Rhodes to Riches! 888poker Player Tommy Yates Turns 1₵ Into an American Dream

Twelve years since Chris Moneymaker’s historic win made him a global phenomenon, 58 year-old British-expat Tommy Yates has hit the headlines as the poker world’s latest Cinderella story.

After entering 888poker’s WSOP satellite tournaments with the minimum 1₵ buy-in, Yates fought his way through online step-qualifiers to win a $13,000888poker dream trip to the WSOP.

It was a fairytale come true for the bar owner from Yorkshire, who traveled to Las Vegas with his wife and son from his home in Rhodes to join over 80,000 other hopefuls in the biggest poker event in the world.

His 1₵ investment soon paid off as he finished the Main Event in the money with an incredible $19,500 cash win. Yates was finally eliminated after 4 days, in place 486, after KK Vs AJ – Ace on the flop.

Celebrating his win, Yates said: “I don’t think there were any tighter players than me in the whole Main Event. I threw away, pre-flop, cards like AK and QQ. It might look stupid to you, but I was so motivated to pass the bubble, that when that moment came, I felt like I’d won the bracelet and 8,000,000 million dollars. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

Itai Pazner, Vice President of B2C at 888 Holdings, said: “888poker players who make it to our live events are able to enjoy an once-in-a-lifetime experience and thrill like no other. This year we sent over 120 players who qualified from satellites tournaments to the WSOP. After this kind of adventure, winning is just a bonus and we’re always happy when our players make it in the money. Although Tommy’s story was unique, there were another 11 great players who cashed out on the main event.”