A Cal Poly English senior defeated the competition and raked in a large sum of money for his first-place win in Event 49 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.
Michael Linn won the seventh $1,500 No-Limit Hold ’em championship Thursday, July 1, according to ESPN’s WSOP coverage. With the victory, Linn captured his first gold bracelet – at the age of 22 – and pocketed $609,493.
Linn said his victory came after 11 hours of playing against 269 other competitors.
“It is kind of hard to wrap your mind around it,” Linn said. “It hit me when I got my bracelet.”
Linn received his engraved gold bracelet the day after his win during a ceremony as the U.S. national anthem played. While he asked to have Estonia’s national anthem played, tournament officials refused his jestful request, he said.
“I try to be serious while I’m playing, but it’s not the hardest life to live, so I have fun with it,” Linn said.
Fifty-seven gold bracelets are handed out during the series, which runs from May 27 to July 17, said WSOP spokesperson Dave Curley.
For Linn, playing in the world series became reality last year when he decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, he said.
Roommate and long-time friend Danny Bragonier said Linn will be very successful as a professional poker player.
“(Linn) plays pretty aggressively. He likes to bet and doesn’t like to fold,” Bragonier said. “It’s only his second world series and he’s already won a bracelet.”
Curley said the popularity of poker among people in their twenties has grown rapidly, resulting in younger players winning gold bracelets.
Linn’s decision to enter the world series at age 21, the minimum age requirement, paid off. In 2009, his earnings totaled $40,000, bringing his total world series earnings to approximately $650,000.
Linn, who has been playing competitively for five years, said he was turned onto poker after watching a friend play during his freshman year while living in Sierra Madre dorm on the Cal Poly campus.
“I saw my friend playing, and I was all, ‘I can do that,’” Linn said.
Linn considers poker his “career for the time being.” Although he logs roughly 20 hours per week playing online poker, his gambling comes second until he finishes college, he said.
His uncle, professional poker player Barry Greenstein − who according to his website has earned $6 million and nabbed three WSOP gold bracelets − also stresses the importance of school before poker. Despite the poker knowledge at hand, Linn said Greenstein will not share any secrets until he obtains a college degree.
“Until then he’s just my uncle, and I’m just his nephew,” Linn said.
Furthermore, Linn said it’s important to maintain a “normal life” outside his poker career, and he takes pride in having a lucrative social life to balance his academic priorities.
When asked about playing poker with friends, Linn said he likes to play anyone who “likes giving away their money.”
When he isn’t bringing in the cash or working on his English degree, Linn enjoys playing basketball competitively. His intramural team at Cal Poly boasts a four-year Division-I winning streak, he said.
He and Bragonier both spoke about another first-place win they shared this year − they are 2010 Downtown Brew Beirut Tournament champions. Linn said this victory is comparable to his WSOP event win.
So far, Linn has competed in the world series twice, and this year he will play in a total of four events.
Linn started his attempt to take the first place crown in the 2010 Main Event, Wednesday, July 7, and was still competing in the event at press time.