A Review of Poker Professional Fred Sarge Ferris
Ever heard of Fred “Sarge” Ferris? Mr. Ferris was a wiz at the game of poker and profited from it nicely. He realized that some just play poker to have fun, and others play it as a hobby. Fred “Sarge” Ferris played to make money, not just for casual spending but to make it his lifestyle.
Fred “Sarge” Ferris grew up in the Great Depression and his father did everything to put food on the table. Living in poverty, his brother enlisted in the Navy and later became a well-known watchmaker and jeweler. He wanted to choose a different path. So he picked up gambling. He didn’t call it gambling. He was a consummate professional, never showing off his cards or giving away any information.
Fred “Sarge” Ferris became a decorated poker player winning his first tournament in a deuce-to-seven draw. He later became a gold bracelet winner at the World Series of poker. Although he wasn’t much for attention, winning tournaments starting getting him publicity. After Ferris collected his winnings he was approached by Stu Ungar.
Stu Ungar told Ferris that he legitimately could win the world series title. It took a lot of convincing too because he told Ferris that he had never played in the World Series Of Poker before. Somehow he did it and Ferris put him in. Ungar was listed as an extreme long shot with odds at 100:1. Ungar played masterfully making the final table and defeating Ferris’s long time rival Doyle Brunson.
On April 22nd 1983 IRS agents approached Ferris in the card room and seized $46,000 in chips. It made headlines in on news circuits while sitting at Binion’s Horseshoe at high stakes games. The money was then reportedly seized because of back taxes Ferris owed to the federal government. One of the agents told Ferris to use the remaining money and buy a taco.
Fred “Sarge” Ferris and his scandal outrage the local Hispanic communities. Protesting that one of the agents mocked Ferris’ ethnicity. His parents were born in Lebanon but he was somehow mistaken for a Mexican. This was all a misunderstanding. Ferris said the agent was trying to be nice. The incident died off eventually.
During most of his life, he spent all of his time at the poker table. It seems appropriate to have his tombstone made out of a poker table, he died there. On March 12th, 1989, after playing in a high-stakes cash game, He suffered a massive heart attack. His funeral was held in Las Vegas. Many people attended his funeral. People came to show their condolences, some were happy he had died.
However after everything Ferris brought to the game he became the 18th inductee into the poker hall of fame. Later that year after a long investigation by both Las Vegas casinos and the Indian gaming commission, Ferris would be linked as one of five men who was in debt to the mob. To Fred’s credit the mob would never see their money.
Fred “Sarge” Ferris will forever be remember for his intelligence on the table and achievements he accomplish. Some of Ferris’s techniques are still used today and have earned him the respect of today’s and future poker players worldwide.
