The World Poker Tour’s dream-making machine continues this month at the Wynn in Las Vegas with its World Championship series that included a historic $5 million freeroll.
The WPT also saw a new champion in its $1,100 WPT Prime Championship that attracted 9,669 entries. That means two newly minted millionaires were crowned last week.
Freerollin’ fantasies
Chase Bricker came to Las Vegas to play in the WPT Prime Championship. He fired two bullets in the event, and in-between the two entries, made his way over to the ClubWPT Gold Booth, got lucky, and pulled a passport into the $5 million freeroll.
A few days later, on Dec. 15, he took down the whole thing. Bricker, 36, won $1 million plus $100,000 in bounties that were up for grabs for the final six players. Not bad for the poker hobbyist from Texas.
“I’m not a pro. I play for profit and I play to win,” he told WPT’s Jeff Walsh. “Poker gives me that outlet to stay competitive and it’s definitely a nice second string of income. And now really a first string of income after a score like this, because I can’t make money like that really anywhere.
This is life-changing money. Security. That money needs to mean something is how I look at it. I look at it as an opportunity, frankly, to elevate my life, and my family’s life, and my future family’s life. I’m definitely going to still compete in tournaments, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to go play high rollers or stuff like that — well, maybe every once in a while.”
He was part of a 1,457 field of players who either won their way in on WPT’s online room, ClubWPT, or lucked into a seat through random drawings and give-aways.
Living the dream
Zak VenKeuren made a literal dream come true in the WPT Prime Championship event.
“I have dreams sometimes where I’m playing poker in a big tournament or something, and then I wake up,” he told Tim Fiorvanti. “I guess I’m just thinking I’m in a lucid dream right now, and I’m just gonna wake up soon. Hopefully it’s still real life in about an hour.”
VenKeuren dominated the final table and won a career-best $1,162,350 for being the last player standing of the in the event that saw 9,669 entrants. The World Series of Poker bracelet winner ($3,200 online event just this summer) said his victory is the result of studying and coaching.
“I have been studying with the right people the last few years, players who are really, really good – levels above me. Learning from them, spending more time with them and a lot of them are close friends now. Bouncing some hands off them, going through certain courses online.”
That, combined with a Zen-like attitude is giving VanKeuren success on the felt.
“(I’m) just feeling great – physically, mentally, in a weird metaphysical way just having good intentions and the highest intention to win, but also fully accepting myself and just letting things be as they are. It’s so funny. It’s like the moments where I really don’t care what happens, when I’m just happy either way, it seems like things tend to go better.”
Ohmmmmm.
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