A Genuine Story Inside of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship

NBC National Heads-Up Championship starts this weekend (5th thru 8th) and places some of Professional Pokers top players in a Heads-Up elimination situation.  The 64 players can be broken down into Pro Players, Celebrities and winners of Satellite tournaments.   The Poker Pros is a list of well known players who have won many of the most prestigious poker tournaments between them.   There are three online satellite winners with one of them being a great story that proves the idea of «Only in America»

Blandino Gines, a 52 year old out of work handy man, won entry by playing in a free satellite tournament at Poker Stars.  He outlasted a huge field, by moving up over again in elimination tournaments, until he finally beat the last other survivor in the tournament.  This win was worth $1000, a flight to Las Vegas and four nights at Caesars for a party of two.  The best part of the win was the entry into the tournament, which amounted to $20,000.

When he won the satellite he thought all he had won was a $1000.  It was only after a phone call from Poker Stars that he found out what he had really won.

This weekend dream come true is a far cry from what he was doing when he first came to America from Manila.  He was 19 years old and he spent 3 years picking grapes in Modesto and Stockton, California.  He then went up to Alaska and worked in a salmon cannery for 11 years with a company called Trident Seafood.  He taught himself how to weld and moved back to Seattle for the same company as a welder.  A little over three months ago he was laid off as the company he was working for began to feel the economic slump. He, his wife and 7-year old daughter came back to San Jose California and stayed with his sister in her apartment.  His wife found work, but he had only found handyman jobs and spent a lot of time playing online poker until he played in the satellite promotion.  He is excited about meeting and playing against some of poker's best.  The 500 grand first prize also enters his thinking, so he says he is practicing a lot on Poker Stars.  If he captures this life-changing event, it would be a great story for this hard working man.

TagsHeads-Up, NBC, online poker, poker players, PokerStars, professional players, satellite

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