Doing what I wanted half a decaded late

john | July 8, 2025, 7:51 a.m. Poker

It's funny.  Over five years ago, I had won myself a poker tournament, and backed to back the final table of the main event at the Wynn championship.  Then with those winnings, I paid my legal fees and with the rest I bought myself a car.  A dream car I had had since I was 16.  A Porsche 944 turbo, in other words, the poor mans Porsche.

Car by that point was 35 years old.  I bought the 1986, made in 85, so in theory the car was as old as me.  No airbags.  A death trap in some sense.  

Now I know it might not mean a lot to anyone a mid 30's man getting his dream car finally, especially when at the time they weren't exactly that expensive.

The engine blew the day after I bought it.

It then spent six months, and the rest of my poker winnings after taxes to get her back in shape.  I got to drive her across country once.  Left her at my mom's house.

One thing lead to another.  Then time passed, issues arose.  Life happened for all intense and purposes.  There was things I may have been able to do differently, but didn't at the time I suppose.

Anyways, years passed, and the car was left in full disrepair.  The engine rebuild blew when my brother was driving it.  Other things on the car broke.  I still had only driven her across country that one time after her repair.

Then, as time passed, and after getting her fixed the first time I had wanted to road trip her across the USA, and make it to Las Vegas, to play in the world series of poker.

This was a dream I wanted to do at 35.  I use to play poker to pay for college back in the day.  The dream of all who ever saw rounders I guess.

So finally, after half a decaded, and years of slow and steady rebuild and restoration of the car.  I Was finally able to do it.  

I road tripped, saw my friends, saw they have kids now.  And made it to Las Vegas.  Now I'm a huge proponent of bankroll management.  But sometimes you only make it to Vegas with one mission in mind.

To see if you can hold yourself with the best.  Except to do that, the best play really big buy in tournaments.  Thankfully there are qualifiers.  Given I was already riding off the high of finally doing what I wanted to do for five years.  I decided to throw bankroll management out the window.

I decided it would be best to take my entire poker roll, $3,000, and play in a qualifier for the $25,000 high roller event.  Not in Holdem, but in Pot Limit Omaha.  My bread and butter.  What paid the bills back in the day.

So I said fuck it, put it all one event.  

In the qualifier, I got to play in the next table as David Williams, a second place finisher in the WSOP holdem main event.  I met him once when I was a teenager playing in Magic the Gathering Nationals.

I was playing with the legends again.  And, I won a seat.

I actually asked to see if I could get paid out, because I thought to myself playing in a $25,000 buy in tournament is absolute insanity.  

They said it was a must play.

I ended up playing in the event, and getting 53rd after making a crucial mistake again the eventual 10th place finisher.  But I did beating out Daniel Negreanu, and was a table away from Ben Lamb and Phil Ivey.

Also, ended up with a $50,000+ payout.

And funny enough, I played along side Noah Schwartz in the qualifier and can say we probably became friends, and the bastard ended up placing higher than me.

It was fun, truly.  And I can say I held my own with the best.

Next year, maybe I'll actually win a bracelet.  Or three.  But it is interesting how doing it so much later left a different feeling than expected.  It was still cool as hell. And I smile hard as I write this.

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