by Mad Harper

Back in 2003, Canadian Michael Mathews was living in Vegas as a Sprint installation contractor. A keen card player - "I play everything", he said - he entered a $1,000 satellite at Binions for a seat in the WSOP. After many hours grinding at the tables, it was down to the last three.



Michael said: "Me and this other guy get the third guy out and then the remaining player asks me if I want to split it. But the dealer says we can't - at which point, the guy we've just busted offers to buy the seat off us for $9,600. So we sell it to him and split the money.

"I thought I'd be able to win another seat fairly soon but I've never actually managed it. So I was pretty pleased to win a seat in the PS satellite. It's great to be here." At the last count, Michael was holding steady on around $13,000.