Seat 5: Erik Seidel (1,145,000)
Erik Seidel is no stranger to the poker scene, and he's especially no stranger to high buy-in events like this one. He won the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge in 2011 for AU$2,500,000. That same year Seidel took third in the $100,000 Challenge for AU$625,000. Needless to say, the Poker Hall of Famer, who has more than $17.6 million in career earnings, knows just what he is doing in big buy-in events.
In 2003, Seidel took fourth in the AU$2,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event for AU$9,200, then took second in the AU$1,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event for AU$35,000. In 2007, Seidel placed second in the $100,000 Challenge for AU$550,000 and topped that earning the next year when he came runner-up in the Aussie Millions Main Event for AU$1,000,000. He then won the AU$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha in 2010 for AU$120,000 in 2010, but 2011 proved to be his best year ever Down Under.
Born in New York City in 1959, Seidel always had a gifted mind for games of all kinds. He took up backgammon while in college and soon dropped out to pursue a professional career playing the game. New York’s famous Mayfair Club was like a second home to Seidel. There he was able to hone his skills against some of the best players around.
Seidel traveled around playing backgammon tournaments for about eight years before making some forays into the stock market. With more and more people indulging in poker at the Mayfair Club, Seidel decided to give it a shot. Poker wasn’t his only source of income though, as Seidel took up a regular job as a stockbroker with much more of a secure income. The security of a regular paycheck went out the window though in 1987 when the stock market crashed and Seidel lost his job. Luckily, he still had poker.
The Mayfair Club was growing with players and Seidel soon became one of the best of them, along with the likes of Howard Lederer and Dan Harrington. It was around this time that Seidel took a shot in Vegas at the 1988 World Series where he ended up placing second in the Main Event to the world renowned Johnny Chan. A few years later in 1991, Seidel would return to place second in another WSOP event. It would only take one more year for his wrist to be wrapped in WSOP gold.
In 1992, Seidel captured his first bracelet followed by a second bracelet in 1993. Another year later saw Erik walk away from the WSOP with another bracelet. The 1998 was another good year at the Series for Seidel. He was able to cash four times and win his fourth bracelet. One more year later, Seidel made a run at the WSOP Main Event again, this time placing fourth for almost $280,000.
Taking the next logical step, Seidel moved out to Vegas with his wife and from there the winnings just seemed to pile up. The years 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007 all saw Seidel walk away from WSOP with more gold wrapped around his wrist to give him a total of eight bracelets.
Erik Seidel's Top 8 WSOP Results
| Year | Event | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | $2,500 Limit Hold'em | 1st | $168,000 |
| 1993 | $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better | 1st | $94,000 |
| 1994 | $5,000 Limit Hold'em | 1st | $210,000 |
| 1998 | $5,000 No-Limit Deuce to Seven Draw | 1st | $132,750 |
| 2001 | $3,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em | 1st | $411,300 |
| 2003 | $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha | 1st | $146,100 |
| 2005 | $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 1st | $611,795 |
| 2007 | $5,000 No-Limit Deuce to Seven Draw | 1st | $538,835 |
Australia and the WSOP aren't the only places Seidel shines. He had a deep, second-place run at the Jack Binion World Poker Open in 2002 along with wins at Festa Al Lago II and III, where he secured wins in both events. In 2008 Seidel took down the World Poker Tour Foxwoods Poker Classic for almost $1 million.
The big questions is... can Seidel notch his first EPT win here today? Only time will tell!