A native of Long Beach, California, James Richburg took his first stab at the biggest poker game in the land all the way back in 1991. Back then the World Series of Poker was still owned by the Binion family, part of the Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas, the place where it all began in 1970. While in the early 90s the World Series of Poker was becoming better known through broadcasting on networks such as ESPN and through exciting stories such as the 1989 championship where Johnny Chan was denied a record-setting third in a row win of the Main Event by young Phil Hellmuth, it still was nowhere near the household name it has become today.
So, with the whole experience being a bit of a mystery, James almost struck at gold with a second-place finish in the Limit 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo game. While he didn't take home a coveted bracelet he did get a nice consolation prize at the time, earning $53,100 for his efforts. Flash forward 15 years to 2006: it is the 37th annual World Series of Poker and it is being held at the Rio, not the Horseshoe. The brand is not owned by the Binion family but rather by the largest casino owner and operator of the world, Harrah's Entertainment. In the intervening years James had made a few cashes, but had never gotten as deep in any event as he had back in 1991. He put up $1,500 to participate in a Razz event, where he would have to face up against 408 other players. In the end he found himself once again sitting heads up at the final table at the World Series of Poker - and facing none other than World Series of Poker Main Event winner from 2002, Carlos Mortensen. This time, James brought home the gold, knocking the Matador out in second place, and picking up over $100,000 in the process. 15 years is a longtime to wait for a victory, but surely it was all the more sweeter to James Richburg because of the delay.
