dewey Tomko, Devil Fish Ulliott, Robert Williamson – all of whom have won gold bracelets. Also, actor Toby Maguire, known for his roles in “Spiderman” and “Seabiscuit,” played in the event.
Amidst all the poker stars and a bona fide Hollywood celebrity in the room, Thunder plodded along and played his best game, and ended up at the final table second in chips, to James Sousa’s slight advantage. Players at the final table busted out as follows:
9th – FRANK SINOPOLI – The 32-year-old poker player from Florida went out with 9-9 against pocket kings. Sinopoli was check-raised after a flop of 7-6-2 and was “all-in.” A nine failed to rescue Sinopoli – which meant a 9th place finish worth $23,889.
8th – PHILLIP MARMORSTEIN – Easily the most colorful player of the bunch, Marmorstein came dressed in lederhosen topped by an Alpine cap and father, reminiscent of the traditional dress of his naïve Germany. Marmorstein, who was born in Munich and now lives in London, was toppled from the final table when he lost with A-Q to a pair of 8s. Marmorstein will soon be passing through customs with $35,820, ready to convert to Euros.
7th – YOUNG PHAN – Seven-handed play continued for two full hours, making it perhaps one of the longest seven-handed no-limit games in WSOP history. Phan, a native of Vietnam, made his final stand with A-K versus J-J. Phan failed to hit a pair and exited in 7th place with $47,760. Phan, who has been coming to the WSOP for ten years, has two children and lives in Irvine, CA.
6th – PAUL “ESKIMO” CLARK – Clark is legendary in poker circles as one of the game’s most eccentric personalities. He gambles high and never backs away from a proposition. Clark was “all in” with A-10 against A-J and failed to pull of the upset. Clark, originally from New Orleans and now living in Las Vegas, is a 15-year veteran of the WSOP who has won three gold bracelets. He came up short in this event and pocketed $59,680.
5th – SALIM “SAM” BATSHON – Originally from the West Bank of Israel/Palestine, Batshon’s best finish had been 18th in a No-Limit Hold’em event here at the WSOP back in 2002. Batshon, who now lives in California, took a bad beat when his A-8 lost to J-8 after a jack flopped. Batshon received $71,620.
4th – LEE WATKINSON – Watkinson, a 38-year-old finalist from Tacoma, WA went out in 4th place. He was short-stacked and went “all in” with 2-2 – losing to a straight. He collected $83,560. 3rd – JAMES SOUSA – Sousa is originally from Boston. He’s won over half-a-million dollars playing poker during his lifetime, and spends his extra time handicapping sports, including baseball. Souosa went out in third place with second pair, after the flop came J-J-10. Sousa had a 10, but lost to Thunder, who had a jack in his hand and busted his opponent. Sousa took home six figures -- $107,520.
When heads-up play began, the chip counts were as follows:
THUNDER: $1,009,000
DEKNIJFF: $261,000
| Thomas Keller became the second 23-year old player to win at the WSOP. (AP Images) |
Deknijff had his work cut out, facing a fearless (and largely unknown) opponent, with a massive chip advantage. Deknijff, who goes by the nickname “The Knife” was sliced and diced when he lost the last hand of the night. He check-raised “all in” with K-2 after the flop came 9-4-2. Thunder wasn’t going anywhere, except directly to his chips with pocket 10s, good for an overpair. The board ended up showing 9-4-2-9-9, and Thunder won with the higher full-house. The runner up, Martin Deknijff is from Sweden. He collected $210,100.
Immediately after the tournament, ESPN cameras rolled and captured the birth of a new poker star. “Thunder” had managed to do the unthinkable – winning his first-ever attempt at the World Series of Poker, playing in what was one of the toughest No-Limit Hold’em fields in history. He was also forthright in discussing how he learned to play poker so quickly.
“The Internet is a great teaching tool,“ Thunder said afterward. “The players there don’t get enough respect.”
When asked about his goals at his first WSOP tournament, Thunder replied: “I came in trying to win it. I’ve always liked jewelry and I wanted to win the gold bracele. Realistically, you want to make the final table, but when we got down to four-handed, that’s when I realized I would not be happy unless I won (first place). And now, here I am.”
Thomas Keller Lawsuit
Thomas “Thunder” Keller, the newest World Series of Poker champion, was joined at the final table by his new wife. The happy couple was married only two weeks ago. As he departed the Las Vegas Horseshoe with his new bride, it’s unknown whether or not Thunder took his winnings in cash, or check. Someone might want to check inside Thunder’s trunk, and see.
| Rob Hollink | |
|---|---|
Hollink after winning the $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2008 WSOP. | |
| Residence | Groningen, Netherlands |
| Born | March 27, 1962 (age 58) Enschede, Netherlands |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 24 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 193rd, 2004 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 2 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 2 |
| Money finish(es) | 4 |
| Information accurate as of 17 September 2010. | |
Rob Hollink (born March 27, 1962 in Enschede, Netherlands) is a professional poker player based in Groningen. He has won both a European Poker Tour (EPT) title and World Series of Poker bracelet, becoming the first person from the Netherlands to do so, first was at the EPT's inaugural Grand Final of the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo in 2005 and then he won his first bracelet at the 2008 World Series of Poker in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship,[1][2] becoming the first Dutch bracelet winner.
Before poker[edit]
Prior to playing poker professionally, Hollink played tennis, football (soccer) and basketball when he was a kid, but injuries prevented his career from progressing as far as he wanted. Rob Hollink has been a professional gambler since 1985. After winning a poker-tournament in Paris in 2001, Hollink decided to stop playing black-jack and roulette and proceeded as a poker professional.
Poker career[edit]
His numerous Omaha tournament wins include:
- HFl 400 Pot Limit Omaha at the Master Classics of Poker 2001, Amsterdam - HFl 90,763 ($37,187)
- €500 Pot Limit Omaha at the Austrian Masters 2002, Vienna - €25,220 ($23,523)
- €3,000 Pot Limit Omaha at the Euro Finals of Poker 2003, Paris - €122,440 ($131,798)
- €250 Pot Limit Omaha at the World Heads-Up Poker Championship 2004, Barcelona - €23,000 ($27,855)[2]
Thomas Keller Poker Player
Rob also made the final table of the Pot Limit Omaha tournament at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
On August 7, 2003, the opening event of the 2003 World Championship of Online Poker, a $109 buy-in heads up No Limit tournament, was won by Hollink for a $12,800 first prize, using the screen name 'batoelrob.'[3][4]
In no limithold'em events, Rob has finished in the money of two World Poker Tour (WPT) events:
- 12th in the Grand Prix de Paris 2004 - €19,000 ($23,167)
- 5th in the Season 3 WPT Championship - $377,420[2]
One of his greatest wins was defeating the 211 player field at the €10,000 European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo, where he took home the €635,000 ($845,190) grand prize. Fellow Dutch poker player Marcel Lüske had tipped him to win the event shortly before.[citation needed]
In 2005, Hollink won 4 tournaments, he won the European tournament performance of the year and was also chosen as European poker player of the year
In June 2008, Rob Hollink won the $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, earning $496,931.[2]
Since 2001, Rob Hollink won 14 tournaments out of 44 final tables in live poker-tournaments.
Since 2007, Rob Hollink has been a poker-instructor at www.nederpoker.com
Thomas Keller Restaurants
In 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,100,000.[2] His 24 cashes at the WSOP account for $890,659 of those winnings.[5]
World Series of Poker bracelets[edit]
| Year | Event | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $10,000 LimitHold'em World Championship | $496,931 |
References[edit]
Thomas Thunder Keller Poker
- ^Lucchesi, Ryan (June 18, 2008). 'WSOP: Rob Hollink Wins Event No. 30'. CardPlayer.com. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- ^ abcdeButt, Robert. 'Rob Hollink - Results'. TheHendonMob.com. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
- ^http://www.pokerstars.com/wcoop/2003/
- ^http://www.pokernews.com/news/2008/101/online-poker-weekend-SNo0oWMAN-outduels-roosterbill.htm
- ^World Series of Poker EarningsArchived July 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, worldseriesofpoker.com