I won! I won!
I played in the first SEO Pubcon Poker Tournament at the Venetian last night and I won! It came down to Shoemoney and I, and I was fortunate enough to come out on top.
Just a quick note on how great of guy Jeremy is. Prior to the tournament, I had never met him. Sure, I’ve read his posts, and sure, I’ve seen the picture with the Google check (who hasn’t), but had no idea what kind of person he was. Now that I sat next to him, I can easily say that he is a class act. Smooth (and not just his haircut), polite, and down-right normal, in a good way. I couldn’t have been luckier.
As some of you may have read elsewhere, this was my first official poker event. I have played at my uncle’s (Hi Torrin), but that’s really more of an excuse for guys to get together and be stupid, which is awesome in its’ own right. This was clearly a case of beginners’ luck.
Finally, prior to the tournament, I read through the info on the charities, and was touched by the story of the wife who lost her husband in the California fires. My step-dad passed away a few years ago, and left my mother a widow, and I remember how tough a transition it was for her. I know that no amount of money will “fix” anything, but I also know that it doesn’t hurt, so I made an additional donation to the fund.
In the end, that’s really the foundation of our industry (at least to me); giving back. I’d like to kick-off what I hope becomes a tradition: That going forward, the winner of the Pubcon SEO Poker Tournament donate a percentage of the winnings to one of the great charities for which the event was conceived. In the ebb and flow of a poker tournament, it’s easy to forget why we were there in the first place; charity, and I’m honored to have the opportunity of starting what I hope is a long and beneficial tradition.
Thanks again for all the congratulations, atta-boys and photo-ops, and I can’t wait to defend my crown in 2008.
December 9th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Dan, you kicked butt! Very, very, very well done. I am so grateful that you donated the money to the firefighters wife. I am sure she will send her great thanks after she receives it. I think that money will actually go a long way for her, because as of the last I heard, the city was not paying her, her husbands pension because he had another year or so until retirement age.
Shoemoney is an excellent individual, and as you know is very well known. It added a great story that you took him in the finals after he had amassed so many chips. Good job to both of your for creating a little drama!
Congratulations on a tournament well played!
Enjoy the burritos!
And I trust we sill see you back next year to defend your title?
Also, I would love if you could write up your experience as a player from your end, especially about how you played, your strategy, stories of what happened, and descriptions of others for my site. I am going to put together players pages with all the data I can get!
dk
December 10th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Congrats man.
Classy move on the tip and extra donation.
Hope the rest of the show was as good for you as the tourney.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Thanks a lot Todd. The show was a 10, and it was great meeting everyone.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Grats Dan! Glad to see someone at my table come out on top
December 12th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Congrats Dan! I can take credit for setting you up in the right tempo with the dinner we had before the event…:-)
December 19th, 2007 at 5:28 am
Dan,
I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your donation to the Gibbons family. Glen was a great guy. We got the word of his passing while we were in the midst of the fires. I will make sure the his widow, Patricia, hears about what you did for her. Merry Christmas Dan and on behalf of all of us at the Camp Pendleton Fire Department. THANK YOU!
December 19th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
It was my pleasure Sean. I told myself (before I even started) that if I won anything, I’d donate some of it to Patricia. Maybe that had something to do with me winning (divine intervention)? I’m glad I was able to do it.
Camp Pendleton? Years ago, I was stationed in Long Beach. Not too far away, although I was a squid, not a jarhead.
January 8th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
[…] I entered the poker tournament because I thought it would be a great networking event (which it was). Sometimes it’s tough to find a common ground to meet new people at conferences. Everyone migrates to their respective cliques, making it tough. Of course, the Friday Pubcon event is great for that, but I wasn’t able to stay for that, thus the Poker tourney for sure. […]