Viewers of the BloombergTV program Poker Night on Wall Street were not disappointed by the performance turned in by six top Wall Street financiers this week in the $50,000 buy-in charity event.
Steve Kuhn of Pine River Capital took the honours after some tough competition from Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn; Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates; Gabelli Asset Management’s Mario Gabelli; Ariel Investments’ John Rogers; and Skylar Capital Management’s Bill Perkins.
Poker playing journalist Matt Matros – himself the holder of three WSOP bracelets – reported on the game on CNN Money, observing that the financiers screened playing Wednesday clearly have an aptitude for the game.
However, Matros reserved his most positive comments for David Einhorn, a businessman who has already distinguished himself at the live tournament poker tables for his skill and his generosity in donating prize money to charity, and for Bill Perkins who has similarly impressed in his WSOP appearances.
“David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital finished third in the million-dollar buy-in One Drop event at the 2012 World Series of Poker, while Bill Perkins of Skylar Capital took home nearly 300,000 British pounds in a London event just a few weeks ago,” Matros noted.
“Neither Einhorn nor Perkins advanced very far in Wednesday night’s event, but that was mostly because of bad luck.
“Einhorn, in particular, has impressed many regulars on the tournament circuit. Poker pro Mike McDonald, who coached Einhorn for his final table appearance at the One Drop, said of his student: “He’s possibly the most active listener I’ve ever met. Very few people are as good as he is with so few hours played.”
The night’s winner, Steve Kuhn has no plans to play poker professionally. Asked tongue-in-cheek whether he would consider such a move, Kuhn laughed and said “I kinda like my job already!”