UK Pro Sam Holden Battles For WSOP Glory In Las Vegas

The 2011 WSOP Main Event final table is due to reconvene on Sunday, November 6th at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. One of the nine players who will be aiming to forever secure a place for themselves in poker folklore will be the UK’s only player at the table, Sam Holden.
The 22 year old pro played for a gruelling 84 hours over eight days and made it through a field of 6,865 players to secure a place for himself at the prestigious final table.
However, the young Brit has some work to do as he is currently lying in 9th place on a 12.375 million stack with the blinds about to begin at 250k/500k with a 50k ante. Already guaranteed a minimum of £480,000 ($782,115) for progressing thus far, the short stacked pro will nonetheless be hoping for a good start to put himself in contention for the $8,711,956 (£5.3m) top prize which awaits the eventual winner.
As Sam Holden explains: “I’ve got a good chance and if things go my way I can come away with the bracelet…It would obviously be disappointing to finish ninth, but I’ll be happy as long as I play well. I’m definitely going to play to win it.”
Like many pros, in order to limit his risks Holden sold 61% of himself to raise his entry fee into the $10,000 Main Event. Consequently, if he finishes in 9th he will keep £192,955, whereas a 1st place finish would see him collecting £2,145,000 or 39% of the top prize.
Prior to becoming a member of the ‘November Nine’ elite, Sam Holden was not previously noted for his live tournament play which had netted him just $11,311 before his deep run in Vegas.
Online is a different matter though, where the talented pro is currently up $288,176 playing under the screen name ‘SamDMND.’ Not bad for the 22 year old player from East Sussex who first started playing poker four years ago while studying forensic science at Kent University.
Good luck to Sam Holden ahead of his WSOP Main Event showdown this Sunday at 18:30 GMT in Las Vegas.