Team Everest players scale mountainous odds at WSOP side events
LAS VEGAS (EVP News Desk) – In April the online poker room Everest Poker took 200 amateur poker players to Vienna, Austria for the final of their Live the Dream poker promotions
The purpose of the excursion was to pick ten online players to become Everest Poker brand ambassadors for an entire year. As brand ambassadors, the players would get free buy-ins to play in the most prestigious – and toughest – poker tournaments in the world.
In early July, during the first round side events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the biggest poker tournament in the world, Team Everest Poker players are apparently making a huge first impression.
So far three of the 13-person team have been “in the money” in the poker side events, which means they finished above the cut and qualified for a share of the tournament purse. Preliminary success in these side events bodes well for Team Everest, which is making its first attempt ever at the main event grand prize pot of $8 million. The final table for the main event is scheduled for later this year.
Leading the Everest pack was Finnish player Voitto “Random Eyes” Rintalla, who made the final table of Event 52. Rintala was eventually knocked out early into the final round of event 52, but was able to secure a $57,000 prize for his 9th place finish overall. Rintala, who is actually a rock star in his native Finland when he isn’t playing poker, is fast becoming known on the pro poker circuit as a capable opponent and his eerie trademark contact lenses.
Other Everest Poker members making a splash at the WSOP this month include Augusto Cavazzini, a Venezuelan who qualified for the WSOP in an online poker tournament for just $3.30. He walked away from Event 49 with a cool $17,530. Dutchman Daan “Krul” Slutter cashed out for $8,855 in Event 48.
Representing France was Otto Richard, who finished 35th in Event 41, and banked $4,687 for his efforts.