Some poker players lose their shirts. Robert Williamson III, a fast-rising young poker star, hasn't been losing his attire, but he did lose 200 pounds following bariatric weight loss surgery. That decision, he says, gave him back control of his life. "I can play longer hours because I have more stamina," he says, adding that he now sleeps about half the time than he did before the surgery.
Born in Granbury, Texas in 1970, raised in Houston and now living in Dallas, Williamson started learning poker at age 10, from his father. He says he remembers running drinks and sandwiches for his father's games at age 5. He would play against other kids in the neighborhood, and would take trips to Vegas with his father and play with a bankroll of $10,000, even though he was under-aged. But poker has not been his whole work life; he holds degrees in finance and real estate, and has worked as a real estate developer and restaurateur. Known for his gregariousness, Williamson is also rapidly becoming known for his money finishes in a variety of tournaments, especially in Pot Limit Omaha. He won a gold bracelet in that event in the 2002 World Series of Poker (WSOP), and took home $201,160; second place in the 2004 WSOP Pot Limit Omaha (for a prize of $103,580); and second place in the Sixth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open Pot Limit Omaha event ($65,766). And his second place finish in the 2005 WSOP $5000 Pot Limit Omaha resulted in his winning $353,115. It should be no wonder that he is becoming known as "Mr. Omaha." Although he has certainly been doing well at tournaments, he says he enjoys some occasional "side action," such as triple-draw lowball, mixed games ($100-$200 to $400-$800), and pot-limit $50-$100.
