Golfer Ready to Swing into Action at WSOP After Winning $10K Seat

Like many poker players, Neal Gogol began playing the game seriously during the Moneymaker boom. That included hopping in a local home game in his neighborhood outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The group played every other week and at the end of the year, the top three finishers won a trip to the World Series of Poker. Gogol secured one of those and the trip came with some hard lessons. 

“That was the first time I played in a WSOP event,” he says. “I got knocked out in the first round of my first tournament, a $1,500 buy-in, losing with an ace-high straight to a full house. I was so nervous and new to poker. I thought I had the nuts. I remember for the first time realizing that even if you have a ‘good hand’ you have to think about what the other player could have. A good $1,500 lesson. At least it wasn’t my money.”

Gogol can now take some of those lessons back to Las Vegas – this time playing in an even bigger event without using his own money again. He was one of four winners in PokerGO’s Main Event sweepstakes, and now has a $10,000 buy-in to the biggest tournament on the annual tournament schedule.

Ready for Action
That first trip to the WSOP wasn’t a complete washout. By the end of the week, the retired investor won enough in the Daily Deepstacks to start building a bankroll. More success at the tables and he now has more than $79,000 in live tournament winnings.

“To this day I keep track of all my poker wins and losses and have built a reasonable bankroll,” he says. “I tell my wife Judy (whom he has been married to for 22 years), I can either go spend thousands on a golf trip with my buddies or go play poker and come home with money. As long as I keep winning more than I lose, she seems happy to give me the time to play.”

Gogol, who now lives in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, is ready for his trip to Las Vegas this summer, but convincing Judy he’d actually won an amateur player’s dream come true took some convincing. The news also made an upcoming vacation even better.

“As soon as I opened the email from Donnie Peters, I knew it was real,” he says. “My wife and I were sitting in the Delta Sky Club in Atlanta waiting on a connecting flight from Charleston, South Carolina, to San Jose, Costa Rica, going on vacation with friends and family. Judy didn’t believe it was real. I looked at the PokerGO website, found a way to send an email to the marketing department, and their immediate response convinced Judy. We celebrated in Costa Rica with a great bottle of Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, our favorite.”

The social aspects of poker originally attracted Gogol to the game. He enjoyed getting together with friends and just hanging out. But after playing in the WSOP for the first time, he started taking the game more seriously and began realizing the skill that comes with being a solid player. Reading strategy books from Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth helped sharpen his skills. 

“I always knew I was good at math, but once I understood the basic mathematical concepts I realized I could use that skill to my advantage,” he says. “I enjoy thinking through the strategy of the game, doing it quickly and under pressure. I love playing against the best professionals – the players who really put pressure on you to play your best. I like trying to figure out who the pros are and finding ways to take their chips.”

Ready to Grind
Tournaments are a good fit for Ggol, who describes himself as “too patient for cash games.” He enjoys the long grind and challenge of tournament play. He’s a regular at Harrah’s Cherokee for the WSOP Circuit, some events in Florida, and now attends the WSOP every year.  The Daily Deepstacks are a big part of that and Gogol usually wins enough to pay for a one- or two-week trip to Vegas. When he’s happy with his play and winning, he may then jump in to events priced at$1,500 or less.

Some of his highlights at the table include finishing runner-up in a WSOPC event in Cherokee in 2014 for $13,295. In 2018, he also won a $365 WSOP Deepstack for $14,390 and added another runner-up in a $250 Deepstack in 2023 for $19,915.

“I have a lot of small buy-ins with a few big wins,” he says. “More than enough to pay for my trips and all spread out over the years. It just amazes me how many people from all walks of life come out to play (at the WSOP). The characters are amazing. But most of all, I enjoy winning the occasional tournament. Winning will never get old.”

When not at the poker table, Gogol can often be found on the golf course. He lives in Wild Dunes, an oceanfront resort in Isle of Palms, just north of Charleston, with two golf courses. He and Judy love to travel, mostly for golf, and recently went to Portugal for a great trip with Garmany Golf, which sets up travel golfing opportunities around the world. The Gogols were able to hit the links with professional golfer Kim Welch, winner of the Golf Channel’s Big Break television show.

“We loved playing with her and watching her swing,” he says. “Long straight drives every time and she even gave me a couple of good tips.”

Gogol lists his favorite poker player as Daniel Negreanu and played with him at a charity event at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Florida.

“It was so cool to see him play and talk out loud about everybody’s cards based on the way they bet,” he says. “If I remember right, they gave him a stack that matched the shortest stack of the remaining players, and of course, he won. I think. Whoever won, I remember it was required that their ‘winnings’ be given to the sponsoring charity. Poker wasn’t legal yet in Florida. It’s just good to see a nice guy win.”

Another brush with a big name stands out for Gogol. While playing in a tournament last year, Ray Romano, star of Everybody Loves Ray, sat down beside him. He enjoyed playing with the comedian and the experience seemed to encapsulate Gogol’s love of the social aspects of poker and why he loves the game.

“I laughed when he had to show his ID to the dealer,” Gogol says. “I think he enjoyed that more than half the table was younger European players who had no idea who he was. He just wanted to play poker like everyone else at the table. It’s so nice that so many players are just there enjoying the opportunity and you don’t run into too many idiots who take the game too seriously.”

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