When you think of the all-time greats in the poker world, Fred “Sarge” Ferris has to be at the top of your list. Ferris played poker and he was good at it. Realizing that some people play poker for fun and others for a hobby, few of them had what it took to make a living. Fred “Sarge” Ferris knew it was.
Fred “Sarge” Ferris grew up in the Great Depression and his father did his best to put food on the table. Living in poverty, his brother enlisted in the Navy and later became a well-known watchmaker and jeweler. He wanted to choose a different path. So he got into the game. He didn’t call it gambling. He was a consummate professional, never showing his cards or giving away information.
Although not much for publicity, Mr. Ferris also began to attract the attention of the other players and the media. He started winning big jackpots and high stakes cash games, earning the respect of his peers. His first big win came in a two-seven tie in 1980 for $10,000. He then won $150,000 and a gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker. After collecting the winnings from him, Fred Ferris was approached by a man named Stu Ungar.
Ungar did his best to convince Ferris that he could win the World Series of Poker, but he needed Fred’s help with the buy-in. At first, Fred wasn’t convinced to help him, after Ungar told him that he had never played in a tournament before. Yet here was a man so convinced that he could do it that Fred gave him a chance. Fred approached him as if he was no different than playing cards; to him it was just another gamble. Ungar played masterfully, dueling Fred’s arch-rival Doyle Brunson to win the World Series of Poker.
On April 22, 1983, IRS agents approached Ferris in the card room and seized $46,000 in chips. He made headlines on the news circuits while he was sitting in Binion’s Horseshoe on high-stakes games. The money was reportedly seized due to back taxes Ferris owed to the federal government. One of the agents told Ferris to use the remaining money and buy a taco.
Fred “Sarge” Ferris and his scandal outraged the local Hispanic communities. Protesting that one of the officers made fun of Ferris’s ethnicity. His parents were born in Lebanon, but somehow they mistook him for a Mexican. This was all a misunderstanding. Ferris said the agent was trying to be nice. The incident was finally extinguished.
For most of his life, he spent all his time at the poker table. He seems appropriate to make the tombstone of him at a poker table, he died there. On March 12, 1989, after playing in a high-stakes cash game, he suffered a massive heart attack. His funeral was held in Las Vegas. Many people attended his funeral. People came to show their condolences to him, some were happy that he had died.
However, after all that Ferris brought to the game, he became the 18th inductee into the poker hall of fame. Later that year, after a lengthy investigation by the Las Vegas casinos and the Indian gaming commission, Ferris would be linked as one of five men who were indebted to the mob. To Fred’s credit, the mob would never see his money.
He will be remembered for his accolades and achievements in the world of poker. His intelligence for the game and his techniques have earned him the respect of future poker players. Fred “Sarge” Ferris was called a “consummate professional” for a reason.