2008 Woodie Awards
SRU students compete in campus hold 'em tournament
By Caleb Pardick
Issue date: 4/1/05 Section: Life
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But, boy, were there ever some sunglasses. Dozens of them. And a table lined with white lights. There were also the cold stares of many trying to read the faces of their competition and intimidate and reassure themselves all at once. And while there was no foot-high pile of money at center stage, there were some nice prizes.
A Slippery Rock University Texas Hold 'Em Poker tournament with no entry fee and no cash prize would make for little drama, right? Not so fast.
Students, faculty and members of the University Program Board converged in the University Union's MPR Tuesday night to hold an 80-student poker tournament. The event, which lasted more than three and a half hours, began with students finding their assigned seats after checking in at the registration desk. Volunteer faculty members and SRU students served as the card dealers at 11 of the 12 tables. The tournament set, and play began just after 6 p.m.
Each of the 80 players (76 male, four female) was given 1,000 worth of chips to begin. Blinds, the term given to the required minimum bets in the world of poker, were increased every 10 to 15 minutes to speed up play, and, in effect, player exits.
The very first of those exits was by Brad Livingston, who bowed out after just 15 minutes of play. While the first loser in such a large tournament would normally slip away quietly, Livingston was greeted with rousing applause from his fellow players when he became the first victim of the evening.
By 7:30, less than 40 players remained. At 8:40, the remaining 10 players from the original field of 80 gathered at the main table for the final round.
One by one, each of the 10 finalists fell, a moderate round of applause accompanying their goodbye waves as they pushed themselves away from the table and joined the ring of spectators, also surrounding the remaining combatants. Emil Erhart's all-in last-ditch effort to extend his evening came up short, leaving Jordan Zehner and Brandon Kyles as the only remaining players in the tourney.
