Finding Jesus in Strange Places

  The Romans were especially skilled at killing people. Anybody who has any doubts about that should get that cable television psychic, John Edwards, to have a chat with the members of Spartacus's rebel army and get their feelings about the aesthetic beauty of the Appian Way as seen from the unique perspective of someone nailed to a cross. In short, the type of people who would leave thousands of uppity slaves crucified along a major road just to make a point, were the type of people who took their killing seriously.  This would explain why they were so shocked when Jesus walked away from his grave. The Roman military was used to the people they killed staying dead. Since leaving the grave, Jesus has shown up in a number of very strange places. According to the Mormons he was in the United States before the Vikings got here, while authors and film makers have forwarded the idea that Jesus was in Europe putting a smile on the Mona Lisa's face. Perhaps the oddest place Jesus has appeared lately was in the kitchen of Mr. Mike Thompson who found the Savior staring back at him from a pancake. Who knew divine intervention extended to breakfast food? The one place nobody should be surprised to see Jesus is the final table of a poker event.  Recently Chris "Jesus" Ferguson beat sophomore pro Dustin Fox in the World Series of Poker Lake Tahoe Circuit Event's $5,000 buy in main event at Harveys. The victory added $203,649 to Ferguson's lifetime total that is well over six million dollars. Once again, there is nothing strange about Chris winning money. What is an unusual place for someone like Ferguson to find himself is a situation where he is wrangling in a tournament Main Event with a kid who is still at the age where he may very well be living in his parents' basement.  LaunchPoker.com recently did an interview with Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, and Chris's fight with Dustin Fox almost turned the Fossilman into a prophet. He talked at length about the young internet players, and how when you find yourself looking into the face of an opponent who is barely old enough to shave, you can't assume he is a novice. This person may have played hundreds or thousands of tournaments online by the time he pushes you to the limits. Even Jesus will admit that being in a poker death struggle with a twenty-something pro with only two years experience is a place almost as odd as appearing on a pancake.  That is the strange reality of modern poker. Jesus may even find himself in stranger places as cyberspace becomes an incubator of players whose development has been accelerated and concentrated by unprecedented access to the game.