Man Leaves Job to Become Professional Poker Player Wins World Series of Poker

2007 World Series of Poker – Event # 6 Limit Holdem
Champion & Gold Bracelet Winner:

Gary Styczynski
AKA: "GMONEY"

NEW YORK · September 04, 2007 /PRNewswire/ — Who says dreams can't come true? Hasn't every person thought of winning the lottery or becoming an instant celebrity so they can leave their job? One man from New York, Gary Styczynski, had this very dream. He always wanted to become a World Series of Poker champion.

About 2 years ago, Styczynski left his job as a manager of a fortune 500 company to become a professional poker player. "I've always played poker well and though I enjoyed my job, I needed a change," said Styczynski. "I started to wins tournaments and local games and made a few bucks. When I began to become competitive at some of the larger tourneys, I thought I may want to try a new career."

Styczynski, who lives in the greater New York City area, handily beat a large field of more than 900 entrants at the Annual World Series of Poker's event #6. As the chip leader going into the final table, he continued his aggressive style of play, to eliminate the remaining 8 players. The event was the first ever poker tournament to be viewed live on the internet while showing the player's hole cards. More than 8 Million paying viewers watched the event unfold.

Styczynski won the first prize of $280,715 and the coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelet for his effort. "It's an honor to know that I am now part of a group of less than 650 players in the world who has earned a WSOP bracelet," Styczynski remarked.

The long time poker player also owns a call center consulting firm, Global Service Solutions. "I still want to be connected with the business world," said Styczynski. "I'm blessed to have options." He is married, with 2 children, Matthew, 7 & Ellie, 4. "They have all been very supportive before and, of course, after the event. It's a life changing experience."

Within the past year, Styczynski has made 3 final tables and 3 cashes at major poker tournaments. One highlight of the events he did take part in was the "Ante up for Africa" charity event that was held on July 5th at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. This invitation only event was hosted by actor, Don Cheadel and poker player, Annie Duke and was created to help raise money for the people of Darfur.

Gary also played in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. He started off very strong, as he was in 12^th chip position after the first day of play. His luck unfortunately faded during the 2^nd day and was knocked out of the event. He will be featured during the Main Event and can be seen on ESPN.

Styczynski has created a website to display pictures and document his incredible rise in the poker world. The site is gmoneypoker.com.