Champion of Poker

Dewey Tomko started out playing poker like many other old school professionals, which was inside of a pool hall. By the time Tomko was in college, he was earning enough from playing poker to fund his college education. He attended Salem College and graduated with a degree in education. After college he started to teach kindergarten during the day and play poker at night. He admitted that he loved teaching the kids, but he was making a lot of money at poker. He said that he was actually losing money playing poker and as a result he gave up teaching school and went to work as a professional poker player.

Tomko first started playing at the World Series of Poker in 1974 but it took him five years before he was able to break through and become a champion. His first WSOP bracelet came in 1979 when he won the $1,000 No Limit Holdem Event. Tomko then had a deep run a few years in the 1982 WSOP Main Event when he finished 2nd to Jack “Treetop” Straus. The next year, Tomko had three final tables at the WSOP and finished 2nd in the $5,000 7 Card Stud event.

1984 saw Tomko win take down three major titles. First he won the Grand Prix of Poker Main Event for $355,000. Next, he went to the World Series of Poker and won two bracelets in one year. He first took the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event and then later on took the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event.

The Grand Prix of Poker was very favorable to Tomko as he took down three titles during the next two years. First in 1985 he won the $2,500 NL Holdem event and then went and won the Main Event for a second straight year. Then in 1986 he took the $5,000 2-7 Lowball event. After 1986, Tomko was still a regular on the tournament circuit and had several final table finishes, but he was not able to pull off any big wins.

It wasn’t until the 2001 World Series of Poker that Tomko would make another big score. He made the final table of the Main Event which included Phil Gordon, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, and Carlos Mortensen. The final hand of the event saw Tomko get his pocket aces cracked by the K-Q of Mortensen. Tomko would finish 2nd but would receive the biggest payday of his life at nearly $1.1 Million.

For most of 2002 and 2003, Tomko was again somewhat quiet on the tournament front until he made the final table of the WPT event at the Bellagio World Poker Classic. Tomko was at a final table that included Gus Hansen, Tino Lechich and Mel Judah. Tomko was heads-up with Paul Phillips for the title, but still wound up finishing 2nd. As you can tell, Tomko has a pattern of finishing runner up in big event.

Other than a WSOP Circuit win in a preliminary event in 2005, Tomko was relatively quiet in the poker world for a while. That was until the 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event at the World Series of Poker. A group of some of the finest poker players of all time made the final table of this inaugural H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Phil Ivey, T.J. Cloutier, and Andy Bloch were all a part of what was pegged as the strongest final table in the history of the World Series of Poker. Tomko was the short stack for most of the final table and was able to win a couple of hands to pick up some chips, but really never gained any traction. As a result he finished 7th in the event, taking home $343,200. Tomko would have a strong finish in the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event as well, finishing in 10th place; just two spots shy of the final table.

At the advice of Jack Binion, Tomko started taking his poker winnings and invested them into various business ventures. He currently owns a golf course and a casino in Costa Rica. He does not play as many tournaments as in the past due to other obligations but is still a strong force in poker nonetheless. To date, Tomko has over $4.88 Million in live tournament earnings. Granted, this figure may be more as Tomko started playing in an era where tournament records were not always kept.

Dewey Tomko’s story is on of a many that has taken his success in poker and parlayed it into success in other parts of his life. He funded his education and even his business ventures with his winnings at the table to give himself a secure lifestyle. While Tomko may be best remembered for his near misses, people should also remember that he is a multi time poker champion and someone that you want to stay away from at the poker table if you want to win.