Sam Panzica Turns 21 Just in the Nick of Time
To play at the World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club stop you just need to be 18 years old with a valid ID. Here at Harrah’s New Orleans things are a bit different in that patrons must be 21 years old in order to play. With that said, imagine the anxiety felt by Sam Panzica, who was just 20 years old when he won the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Casino Championship back in February and earned a seat into the National Championship. Fortunately for Panzica, who was born on May 7, 1992, he celebrated his 21st birthday just 15 days ago.
“I am pretty excited for this event,” Panzica told PokerNews just prior to the National Championship. “It should be a lot of fun because a lot of my friends have already qualified for the event. It always a great tourney with a big first place and its a freeroll so that’s pretty nice too.”
Raised in Saline, Michigan, which is just outside of Ann Arbor, Panzica attended Central Michigan for his freshman year before moving back home and attending community college. While he played poker during that time, he’d learned the game before he was even out of middle school.
“I have been playing poker for a while. I started off in around seventh grade me and a bunch of my friends would have sit and gos at each other’s houses,” Panzica explained. “I probably started taking it a little more seriously at the end of high school and freshman year at college. Then Black Friday happened and I had to play a lot more live and move out of the country to play online.”
Panzica’s live options were limited due to his age, but he managed to find places to play.
“I have played a few times at Turning Stone where I have done really well,” he said. “I have also played a lot in Florida. I have also gone out of the country a few times including PCA and EPT San Remo, and I have playing a bit more online as of lately too.”
In order to play online Panzica had to leave his home in Michigan and move abroad, first going to Vancouver before heading south to Mexico. “The decision to move out of the country has been great so far,” Panzica said with a smile, “I really like going to different cities and meeting new people.”
Back in January, Panzica traveled to the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Durant stop and ended up winning his first ring after defeating 279 players in Event #12 $580 No-Limit Hold’em. A month later, he went to the Palm Beach Kennel Club stop and ended up winning the Casino Championship after a fourth-place finish in the 4365 H.O.R.S.E. event, runner-up in a $365 No-Limit Hold’em tournament and 21st in the $1,675 Main Event.
“I would have to say winning the ring meant more because first off it always feels a lot better to win,” Panzica said when asked which accomplishment meant more to him. “In the Palm Beach series I had a lot of deep runs but I could never get the win, which was kind of annoying. The ring is also cool because my parents thought that it was a really cool thing to win. I also won more money for the ring!”
While Panzica’s attention will be focused on today’s National Championship, he’s already said he’ll be headed straight to Vegas after it’s over where he’ll share a house with a bunch of friends. “I will pretty much be playing all the no-limit events,” he said. “I’m pretty excited to be able to play a live tourney everyday during the WSOP.”