AN IRISH poker player was celebrating yesterday after scooping $100,000 and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet - 22 years after his father won the same title.<\/p>\n
Eoghan ODea, 35, from Dalkey, Dublin, would usually be in Las Vegas competing for big money prizes but the Covid-19 restrictions meant this year he was limited to playing online.<\/p>\n
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The talented player, who has been playing professionally for about 15 years, was up until 5.30am before clinching his title - and with it became only the fifth Irish person, alongside his dad Donnacha, to win the WSOP bracelet.<\/p>\n
Eoghan said his father, who won his bracelet in 1998, was the first person he messaged after he officially joined the elite club.<\/p>\n
He told the Irish Sun: I probably wouldnt be playing if it wasnt for him. He taught me when I was younger.<\/p>\n
He wouldnt usually be up that early but he was awake at about 6am today when I messaged him.<\/p>\n
Hes pretty proud alright. Its great to win the cash but the World Series of Poker bracelets are really prestigious.<\/p>\n
We both have one now which is brilliant. My aim now is to go one better than him and win another. That would be unreal.<\/p>\n
Eoghan said he has been playing since he was teenager but started taking it seriously when he was about 20.<\/p>\n
He added: I was about 16 or 17 when I started really playing. I was maybe 21 or 22 when I started playing professionally.<\/p>\n
In fact the first time I played in Las Vegas I was only 20 so I was playing illegally.<\/p>\n
In some of the smaller tournaments you can get away with using a fake id but for the World Series of Poker, which is loads of events, you need to have a passport.<\/p>\n
So I guess Ive been over there every year playing since, its usually about five to six weeks in June and July but events go on throughout the year.<\/p>\n
Eoghan, who is single, became the first Irish player to win a gold bracelet since 2008. He beat over 2,000 players in the WSOP Event #51 at online poker room GGPoker to do so.<\/p>\n
His father Donncha was a swimmer for Ireland in the 1968 Olympics before turning his own hand to professional poker.<\/p>\n
The WSOP has run since 1970 and in past years would draw tens of thousands of players from all over the world to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year is the first in which the events have not taken place live in Nevada, and have moved online instead.<\/p>\n
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The WSOP Online events run at GGPoker from July 19-September 6 and as of Sunday over $59,000,000 in prizes have been won and more than 129,000 entries recorded in the events so far.<\/p>\n
But despite Eoghans huge win in the early hours of yesterday morning, its only a fraction of his biggest win at the WSOP.<\/p>\n
He added: I finished sixth over all in 2011 and won $1.6 million. Thats the biggest Ive ever won.\"<\/p>\n
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Irish poker player scoops $100k and World Series of Poker gold bracelet 22 years after father won same title - The Irish Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AN IRISH poker player was celebrating yesterday after scooping $100,000 and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet - 22 years after his father won the same title. Continue reading