Originally published Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Poker | $9.15M in the cards for Denmark's Peter Eastgate
A 22-year-old college dropout from Denmark won the World Series of Poker main event and its $9.15 million first prize, then spent the wee...
Poker |
LAS VEGAS — A 22-year-old college dropout from Denmark won the World Series of Poker main event and its $9.15 million first prize, then spent the wee hours partying with friends at a suite reserved for this city's biggest gamblers.
And why not? He is one of them.
Peter Eastgate became the WSOP main event's youngest champion early Tuesday, making a wheel straight and eliminating his final opponent, Ivan Demidov, a 27-year-old semiprofessional card player from Moscow. Demidov held two pair, twos and fours, when Eastgate called his all-in bet.
Phil Hellmuth, among poker's most famous ambassadors, was 24 in 1989 when he won the first of his 11 tournament titles.
Eastgate hit poker's jackpot about 2 ½ years after he learned to play no-limit Texas Hold'em from high-school friends in Denmark. He said he tried college for a week, but got into poker and found he was good enough to make a living as a pro.
The main event began with 6,844 players in July; the nine who made the final table started play Sunday.
Demidov settled for $5.81 million.
After capturing the tournament and the gold bracelet that goes to the winner, Eastgate celebrated with about two dozen friends and family members at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in a room that is usually the territory of A-list celebrity guests.
Eastgate had said he would have been content with a top-five finish, but he thought he had a chance to win it all after eliminating a few players from the final table.
"My motivation was $9 million and a bracelet," Eastgate said.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
More Other Sports headlines...
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
![]()
UPDATE - 11:15 PM
NW Briefs: UW student-athletes get good marks
Unlimited hydros go international with race in Qatar
UPDATE - 10:41 PM
Briefs | Track and field: South Africa says Semenya will keep medal
Outdoors | Rain makes fishing dicey
Briefs | Soccer: France, Greece among 6 countries to qualify for World Cup

MLS trophy arrives in Seattle
Seattle welcomes the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy via ferry to kick-off MLS festivities.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Man falls 8 stories, suffers minor injuries
- 'Unusual circumstances' in death of Boeing worker
- Monfort fired after excellent worker turned unreliable
- Boeing facility death was suicide
- Italian prosecutor: Knox hated murder victim
- Swedish threatens to end Regence BlueShield's contract
- Bail lowered for Clearly Lasik doctor in murder-for-hire plot
- Seattle Schools return to neighborhood-based system
- Man sentenced to 31 years in prison in girlfriend's slaying on I-5
- Movie review | Bella + Edward + Jacob = a pale 'New Moon'
- Convicted killer: US student Knox at murder scene
261 - State's projected budget shortfall exceeds $2 billion
246 - What climate-change deniers really believe (and why they're wrong)
185 - Swedish threatens to end Regence BlueShield's contract
161 - Senate Democrats want to tax nips and tucks
110 - Italian prosecutors wrap up in Knox murder trial
95 - Want the TV info for the Apple Cup?
78 - A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
65 - Monfort fired after excellent worker turned unreliable
59 - Man sentenced to 31 years in prison in girlfriend's slaying on I-5
59
- Seattle Schools return to neighborhood-based system
- Swedish threatens to end Regence BlueShield's contract
- The Blotter | Police: Would-be ninja impaled by metal fence
- Bail lowered for Clearly Lasik doctor in murder-for-hire plot
- From Methow Valley to Paradise, here are 5 great spots to stage your own winter games. (Hold the glam.)
- Peruvian police: Gang killed people for their fat
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Dave Grohl is part of the trans-generational supergroup Them Crooked Vultures
- State schools chief wants to delay dates for passing key tests
- Burglars hit Rainier Valley Food Bank





