Dewey Tomko
| Dewey Tomko | |
|---|---|
Dewey Tomko at the 2006 World Poker Tour Bellagio Five Star Tournament | |
| Nickname(s) | Dewey |
| Residence | Winter Haven, Florida |
| Born | Duane Tomko December 31, 1946 (age 74) |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 3 |
| Money finish(es) | 43 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 2nd, 1982, 2001 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 2 |
| Money finish(es) | 5 |
| Information accurate as of 12 September 2010. | |
Duane 'Dewey' Tomko is an American former kindergarten teacher turned professional poker player, based in Winter Haven, Florida.Tomko is chiefly noted as the runner-up in the World Series of Poker $10,000 no limit Texas hold'em Main Event in 1982 and 2001.
Duane 'Dewey' Tomko (born December 31, 1946 in Glassport, Pennsylvania)[1] is an American former kindergartenteacher turned professional poker player, based in Winter Haven, Florida.
Dewey Tomko’s wife and children have always been the most important thing for the poker player. Due to this principle of playing he had managed to create a calm and rich life for himself. He says that in poker it is important to stay at the top position, being able to reach it – that’s not enough. Poker legend Dewey Tomko’s alleged involvement in the current online poker debate just got a lot more bizarre. This is now on the verge of being a scandal. For those unfamiliar with the longtime poker icon, Dewey Tomko has been playing in poker’s most highly-competitive events since the mid-1970’s.
Brothers Terry and Roger Donley owned the property with three quite unlikely and intriguing partners of Las Vegas fame – Dewey Tomko, Doyle Brunson, and Jack Binion. When the group decided not to replant the grove, they applied their considerable knowledge and success to guide them into a new venture – the golf course/community industry. Dewey Tomko is not an especially well known poker player, yet he is a standout amongst the best. As one of the more seasoned players on the poker scene the dominant parts of his victories were after the game came to be prominent on TV.
Tomko is chiefly noted as the runner-up in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 no limitTexas hold'em Main Event in 1982 (to Jack Straus) and 2001 (to Carlos Mortensen). Besides his success in the Main Event, Tomko has won three WSOP bracelets, all in different variations of poker, in addition to various other tournament wins throughout his career.
Early life[edit]
Tomko was born and raised in Glassport, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He began playing poker profitably as a 16-year-old in Pittsburghpool halls which allowed him to finance his education.
Tomko worked as a kindergarten teacher for several years, but often played poker through the night. After Tomko realised that playing poker was more profitable than his job, he invested a sum of his winnings into businesses while choosing to play poker full-time and leaving his full-time job.
Poker career[edit]
Tomko won his first career WSOP bracelet in 1979 in the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em event. He defeated Duanne Hammrich heads-up to win the title and $48,000 cash prize.
At the 1984 WSOP, Dewey won two bracelets. First, he won the $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw event. The next day, he went back-to-back, winning the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha with re-buys event for his third bracelet.
In addition to his WSOP success, Tomko has made two World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables. He finished runner-up in the 2003 Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $552,853 and in fourth place in the Costa Rica Classic for $14,650.
Tomko has played every WSOP Main Event since 1974 which is currently the longest active streak.
Tomko finished in 3rd place in the 2005 WSOPDeuce-To-Seven lowball event worth $138,160. He also made the final table of the first WSOP $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament in 2006 which featured some of the best tournament and cash game poker players in the world. He finished in 7th place earning $343,200.
As of 2010, Tomko's total live tournament winnings exceed $4,960,000.[2] Just over half of his tournament winnings, $2,641,573, have come at the WSOP.[3] He is a 2008 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame. He was inducted alongside Henry Orenstein.[4]
World Series of Poker bracelets[edit]
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | $1,000 No Limit Hold'em | $48,000 |
| 1984 | $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw | $105,000 |
| 1984 | $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha | $135,000 |
Family[edit]
Tomko is married with a son. He also has three adult children from his first marriage. His son, Derek, encouraged him to return to playing poker tournaments.
Golf[edit]
Tomko is an excellent golfer, spending much of his time on the golf course when he is not playing poker. He has played with many of his fellow high-stakes poker players like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and many others. One of his most frequent golf partners is fellow poker professional Hilbert Shirey, who also lives in Tomko's hometown of Winter Haven, Florida.
Rick Reilly chronicles a day with Dewey on a golf course in his book Who's Your Caddy. In it, he contends that Tomko is not interested in competition if there is not a wager riding on it.
On NBC's Poker After Dark, poker professional and 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer noted that professional golfer Rocco Mediate has said that if he had one person to putt for his life, it would be Tomko.
Notes[edit]
- ^'Tourney.com profile'. Archived from the original on August 1, 2005.
- ^'Dewey Tomko's profile on The Hendon Mob'. The Hendon Mob Poker Database.
- ^, World Series of Poker Earnings}, www.wsop.com
- ^'Poker Hall of Fame 2008 Inductees Announced'.
Poker legend Dewey Tomko’s alleged involvement in the current online poker debate just got a lot more bizarre.
This is now on the verge of being a scandal.
For those unfamiliar with the longtime poker icon, Dewey Tomko has been playing in poker’s most highly-competitive events since the mid-1970’s. He’s won three World Series of Poker gold bracelets during his illustrious career, even though he plays in relatively few events each year. He’s finished as runner up in the Main Event Championship twice. In 2008, Tomko was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Tomko now resides in Orlando, Florida. He’s a highly-successful businessman who owns and manages multiple restaurants. Tomko also owns a private golf course and country club, a massive development of luxury homes, and other businesses including a casino in Costa Rica.
BACKGROUND
Several weeks ago, I came across a stunning guest editorial which appeared in The Press of Atlantic City newspaper (and website). The writer(s) of the op-ed printed on March 19, 2014 warned the general public about the supposed dangers of collusion and being cheated when playing online poker. The ridiculously slanted editorial boiled down to a scare tactic. Read the full text here: DEWEY TOMKO AND BILL BYERS / POKER PROS: TEST GAMBLING SITES FOR CHEATING
The editorial came as a shock to me for several reasons. First, I know one of the alleged authors, Dewey Tomko, quite well. He doesn’t write editorials to newspapers. Moreover, Tomko has absolutely no first-hand knowledge of online poker. Tomko has never even played online poker before. Not even once. Finally, Tomko didn’t own a personal e-mail account until very recently, which is related to one of his businesses.
This editorial allegedly written and/or co-authored by Tomko sure didn’t sound like the man I knew. Alerted to these concerns I decided to investigate.
OTHER MEDIA TAKE THE BAIT AND RUN WITH THE STORY
The intent here isn’t to criticize poker media. It’s fair for them to assume what appears in the mainstream press to be true. In fact, every outlet that reported this story accepted Tomko’s authorship of the piece on their faith in the journalistic standards and practices of The Press of Atlantic City, which bears full responsibility.
Here are just a few of the poker news outlets which ran their own reactions to the editorial:
FlushDraw: DEWEY TOMKO AND THE WEIRD ONLINE POKER FLIP-FLOP SELLOUT
F5poker: POKER HALL OF FAMER DEWEY TOMKO: UNTESTED ONLINE POKER MAY DESTROY THE GAME
F5poker: POKER HALL OF FAMER DEWEY TOMKO TAKES A PUBLIC RELATIONS BEATING
PoketFives: DEWEY TOMKO FEARS CHEATING AND COLLUSION AT REGULATED ONLINE POKER SITES
That’s just a few. I counted several other poker news sites which ran the story as legitimate, which are easily accessible by doing a Google search.
Even mainstream press quoted from the original editorial, including the highly-influential The Hill, read by lawmakers in Washington, DC. In a special feature with the byline “Jim Thackston” (a.k.a. James Thackston), The Hill printed the following paragraph:
In March, Byers and another professional poker player and Poker Hall of Fame inductee, Dewey Tomko, co-wrote an op-ed which appeared in the Press of Atlantic City. They specifically addressed the vulnerability of novice players to cheating by teams of colluders as well as the curious lack of interest on the part of New Jersey regulators in the details of how cheaters might exploit system weaknesses.
Read the full story here: NEW JERSEY GAMBLING REGULATOR IGNORES ONLINE POKER PROBLEMS
Meanwhile, several posters at various poker forums, including 2+2, ripped into Tomko for his alleged role in the online poker debate. Read more here: DEWEY TOMKO NEEDS WORK, WANTS TO PROTECT US FROM THE EVILS OF ONLINE POKER
It’s fair to say, Tomko was being crucified. And perhaps rightly so, if any of it was actually true.
I wondered. Did anyone bother to check this out first and run it by Tomko?
THE TRUTH IS REVEALED
On Sunday afternoon (May 4, 2014) I called up my friend Dewey Tomko who was at his home in Orlando.
I told him about the original article he was alleged to have written. I explained how the fallout from this story within the poker community would be very negative, not just for him, but also for poker.
Tomko’s statements were quite clear and were recorded as follows:
On the editorial which appeared in The Press of Atlantic City newspaper:
I have no idea what you’re talking about. You know me. I don’t write columns to newspapers. I’ve got other things that keep me plenty busy.
On knowing Bill Byers, who allegedly co-authored the editorial with Tomko, which appeared in The Press of Atlantic City newspaper:
Sure, I know Bill Byers. But I haven’t talked to him in ten years.
On being asked permission to have his name attached to the editorial:
No. That didn’t happen. No one every asked me about it. This is the first I’ve ever heard about it.
On any knowledge or association he has with any person or organization related to online poker — either pro or con:
I have no association whatsoever to anything to do with that. I don’t play online poker. I’ve never played online poker before. Not even once. I don’t know anything about it. Why would I say something on something I know nothing about? I don’t do that. [See Footnote 1]
On his knowledge or association with Hilbert Shirey, who is/was reportedly an executive in a company headed by James Thackson (see The Hill story referenced above):
Sure, we’re friends….but I haven’t talked to Hilbert in at least three or four years.
On his actual position with regards to online poker and safety issues — as well as legalization and regulation.
I’m totally in favor of online poker. I haven’t played it. But I know it’s good for poker. I can’t really comment at all about security because I’m not qualified in that area. How could I be? How can they say that about me? I would never write such a thing about online poker. I would never do anything to hurt the game. You know that.
There’s more. But those were the high points.
In summation: First, Tomko didn’t write the editorial. Second, he knows nothing about it. Third, he hasn’t lent his name to any cause associated with any findings about online poker.
MY CONCLUSIONS: PUTTING ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER
Based on the evidence I have presented above, I’ve come to the following conclusions:
Dewey Tomko Hendon Mob
(1) Nothing written by either Bill Byers or Jim Thackson is credible. Everything they have stated with regards to online poker is now suspect. Both either knowingly or recklessly used Dewey Tomko’s name to establish credibility for themselves and their arguments.
(2) The Press of Atlantic City owes Dewey Tomko an immediate apology and a retraction of the original article.
(3) The Hill (newspaper) owes Dewey Tomko an immediate apology, which merits a correction.
(4) All media which reacted to the original editorial believed to have been co-authored by Dewey Tomko should run retractions, and explain how they were fooled into believing the piece was legitimate.
(5) Poker enthusiasts who post at various sites should now be aware that the views previously attributed to Dewey Tomko are false.
(6) Someone is lying. Someone is making things up. Someone needs to be exposed a soon as possible and all those who have used any evidence or testimony from the such an individual should be dismissed immediately as sources who are not credible.
Dewey Tomko Poker
So, who is the imposter behind the Dewey Tomko hoax? I hope someone out there will investigate and find out.
[Footnote 1:] Tomko endorsed the online poker site Doyle’s Room for several years. However, he never actually played on the site, nor any site. Tomko says he made the endorsement as a favor to his longtime friend, Doyle Brunson.
Additional Notes:
I have no idea who “professional poker player” Bill Byers is. However, he does have a profile listed at multiple poker sites. His last recorded tournament cash was seven years ago (2007). This “professional poker player” has earned $12,053 in a grand total of three lifetime cashes, according to one of the sites.BLUFF LINK HERE: BILL BYERS
Dewey Tomko Hendon
For more on this breaking story, I encourage you to check the major sources for poker news. I also wish to acknowledge the original reporting done by Haley Hintze (from FlushDraw) and Rich Muny (Poker Players Alliance) and thank others out there who rightly asked questions that deserve answers.
Dewey Tomko Book
Here’s an interesting report by Rich Muny, which highlights some of the dubious affairs of James Thackston, Bill Byers, Hilbert Shirey, and (apparently mistakenly) Dewey Tomko. READ HERE: Bill Byers, Hilbert Shirey (Poker Player & Dewey Tomko’s Longtime Golf Partner) & Jim Thackston Are Business Partners…Cheri Jacobus Is Right In The Middle Of It!