By JEFF RICHGELS
Capital Times
Eric Baldwin, a 26-year-old poker pro who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and played on the school’s 2005 Division III national championship baseball team, won a World Series of Poker event worth $521,991 Thursday in Las Vegas.
Baldwin, who was born in Peoria, Ill., but grew up in Beaver Dam, moved to the Las Vegas area about a year ago to focus on playing poker full time, according to a WSOP news release.
“Last year, I was coming out here several times a year, not just for the WSOP,” Baldwin said in a news release. “I would come out for some tournaments, and I was here for almost half the year. So I figured I’d just buy a place out here. Plus, I hate shoveling snow.”
That decision paid off big-time this week as Baldwin won a WSOP No Limit Hold’em tournament with a $1,500 entry fee and a field of 2,095 players.
“I’m head over heels,” Baldwin said. “It’s far above anything else that I have ever done. I can’t even talk about it accurately right now, because it hasn’t sunken in yet.”
Most people think of the Main Event when they think of the WSOP, but the WSOP features more than 50 events prior to next month’s Main Event. All are contested at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
Among the 216 cashers in the event won by Baldwin — the 34th in this year’s WSOP — was Madison native Phil Hellmuth, who extended his record for WSOP cashes to 71.
Baldwin, who earned a degree in psychology with a minor in mathematics at Whitewater, played right field for the Warhawks, who finished third his junior year and won the title his senior year.
He said his psychology degree “translates pretty well to poker.”
The WSOP reported that a few of Baldwin’s college baseball coaches were present, as they were on a recruiting trip and learned that Baldwin was playing for a WSOP gold bracelet.
Baldwin had previously cashed six times in WSOP events, including one final table. He now has $649,711 in career WSOP winnings.
Baldwin also previously has won tournaments at the Venetian for $198,000 and the Bellagio for $147,000.
The final table’s nine players included only one former WSOP gold bracelet winner — Roland de Wolfe, who ended up fifth.
Baldwin started the final table with the second most chips and took the chip lead when play came down to two players.
The decisive hand took place late when eventual runner-up Jonas Klausen was dealt a Queen and a 10 and Baldwin two 4s and the flop was a Queen, 10 and 4. Baldwin’s three fours held up, massively damaging Klausen’s chip stack.
The final hand came when Baldwin had about an 8-to-1 chip advantage. Baldwin had a pair of 10s to Klausen’s Ace and Queen and neither player could improve their hand.
Klausen, who is from Denmark, earned $322,371 for second.
The moment he won, Baldwin jumped into the crowd and was mobbed by about a dozen supporters, including his girlfriend.
Asked about his plans for the $521,991, Baldwin said: “One of my friends told me that if I ever cash for more than a quarter-million I have to buy an old junk used car and then throw $10,000 rims on it. I hope he does not make me do it. But if he does, I am probably going to go out and buy an old Cutlass or something like that, and put some rims on it.
“My dream is to be sponsored by Miller Lite. That’s kind of a joke. But I like to drink Miller Lite. I want to throw that out there. If Miller Lite needs a guy in the poker world, just give me a free supply, and we’re golden.”
Taken From WiscNews
Texas Hold'em Poker 