John James Furlong (25 December 1937 – 27 June 2021) was an Irish businessman and poker player who won the 1999 World Series of Poker main event.
Early life
Furlong was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He originally became a millionaire from his carpet manufacturing business, Furlong Flooring.
Although christened John James Furlong, he was nicknamed "Noel" because he was born on Christmas Day.
Poker
Furlong began playing poker in 1984, and in his first trip to the World Series of Poker in 1989, he placed 6th in the Main Event. That final table was won by Phil Hellmuth, and also included two time world champion, Johnny Chan, and business executive and professional poker player, Lyle Berman.
According to Furlong in 1989, his mentor was Terry Rogers. Furlong stated, "He was my mentor at cards. He got me to take up the game originally." He added, "I would not have gone to Las Vegas this year to play in the World Poker Championships if not for him. He rang me two days before the event started and said, `I have two firstclass tickets to Vegas.' He persuaded me to go."