Bear with me folks, this one gets good. This is what poker should be about. Not a crybaby complaining about bad beats, an angle shooter trying to get somebody for a dime, or a pompous pro taking his earbuds off just long enough to brag about his last final table. Not tonight.
PokerAtlas has very few rules. But one of them is that the trophy goes to whoever gets the most money. Chop it or don't, but we hand the trophy to whoever wins the most money. We think that is (usually) how it should be done. And we didn't break that rule tonight, though the player who won the most money did not, in fact, go home with the trophy.
Before we talk about a trophy, let's talk about a man.
Darryl Sample is an aircraft engineer from Grand Prairie, Texas. He loves to fish, catching and eating his fill of crappie every time he gets the chance. Once in a while he gives the fish a break and goes golfing. But a lot of that has been on hold while he's battled with cancer for the last few years.
An unassuming man, Darryl is easy to talk to. The regulars tell us that there is never an unkind word from his mouth, and you can just feel it after spending a few minutes with him.
"I'm not very photogenic," Darryl says, as I snap a few more photos of him. It isn't true. I've already featured him on our Instagram page, his white hair set off against a deep purple shirt that is a photographer's dream in a room full of grey hoodies.
Darryl was the chip leader for most of the day. When they first talked about a deal eight-handed, Darryl was still the chip leader. But they couldn't get the deal done and play continued while they worked on it some more. As the clock ran and hands were dealt, Darryl took a hit or two, finally giving up the chip lead. A deal was done soon after.
But there was one condition. The winner wanted to give the trophy to Darryl. He said the man deserved it and he knew what he had been going through. Darryl accepted, to get the deal done. So the trophy was handed to Nathan Knight, who had a small chip lead over Sample, who handed it to Darryl and sent him over to the photographer to take a winner's photo.
We don't have a photo of Knight. He didn't want one. We have a photo of Darryl. Who has the most genuine smile you will ever see. Well done Nathan. Well done to everyone in this deal. And good luck Darryl. We're rooting for you!
