Bluff boosts Macomb poker players fortunes

Macomb resident Larry Prugh has survived the first three rounds of the World Series of Poker's Main Event, playing his way into a field of 185 that started with more than 5,600 competitors.

Prugh is guaranteed at least a $39,000 payout and is still in the hunt for a larger slice of the $53 million pot. The Main Event, played each year in Las Vegas, is one of the world's most famous poker tournaments. ESPN will broadcast the event later this year.

A 56-year-old security specialist with the Detroit Arsenal, Prugh won his seat through an online tournament that cost him $16 to enter.

"I feel great," Prugh, obviously excited, said Tuesday by phone from Las Vegas. "I don't even know what day of the week it is."

Prugh has been playing marathon matches of Texas Hold'em poker to work his way through the tourney. Taking short breaks, he played from noon Monday until 2 a.m. Tuesday to make it past the third round.

The turning point came shortly after dinner when Prugh, down to $100,000 in chips, went head-to-head with an opponent who had more than $800,000 in chips.

Prugh didn't have a good hand but decided to bluff. He pointed to his family in the audience, told his opponent he'd had a good time in Las Vegas and was ready to go home.

"I leaned forward and said, 'This is it. All in,' " Prugh said. "Let's shove these babies all in."

The bluff worked. The opponent, thinking Prugh was fronting a good hand, folded. The win boosted Prugh's stack to about $180,000. He would finish the round with $372,500 in chips for 56th in the standings.

Prugh was headed to another round of play Tuesday that could push his guaranteed winnings higher. The Main Event champion will be crowned this weekend and could bag more than $5 million.

"We're creeping into some serious money," Prugh said before heading back to play.

BY JOE GUY COLLIER

News Added: 13 July, 2005

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