Imagine having a sound sleep and waking up to winning a ticket to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2022 Main Event which comes with a buy-in of $10,000. Sounds fictional right? But it actually happened. No we are not kidding.
Eric Goldstein is that player who got to experience something so ‘unbelievable.’ On 29th June 2022, Goldstein fell asleep and then woke up only to discover that he had won an $80 auto all-in satellite and won a ticket into the WSOP 2022 Main Event.
The event had an all-in structure, where every player was automatically made to go all-in every hand until the tournament concluded. Additionally, the event would award only one seat to the prestigious Main Event. The entire event lasted for only about four hands before selecting the winner because of the all-in structure. Goldstein registered for the satellite tournament and forgot about it, he told PokerNews.
“I got home from a long day of work and was watching the Poker Players Championship and a friend messaged me. So I registered when there were like 30 minutes until it started and had to go to work at 6 AM, so I passed out early and woke up to a lot of messages that I had won it,” said Goldstein.
ALSO READ: Chris Moneymaker: From Accountant to Poker Millionaire!
A total of 126 players entered the satellite event, out of which Goldstein who was actually asleep ended up winning. After waking up the next day and finding out about the seat he’d won, he logged-in to his WSOP account to look at the hand histories and find out exactly how he won.
He realized in the final hand, he had a 61,000 to 3,000 lead over ‘Basil_Hayden,’ his heads-up opponent. Goldstein had Kc 6s against 8h 4c and the board fanned out Jc 2c 6d Qc Tc to give the large stack a stronger flush to win the seat.
Usually when a player is registered for an online tournament but doesn’t turn up to play, the player’s hands are automatically mucked. When in the blinds, their chips are automatically deducted. However, this satellite was different. Every hand every player was declared all-in irrespective of the player’s presence. Which meant a player could be online playing or away like Goldstein sleeping, he/she was declared all-in without any option in every hand. That wasn’t the case for this particular tournament.
There were several comparisons being made between Goldstein and poker legend Chris Moneymaker, who became an overnight star after winning the WSOP 2003 Main Event. Moneymaker, too, had qualified via a satellite event on PokerStars, which cost an entry fee of $86 back then. There were speculations that Goldstein would go on to become the next Moneymaker by winning the Main Event title with the seat he had won.
However, Goldstein didn’t make it in the money. He played flight Day 1A and qualified for Day 2abc flight, where he busted at the 1,393rd spot. Whether Goldstein becomes the next Chris Moneymaker is something people speculating will have to wait and watch.
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Amarylisa Gonsalves is a Content Writer at Gutshot Magazine. Advancing from a marketing background, she found her calling in writing. She takes delight in exploring genres and is a curious learner. Patient and ambivert, she believes in letting her work speak for itself. Apart from content writing, she finds solace in writing poetry by expressing herself through words. Additionally, she adores indulging in anything that satisfies her creative self, like drawing and DIY crafts.
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