WSOP 2013 Main Event November Niner Jay Farber
WSOP 2013 Main Event November Niner Jay Farber
He may not be the most decorated, nor anywhere near the highest winning tournament player amidst the 2013 WSOP Main Event’s November Nine, but if there’s one thing Jay Farber has going for him, it’s spunk! Farber’s enthusiasm in the earliest hours of Tuesday morning, proceeding a very long and tedious 15-hour session that saw the elimination of 59 determined opponents, outshined just about everything else about the moment. Weary eyes, aching bones and elongated stretches were the fatigued reaction of the other 8 members of the November Nine when Carlos Mortensen (2011 WSOP Champion) was eliminated in 10th place, but Jay Farber was a grinning ball of excited energy that overlapped the rails and brought the crowd back to life.
Who is this zealous, stocky, tattoo-laden poker player who came up from nowhere and grabbed the admiration of so many railbirds? He is Herbert “Jay” Farber, a 28 year old Las Vegas local who grew up in Santa Barbara, California. A business graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Farber moved Las Vegas five years ago where he knew a few friends who worked in and around Sin City and asked them to help him find work. Since then, he has been employed in the Las Vegas nightlife industry as a VIP Host. As such, he is accustomed to long nights and late hours, giving him more of an advantage in Day 7’s competition as the tournament meandered on into the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Under his given name, Herbert Farber has only cashed in two documented live tournaments; both low buy-in NL Holdem events in April of 2010 that awarded a combined $2,155 in prizes. Even if Farber were to be eliminated in the very first hand of the 2013 WSOP Main Event final table, the 9th place prize of $733,224 would multiply his current total live tournament winnings by an extraordinary 340x. To win it all, scooping the 1st place prize of $8,359,531, would multiply his winnings by an unfathomable 3,879x.
Jay Farber was also a consistent contributor to the immensely popular TwoPlusTwo forums, under the nickname “JayLV”, but was banned form the site several years ago, ostensibly for using the online poker community to advertise his services as a Las Vegas VIP Host. Advertising of any kind is limited to paid members of the site, which Farber was not at the time. The general consensus of the community, however, was that JayLV was a great guy, beloved by those who met him, a solid contributor to 2+2 and did not charge for his services, which mostly included him seating visiting poker players at good tables. He surely received some good tips along the way, though.
According to Farber’s own Twitter page, he deems himself a ‘poker player’ and ‘degenerate gambler’, so we must assume that, at the least, he has a sufficient amount of experience playing the game. His overall winnings cannot be calculated since he spends the majority of his poker hours on cash tables. One way or another, Farber is likely to be a fan favorite due to his sheer enthusiasm and confirmed likability. Among Farber’s largest supporters are known poker pros Ben Lamb and Chance Kornuth, both of which were seen railbirding Jay’s tables throughout the final stages.
The 2013 WSOP Main Event November Nine has shaped up as follows, listed by chip stacks:
- JC Tran –38,000,000
- Amir Lehavot –29,700,000
- Marc-Etienne McLaughlin – 26,525,000
- Jay Farber – 25,975,000
- Ryan Riess – 25,875,000
- Sylvain Loosli – 19,600,000
- Michiel Brummelhuis – 11,275,000
- Mark Newhouse – 7,350,000
- David Benefield – 6,375,000
And finally, the calculated payouts for the 2013 WSOP Main Event November Nine will be as follows:
- 1st place: $8,359,531
- 2nd place: $5,173,170
- 3rd place: $3,727,023
- 4th place: $2,791,983
- 5th place: $2,106,526
- 6th place: $1,600,792
- 7th place: $1,225,224
- 8th place: $944,593
- 9th place: $733,224
The focus on Farber’s enthusiasm is intriguing, but the exclusion from forums is a downside. Curious how it shaped his image.