Dewey Tomko
Dewey (Duane) Tomko is a professional poker player who was born in Pennsylvania in 1946. Before turning professional, Tomko worked as a kindergarten teacher but he was still getting his poker fix at night while teaching. He had been already making money from paying poker from the age of sixteen and it was the money he earned at the poker tables which allowed him to pay his way through college.
Dewey Tomko
He is a regular at the World Series of Poker tournaments and the first time he cashed at one of these tournaments, he won his first gold bracelet. Placing first in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event saw him earn $48,000 along with his bracelet. He holds a record for playing at the most WSOP Main Events having played at every one since 1974. However he did not cash in this event until 1982 when he finished second behind Jack Straus and picked up prize money of $208,000 for his troubles. Tomko had another second place finish in this event in 2001 when he finished just behind Carlos Mortensen and this time picked up over one million dollars in prize money.
He has also won another two World Series of Poker gold bracelets during his career. His second and third bracelets were both picked up in 1984. For finishing first in the $5000 Pot Limit Omaha event he netted $135,000 and earned another $105,000 for winning the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event.
So far Tomko has picked up total tournament earnings of almost $5 million. He has cashed at the World Series of Poker forty four times and from these cashes he has earned over two and a half million dollars.
He lives in Florida with his wife and three children and his son Derek is also a keen poker player. In 2008 he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
