TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER
TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER
|
|
World Series of Poker changes, but gambler still has winning touch |
|
For many participants in this
year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, playing in the national
tournament was a dream come true.
But for Saginaw Township resident Robert Ciaffone, placing 279th and winning $24,495 was basically business as usual. "I'm conservative on how many pots I enter, and I'm aggressive once I'm in there," said Ciaffone, 64. Ciaffone is a professional Texas Holdem poker veteran. This was his eighth time participating in the World Series of Poker -- he won third place in 1987 -- and he said he earns "a substantial part of my living" as a poker coach. He puts his Texas Holdem poker skills to the page as well, writing five self-published books on poker and maintaining a column in the bi-weekly magazine "Card Player." "I'm basically known everywhere except my own back yard," Ciaffone said. "That's because Saginaw isn't much of a poker town." Ciaffone said he normally plays poker at Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant and Motor City Casino in Detroit, noting that Michigan laws prohibit gambling anywhere else other than casinos, including Internet sites. "It's a hangover from the Victorian era," he complained. He said his participation in this year's World Series of Poker hinged on a group of investors sponsoring his $10,000 registration fee for a share in the winnings. "Most people from Saginaw County got in by winning in an online tournament," Ciaffone said. "But I paid the $10,000.
|
|
|
|
|