Modern poker is populated by young and promising players who spin huge amounts over the Internet and occasionally put their skills to the test in live games. There is nothing wrong in making the transition from one style of play to the other, but for senior poker players this is not an option anymore. Many of those who used to play poker back in the day when it was both dangerous and illegal, are no longer interested in it nowadays when it is perfectly safe and profitable.
Those who do have the set of skills necessary and the money to buy in at the World Series of poker, have plenty of reasons to look forward for Event 26. This is a tournament reserved to seniors and just as the name suggests was a place where veterans got the chance to meet and compete for gold bracelet. Not surprising, there were plenty of players to buy in and the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship set a new record for this edition of WSOP, with 4407 players buying in.
Ken Lind was inspired to postpone any activities he might have had this June and travel to Las Vegas, because he won in excess of $600,000. When Day 3 began with 34 players left in the race, all of them knew that they were in the money and the only concern was to finish as high up the ladder as possible. One by one, seniors were eliminated and when the final table began, the remaining players had barely enough chips in front of them to survive the high blinds.
Lind was responsible for several eliminations, taking the chips of Michel Bouskila and Randy Spain, while Dana Ott sent John Holley and Barry Bashist home. The two of them went head to head for the ultimate prize and unlike what frequently happens at this stage of a tournament, the two players shifted into a less aggressive gear.
Aggressive poker might be winning poker in regular tournaments both online and in brick-and-mortar casinos, but the two seniors took their time. They waited for cards that were strong enough to warrant an all in and so it was that Lind prevailed with a straight over Ott’s set. There are very few retirement gifts that come even close to what Ken Lind’s was bestowed with, and we shouldn’t be surprised to see him return in 2014 for another World Series of Poker event.