WSOP: All-In on Life

Multi-talented humanitarian brings a lifetime of experience to the poker table

June 20, 2006

By Jake Gosselin
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

Hugh Parmer is the type of person who makes you feel like you should be doing more with your life. He is a grandfather. He has been married for 40 years. He has a degree in Political Science from Yale University and a master’s degree in the same from the University of Texas. He was the mayor of Fort Worth, Texas from 1975-79 and a Texas state senator from 1982-91. He ran international disaster relief for the U.S. government during the Clinton administration. He passed the Texas bar exam to become a lawyer without ever having gone to law school. He was a Golden Gloves boxer and has studied Judo, Karate and Goshin Ju Jitsu. He jogs nine miles every week and is the president of the international non-profit humanitarian relief organization the American Refugee Committee (ARC). And this July he will be competing in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event for Team Bodog.

Hugh Parmer of Minneapolis, Minn., is the president of the American Refugee Committee. Seen here working with refugees in Rwanda.

Parmer will be one of approximately 8,000 players from around the world competing in the WSOP, which will award more than $70 million in cash prizes and a grand prize of $10 million. All of the WSOP tournaments are played at Harrah's Rio casino and hotel. This year, Bodog is sending 700 of its most talented online players to the WSOP, which runs from June 25-Aug. 10.

Parmer’s 67th birthday is on Aug. 3, right in the midst of the Main Event. He spent his 58th birthday scuba diving on the U352, a German U-boat which was sunk off the coast of North Carolina and now rests 110 feet below the surface. This year the WSOP Main Event begins on July 28, so if Parmer does well he’ll be celebrating his birthday at a poker table that could yield him up to $10 million. Although it should be noted that the most he will keep is $9 million since he is donating 10 percent of any winnings to the ARC.

Originally from Texas, Parmer now makes his home in Minneapolis, Minn. Although he has been playing poker for many years most of his poker experience comes from friendly home games and more recently online. He did learn a few of his early lessons 30 years ago, when he played the crew of Air Force One and was cleaned out very quickly. Of the experience Parmer says, “They would have taken my milk money if I’d brought it with me.”

Although Parmer has relatively limited experience with large “brick and mortar” tournaments you might not want to count that against him. It’s unlikely that someone who has done refugee relief work in places like Iraq and Rwanda is going to be intimidated by the likes of Phil Hellmuth.

Parmer brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the poker table and believes that his chances of winning are slightly better than average.

“Politics, disaster relief, and diving all teach you to think before you act, think fast on your feet, and never panic. Martial arts help you to learn to focus and center yourself. I think those things are all important in poker, as well as life,” Parmer says.