Noel Furlong

J. J. Furlong (born December 25, 1937 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish businessman and poker player who won the 1999 World Series of Poker main event.

This article is about the poker player. For the Father Ted character, see Father Noel Furlong.
Noel Furlong
Furlong in the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic event
Nickname(s)Noel
BornJ.J. Furlong
December 25, 1937 (1937-12-25) (age 83)
Dublin, Ireland
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)1
Money finish(es)3
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		Winner, 1999

Early life

Furlong was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He originally became a millionaire from his carpet manufacturing business.

He was given the nickname "Noel" because he was born on Christmas Day.

Poker

Furlong began playing poker in 1984, and in his first trip to the World Series of Poker in 1989, he placed 6th in the main event. That final table was won by Phil Hellmuth, and also included two time world champion, Johnny Chan, and business executive and professional poker player, Lyle Berman.

Ten years later, Furlong's biggest win came in the 1999 WSOP main event, in which he won $1 million. He defeated a final table that included professional poker players, Padraig Parkinson, Erik Seidel, Chris Bigler, 1996 WSOP Main Event Champion Huck Seed, and Alan Goehring, whom Furlong defeated in heads-up play to win the title.

Until Andy Black's 5th-place finish at the 2005 World Series of Poker main event, he was the top money-winning Irish poker player in the world. He is currently 6th on the Irish poker tournament money-winning list.

Furlong also won the Irish Poker Open, the longest running tournament in Europe (and now one of the largest), in 1987 and again in 1989. This tournament began in 1980, and has been held nearly every year since that time. Furlong is one of only five players in Irish Poker Open history to have won the tournament twice.

In recent years, he has not traveled much to play poker, preferring to concentrate on his business and other interests, while playing occasionally in tournaments in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

As of 2009, Furlong's total live tournament winnings exceed $1,100,000.[1] His 3 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,070,785 of those winnings.[2]

World Series of Poker Bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1999 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $1,000,000

Business and other interests

Furlong owns a carpet distribution company that does over $100 million worth of business a year. Because of his involvement with the carpet business, he doesn't play poker frequently, usually only the WSOP and tournaments in Ireland and western Europe.

Furlong's other interests include owning horses and working as a horse trainer.

References
  1. Hendon Mob tournament results
  2. World Series of Poker Earnings Archived August 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, worldseriesofpoker.com
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