Winnipeg waiter wins close to $1M in poker tournament
Winnipegger Patrick Serda may have handled a lot of dough at his job as a server at Pizzeria Gusto, but it pales in comparison to the nearly $1-million prize he won at a professional poker tournament in Prague.
Serda beat a field of 400 international poker players on Monday to take second place and a pot of €719,000, which is nearly $1 million Cdn.
"[It was] pretty surreal for the most part. I mean, it hasn't hit a bank account yet, it's just in my online account," Serda said.
"I haven't made any plans, but it's pretty nice in the end," Serda said.
The $1-million pot is his largest single win since he became a professional poker player eight years ago.
Despite his big win, Serda plans to return to work as a server at Pizzeria Gusto in Winnipeg. (Courtesy of Patrick Serda)
Serda won $250,000 at an event in September.
"Obviously there's some confidence. I don't think I would be playing any tournaments that I didn't think I could win," Serda said.
Despite his jackpot, Serda plans to eventually return to Winnipeg and his job serving at Pizzeria Gusto.
"I'm super happy to go back. I love it there — great people and great regulars — and I'd be happy to go back," Serda said.
Serda has his eyes on his next tournaments, which are in the Bahamas next month and Australia at the end of January.
Even though he is moving in a world of international high-stakes poker players, he's still in touch with his friends in Winnipeg who were with him when it all began.
"I've got a good group of friends that were in a group chat with me, and everyone was recalling stories the other day about different situations where it all started, six, seven, eight years ago when we were all playing for nickels and dimes," Serda said.
from Poker
Post a Comment