Texas Student To Enter World Series Of Poker
July 16, 2006
Andrew Webb, an economics senior, has earned a coveted
$10,000 seat at the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event
by playing in a "freeroll" tournament online.
The tournament allowed poker players the opportunity to
win large amounts of money or other prizes, such as buy-ins
to poker tournaments, without risking their own cash.
Started in 1970 by casino owner Benny Binion, the World
Series of Poker allows anyone willing and able to buy-in
and play against legends of the game such as Doyle Brunson
and Johnny Chan and poker superstars such as Mike "The
Mouth" Matasou and Phil Ivey. "I'm real excited
to play against pros whose books I've read," Webb said.
Webb had to qualify for even a chance to qualify for the
world series. He had to win enough money for the house to
get a $700 share of pots in a poker game to qualify for
the freeroll tournament, he said. Recently, freeroll tournaments
have exploded in popularity with the success of amateurs
at the poker world series.
Since 2002, the winners of the Main Event have not only
been amateurs, but have qualified through freeroll tournaments.
Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which owns and operates the
World Series of Poker, would not allow representatives to
comment on the increased popularity of freeroll tournaments
because The Daily Texan is a student newspaper and much
of its readership is under 21, said Dave Curley, a spokesman
for the World Series of Poker. Webb's father, Bill, said
that all his life his son has been mathematically inclined,
an advantage in poker, and showed an early passion for games.
"Ever since Andrew was a small boy, he was fascinated
with games. At 4 or 5 he would want people to play Trivial
Pursuit with, even though there was no way he could answer
the questions," Webb's father said. If the 21-year-old
is nervous about the prospect of playing professionally
in the largest poker tournament in history, he certainly
isn't showing it.
"I want to make sure I'm playing to give myself the
best possible chance to win," said Webb, who starts
participating in the tournament on July 28. "But I
believe that I can play against anyone."
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