Michael to represent Wakefield in Las Vegas tournament

Michael Morris, who works in catering in The Ridings Centre, will jet off to Las Vegas next week after winning the trip in Redtooth pub poker at his local, the Calder and Hops in Wakefield.

Once in Vegas, he will play in another tournament against 99 other ‘Vegas100’ winners, in a bid to win £8,000 cash and £5,000 sponsorship for bigger tournaments throughout the year,

Michael, 30, a chef by trade, has played pub poker since he was 18, and is the voluntary Redtooth tournament director at the Calder and Hops.

He said: “I had a really bad year last year, after my marriage broke down, and this has given me a boost.

“I’ve never won anything of note before,and I’ve never been to America, so it’s exciting times. While there I want to see the Avengers’ Station as I’m a big superhero fan - they have all the props from the films and that will be great.

“I’ll do my best in the tournament but don’t have a strategy. I just like taking risks.”

The winner of the event will be crowned the UK Pub Poker Champion.

The Vegas100 players will also be able to take part in an additional tournament with over $6000 worth of prizes, including a return trip to Vegas and a seat into a World Series of Poker event in 2020.

Martin Green, MD of Redtooth Poker, said: “These are the best pub poker players in the UK so they fully deserve this once in a lifetime trip to America.”