MADEIRA - A 2002 Madeira High School graduate took home $800,000 and a third-place finish in the recent Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure tournament.
Kris Kuykendall, a 25-year-old Madeira resident, won his $8,000 buy-in for the Texas Hold 'em tournament after qualifying during an online tournament he had paid $215 to enter, he said.
He faced off against some of the world's top players at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas during the tournament, which ended Thursday as part of the European Poker Tour.
A University of Cincinnati alum, Kuykendall began playing poker online in college while working toward a degree in business.
After graduating, "I decided to play full time for a year before I started shooting out my resume," he said.
The five-day tournament lured nearly 11,000 professional poker players and was Kuykendall's first major, live tournament.
"I was a little excited because I knew the money that was at stake," he said.
"I never imagined I would be one of those guys playing on television, especially at a big payout game like this at my age."
The tournament winner, Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier, of France, walked away with $2 million.
A tournament highlight for Kuykendall was landing a major chip gain against well-known U.S. poker pro David Pham, who finished fourth with $600,000.
"In 2007 he was the best live tournament poker player, and I had him at my table two days in a row," Kuykendall said.
"I definitely learned a lot from him, and I have to be honest, I was a little intimidated playing against him."
Although he was knocked out by a lowly ace-high hand, Kuykendall said his biggest chip loss came a few hands earlier when his opponent's pocket kings beat out his ace-queen suited.
"In a poker tournament, you have to have a lot of luck and a lot of skill combined," he said.
"I definitely think I'll keep playing and trying to qualify for more tournaments." |
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