College dropout wins £.5m
The 2009 World Series of Poker $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Jordan Smith and he collected $586,212 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet. Smith is a 27-year-old professional poker player from Texas.
When age 21, Smith dropped out of junior college to play poker for a living. He has been playing since then full time. He mostly plays online and admits that his decision to play poker for a living caused some hardship, enduring virtually unavoidable financial pitfalls. Smith stated that each time he encountered difficulty, various backers (including his parents) were willing to help him out in times of need.
He was highly complimentary of his mother and father, who he noted “are the best parents in the world.” Smith stated that his parents have helped him at various times when he was down and have generally been very supportive of their son and his career as a poker player.
He said; “It’s the World Series of Poker….I play for living and I play for money. But so far as prestigious things go, winning the gold bracelet is the only goal to have.”
The final table contained no former WSOP gold bracelet winners. This was the 12th of 36 finales held this year with no former winners — which guaranteed a first-time champion. The final table included nine players from five different nations – including Canada (2), England (2), France (1), Sweden (1), and the United States (3).
The runner up was Ken Lennaard, from Stockholm, Sweden. He is a wine merchant. In what was his ninth time to cash at the WSOP and best finish ever, Lennaard picked up $360,439 for second place.
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