Nolan Dalla

The First Player with Four Cashes at the 2014 WSOP

 

humberto-brenes

(Left to Right) Lizzy Harrison, Humberto Brenes, and me.

 

Humberto Brenes just walked up to me, all pissed off.

He was muttering something in Spanish.  Remember, Brenes is from Costa Rica.  Brenes was upset that he’d just busted out of another event here at the 2014 World Series of Poker.  Thing was, I remember Brenes also cashed yesterday.  And the day before,  And, the day before that.

 

Brenes started telling me some indecipherable story in broken English about losing a hand holding Ace-King, and I stopped him in mid-sentence. How do you say “firewall” in Spanish?”  Sorry, but I don’t even listen to Brenes in this spot.

That’s when I realized I’d seen Brenes up close to my desk here every day.  Wait, Humberto — haven’t you cashed a lot this year?

“Yeah, I’m four for four,” Humberto said.  “But…..”

Woah!  Woah!  Woah!  You’re four out of four in cashes this year?  Are you kidding me?

Humberto raised his arms as though that was nothing.  Check out his career WSOP record HERE.

Hey, I understand you want to win every tournament.  But cashing in four out of four the first six days?  Three of those tournaments more than a thousand players.  One tournament had nearly 8,000 and he finished 315th.  And here’s Humberto stomping around the Rio spewing words that I don’t understand?

Humberto!  Stop It!

So, I summoned Humbert to pose for a photo.  We went over and grabbed Lizzy Harrison, who is running lots of live streaming for WSOP.com this year.  Lizzy was happy to congratulate Humberto on being the first player at this year’s WSOP to reach four cashes.

In the grand scheme of things, this moment will be forgotten very soon.  Reaching four cashes is no benchmark.  There’s nothing significant about it.  But it sure beats the alternative, which is not cashing.  It’s also meant to be savored, just getting there and being the first player to reach something that most people would covet.

After Humberto posed for the photo, we talked.  By then, he understood that being 4 for 4 in cashes was pretty special.

Humberto Brenes continues to play great poker.  He’s been one of the game’s premier international ambassadors for many years.  He rightly deserves serious consideration for a place in the Poker Hall of Fame.  Brenes was nominated into the top ten last year but just missed the cut.

I hope Brenes eventually makes the Poker Hall of Fame.  I think he deserves it based on his accomplishments and all he’s done for the game in his native country, and beyond.  He’s also a lot of fun, both at and away from the table.

In the meantime, keep an eye on Brenes the rest of the series.  Any player that cashes four times in four attempts deserves a shout-out.

Viva Humberto!

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