Where's Jerry?

Yesterday was Day 5 of the WSOP Main Event. For those that don't know, it costs ten thousand dollars to buyin.

Jerry Yang, a 24 year old poker player from Texas had managed to battle through the first four days, and was one of the lucky 666 players guaranteed to win some cash. At the start of day 5, Jerry was nowhere to be seen. His stack sat at the table, slowly blinding out, until he was elimated in 171st place, cashing for $44,655. Not a bad cash, but first place pays over $8 million dollars, an amount of money that would set most people up for life.

So where was Jerry? He was sat in his hotel room observing the Sabbath. His new Jewish wife (Jerry isn't Jewish himself) had asked him to observe the Sabbath and not to play poker. He had half a million chips, which was plenty, and was in with a shot to make a whole lot more, but chose to respect his wife of 12 months and sit in a hotel room with her all day, knowing his WSOP Main Event would be over. The chance to win millions of dollars gone.

Surely God would forgive you for tossing a few chips into a pot just this once. Is it really in the Hebrew Bible that says you can't three bet light in position on the Sabbath?

Not sure I would do the same if I was in the same position.

But anyway, 'One man's woe, is another man's dream.' The players at his table had a ball.