Craig Thompson has been crowned Poker in the Pub
champion for Season V after a stunning performance out in Las
Vegas.
Having made it to the heads up stage, Craig was down 3:1 against
Plymouth's Frazer Bolt but managed to claw it back and overturn a
huge deficit to take the stunning, engraved silver bracelet on
offer.
Craig, from York, was blown away by the trip and his win,
telling us: "It (Las Vegas) is an incredible place, massive, one of
the most impressive places I've ever been!
"I won't stay in a nicer hotel than The Palazzo - it had three
TVs in our room! I've never quite been anywhere like it. I was so
happy to win it (Poker in the Pub) and can't believe I actually
did. It was such an amazing experience."
Asked if it was the trip of a lifetime as it is often branded,
the 24-year-old, without hesitation, replied: "Definitely!"
As the conversation drifted towards that memorable final table
battle on the ESPN TV Table at the World Series of Poker in the
Rio, Craig was lost for words at times.
Trying to justify the experience he'd enjoyed, he said:
"Unbelievable experience. It's the equivalent of an amateur tennis
player playing at Wimbledon or an amateur footballer playing at
Wembley. We were picked up by limo which we weren't expecting, we
got to walk down the red carpet into the biggest poker room you'll
see and then play on that table. We got a behind the scenes look at
how a televised poker event works. Just unbelievable."
Craig's journey should give all Poker in the Pub players hope
for this coming season. Having started in his local pub, the Puss
'n' Boots, two minutes from his house, the Yorkshireman then
reached the Regional Finals where he performed brilliantly and
earned his shot at the Nationals.
"I was so lucky to get through the Nationals," Craig, who will
train to be an accountant from September, admitted. "I was playing
short all day but managed to hang in and survive.
"When I got back at the weekend, it was incredible to think that
it had all happened from going to my local and playing poker with
some mates."
And Craig was keen to encourage others to go along to their
local Poker in the Pub venue and join in. He added: "Everyone
should give it a go. It's free for the players so you've got
nothing to lose and it's really social.
"Poker in the Pub is the best league I've played in. I've been
involved with others but the prizes are better with Poker in the
Pub and there are more chances for the players to win. I've played
with Poker in the Pub for two years now and I qualified for Las
Vegas from the first National Finals I had played in so it shows
it's possible."
Craig's story highlights exactly what Poker in the Pub is about
and shows that you don't have to necessarily be the best player in
the world to play in the best arenas.
To see more photos from Las Vegas, got to our Facebook page.
