Rofman wins WSOP Pot-Limit Hold'em title, $166,136

Be careful what you say and who you say it around. Take Lev Rofman, for instance.

Early on at the most recent gold bracelet event at the 2013 WSOP, Rofman was playing among hundreds of other players on Day 1. A few Russian players started pointing and talking about Rofman in their native language. They must have figured that their target – wearing a hat with the logo of the NFL's Houston Texans, who spoke perfect English with absolutely no accent whatsoever – wouldn't have any idea what they were saying.

And so the Russians began discussing “making a move on the guy with the hat,” in Russian. They had no idea the object of their attention was born – in of all places – Moscow, Russia. Moreover, he speaks perfect Russian.

Rofman immigrated to the U.S. as a child and spent most of his youth growing up in Texas. He didn't just assimilate in the culture, he became a Texan.

Part of the proud legacy of being a real Texan includes playing Texas Hold'em. He began playing in private games around the city, which were plentiful. Las Vegas and the WSOP seemed very far away.

Now age 37, Rofman works in the Las Vegas Convention Center, where he works setting up show exhibits. He moved to Las Vegas about seven years ago, while passing through, he says. He met a few friends, liked the local scene, and decided to stick around.

In recent years, Rofman has spent a fair amount of spare time playing poker, mostly in cash games. He had no illusions about ever playing poker professionally, nor entering big time poker tournaments like the WSOP.

Then, about a week ago, something happened. Rofman's poker playing brother came into town for a visit. He planned to play in a few WSOP events. Trouble for Rofman was he wanted to come and play also, but he had to work most days, and Rofman wasn't free until this past Wednesday. Due entirely to his limited schedule, Rofman decided this was to be his first and only WSOP entry.

Rofman signed up for the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em tournament. He didn't have much experience in Pot-Limit Hold'em, but none of that seemed to matter.

Over three successive days and nights, Rofman went on a rush and managed to stage what must be considered the as the biggest surprise story and breakthrough of any event concluded, so far. He not only won a gold bracelet in his first attempt ever, he also defeated Alan Cunningham, one of the game's most respected players, in heads-up play.

"(The gold bracelet) was just sitting right there and I was looking at it" said Rofman. "I was so damn close, but I was also so far – because I was looking over at Cunningham. I thought I couldn't get it, because it was so intimidating playing against a dude like that."

Most of the viewers in the audience anticipated a Cunningham victory, which would have been the sixth such triumph of what's been an illustrious career. Rofman had quite a different outcome in mind.

And so, just as the Russians misjudged their adversary during the first day of play, quite a few in the crowd watching the final table may have drawn conclusions too quickly.

There has to be some deep satisfaction about shattering preconceptions. It appears that Lev Rofman has succeeded in doing this many times, most notably at the 2013 WSOP.

The new champion won $166,136 for first place, in addition to his first gold bracelet. Cunningham took home a $102,819 consolation prize for second.

Other final table finishers included: Jaspal Brar (third), Kenneth Shelton (fourth), Anthony Harb (fifth), Eric Crain (sixth), Nicolas Halvorson (seventh), Timothy Reilly (eighth), and Jean-Nicolas Fortin (ninth).

The tournament drew 535 players, with the top 54 finishing in the money.

Tournament summary modified from a report by WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla, reprinted by permission.