GILROY
– Local school bus mechanic Ausencio Quezada came out the winner
of the Garlic City Club’s annual poker championship Sunday,
claiming a seat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
GILROY – Local school bus mechanic Ausencio Quezada came out the winner of the Garlic City Club’s annual poker championship Sunday, claiming a seat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
The World Series of Poker, now in its 35th year, is considered the game’s crowning event. Quezada is entered in the seven-day championship round from May 22 to 28. The top prize is expected to be more than $3 million, according to Garlic City Club Manager Raul Rivas.
“I will be going to play with the big boys,” Quezada, a Gilroy resident, said Monday.
He’s not bragging, though.
“It happened to be me,” Quezada said. It was “pure luck, basically, and a little bit of skill” that caused Sunday’s game to turn in his favor, he said.
“Know when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em is what it’s all about,” Quezada said. “Timing is everything in those games.”
Quezada won out of a select field of 10 on Sunday. After beating early front-runners Dawn Rossai and Jeff Dame, he finished off Rivas to take the prize.
“He behaves real good, like a professional,” Rivas said of Quezada. “I’m glad that he won. I can only say I lost to a really good player. … I think he has a very good chance (in Las Vegas).
Quezada has gambled in Vegas before, but it wasn’t pretty, he recalled with a laugh.
“I lost $20,000 the last time I was there,” Quezada said. “It’s easier to lose than it is to win. … That’s why I haven’t been back for the last 15 years.”
ESPN broadcast last year’s World Series of Poker and advertised the $2.5 million purse as “a winner’s share bigger than the Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon, Indianapolis 500 or any other competition on Earth.”
The Garlic City Club’s Jose Gomez, of Hollister, was one of the World Series qualifiers last year. Even though he outlasted 500 others, he still bowed out the first day.
In the end, the prize went to the aptly named Chris Moneymaker, a 28-year-old Tennessee accountant and an unknown going into the tournament.
“You need a good memory, the ability to read people, and you have to be comfortable sitting there lying to somebody,” Moneymaker told Harrah’s Entertainment, which is taking over as tournament director from longtime host Binion’s. Moneymaker plans to re-enter this year, according to Harrah’s.
Quezada works as a heavy-duty diesel mechanic for the Morgan Hill Unified School District, a job he said he’s held for 14 years. He is married and has four children.
Quezada plays poker once or twice a week, sometimes as far away as Fresno. He has been a regular player at the Garlic City Club for about five years, since the club opened; he figures he has won more than he has lost there.
On Sunday, he said, “I was the underdog. (Rossai) was way ahead of us.”
“(Rossai) … had the most chips in the game,” Rivas said. “She eliminated some of the players. … As the game progressed, she went head-to-head with Mr. Quezada, … and he eliminated her. … From then on it was very hard to beat him because everyone else had a very small amount of chips. That included me.
“This is the second (year in a row) I’ve come in second,” Rivas added. “Maybe next time.”
To get to Sunday’s final table, each of the 10 players had to either win one of 10 qualifying tournaments throughout the year or buy a seat from a winner.
Although Quezada won $10,000 in chips Sunday, it wasn’t a cash prize; rather, it was a chance to compete with the best players in the world. The World Series entry fee cost $10,000, which the Garlic City Club paid using its players’ $125 tournament-entry fees.
Rivas said the game of choice at such poker tournaments is Texas Hold ‘Em. Each player gets two initial cards face-down, and all players share the remaining five cards, dealt face-up.
“Texas Hold ‘Em is the hottest game going anywhere in the world right now,” Rivas said.
The Garlic City Club hosts regular poker games every Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. and every Saturday at 5. Anyone is invited, good or not.
Nevertheless, Rivas said, “There’s a lot of good players here.”
