It's a long way from Phoenix, Arizona to Monte Carlo. The time difference can turn a man's sleep schedule upside down. It's no big deal to the man sitting in the one-seat at Table 35. He's shown he can pound the tables no matter the time of day or how much sleep he's picked up.

George Lind III is a name some people recognize, but he's likely better known by his PokerStars screen name, jorj95.

Lind was the first PokerStars Supernova Elite of 2008. The guy who started playing low-limit poker back in the late 1990s found a way to start grinding big games in short order. By 2001, Lind had forgotten about his old computer programming job and started playing poker full-time. It looked like he might do it for the rest of his life. Instead, he quit playing a few years ago.

"In early 2004, I pretty much quit playing poker because I got bored with it and I got into sports betting," he said. "I did this for a few years, but a lot of the opportunities with sports betting have dried up."

Last year, a buddy told Lind about the Supernova Elite program at PokerStars.com. Like nearly everything else he's tried to accomplish, Lind sailed to the Elite level with ease. This year, he did it again and in just a couple of months.

Now, Lind is among a large contingent of Supernova and Supernova Elites at the EPT Grand Final. He arrived today with a better-than-average stack and a shot at the big money.

Perhaps his only stumbling block is his table draw. Shaun Deeb is seated immediately to Lind's left and it's clear they are going to tangle today. Just moments ago, Deeb took a sizable pot off Lind, the product of a rivered flush on a paired board...still good enough to beat Lind's TPTK.

Both players have stacks, though, so this contest is just beginning. Their only hope of not tangling too much lies in the reality of the order of table-breaks. Chances are, their table will break by late afteroon.

An hour and half into play today and the short-stack eliminations have been flying by. A little more than 300 players remain.