Big World Series of Poker payday for Penn law student

Big World Series of Poker payday for Penn law student By Don Steenberg For Philadelphia Inquirer The million-dollar envelope that Brad Kondracki pulled out of his shorts pocket Friday night looked like the mangled wrapper containing your Friday pay stub, after you've ripped a jaggy opening with your finger and stuffed it in your pocket so you can throw it away later. Kondracki, a 24-year-old second-year law student at the University of Pennsylvania, unfolded it and read aloud the unbelievable number written on the voucher slip. "One million, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars," he said. Not a bad week's pay. Kondracki had come to Las Vegas eight days before to play in the World Series of Poker's No-Limit Texas Hold `em Championship. There were 5,618 other players too, and each paid a $10,000 entry fee, creating a record-breaking prize-money pot. Kondracki had his entry fee and his stay in Las Vegas paid for by a sponsor, the Web site Pokerstars.com, after he had won an online tournament that he entered for $160. With about two years of experience playing any kind of poker, almost all of it sitting at a keyboard, Kondracki ended up playing in the biggest day in the history of professional poker, at a final table where nine players would split $23 million and the winner would get $7.5 million. At a news conference after Kondracki went out in eighth place, Kondracki was joined by his parents, Tony and Louise Kondracki of Kingston, Pa. "You wake up one day and go to work and cut the grass and all of a sudden you're here at a press conference," Tony said. "It's beyond belief." "They weren't this happy when I said I was going to take a year off before law school to play online poker," Brad said. Poker, of course, is bigger than ever, in casinos and suburban dens, on the Internet and on TV. Last year's World Series of Poker had been its biggest ever, with 2,576 players, and this year it more than doubled, forcing early rounds to move from its traditional venue at Binion's Gambling Hall to the bigger Rio Hotel & Casino. The first loser to go out blew his $10,000 in about three minutes. Louise Kondracki and Brad's youngest brother, Steve, "had made arrangements to watch him, and then we were going on to visit relatives in Flagstaff," Louise said. They never reached Flagstaff. By Monday, Brad was among the chip-count leaders. Tony Kondracki, a vice president at Wachovia Securities, went to work "and everybody said, `What are you doing here?' So I got on a plane." Kondracki built his stack Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and reached the final 27. On Thursday, in play that would last until 3 a.m. Friday, Brad survived to the final table, where all nine players were guaranteed at least $1 million. (The chips just count as points; cash prizes are based on finishing order.) "He just wins a million dollars, and we're going to get the car, and he asked his friends to go in and get the parking ticket validated for 10 bucks," Tony recalled. The final on Friday shifted back to Binion's, in a room that held about 300 people. Among those at the table were Daniel Bergsdorf, a Swedish truck driver; Tex Barch, who owns Big Johnson's Beer Garden near Dallas; and Scott Lazar, a magician from California who has performed for Liza Minelli. ESPN commentator Norman Chad took several takes on camera to successfully call the players "an eclectic collection of relative newcomers," although you could say that every year in a game where you can reach the World Series finals with two years' experience. Just minutes into play, Kondracki went "all in" betting his whole stack on the kind of card-flipping showdown that makes TV poker popular. Brad held two black 10s. Steve Dannenman, an accountant from California, had an ace and a queen. The three-card "flop" turned up a jack, queen and four, all spades, giving his opponent a pair of queens but Kondracki four spades. If any of the next two cards turned up spades - a 50/50 shot - Kondracki would have a flush. The next card was a two of hearts. The final card, the river, was a spade. The crowd roared. After that, his luck wore down. Kondracki went all-in again later, and the angels were not with him. He finished eighth. The others played on until 6:44 a.m., with an Australian named Joe Hachem taking the grand prize. Kondracki wasn't sure what he'd do next, besides celebrating with his friends and family, and sleeping. "I just know I don't have to worry about much right now," he said. Excited members of the poker media wondered whether one of the game's hottest rookies and newest millionaires (before taxes) would really need to go back to all that book-learning at law school. His father said, only partly joking, that was "nonnegotiable." "Uh, we'll see," Brad said. "I have some thinking to do now. Probably."