Who is the oldest person chasing and grinding the circuit? Until someone steps forward, my vote goes to my buddy Cary Marshall, 64, from Pottsboro, Texas.
In addition to being a pro player, he has a refrigeration business in Alaska. At press time, he was tied for 43rd in points in the annual chase for one of the 50 at-large qualifiers to the World Series of Poker National Championship.
“I started playing poker as a kid and was a steady loser for the next 40 years,” he said, “until I got involved in a home game in Maui with four really good players who taught me the real art of poker.”
Then he got on PokerStars and grossed more than $65K a year part time for a couple of years. After making more money playing poker than at his real job in 2012, he threw his hat into the ranks of pro poker players.
With more than $420K in career live tournament earnings, four titles and two WSOPC rings, he has crushed a lot of the young guns grinding the circuit these days and carries the torch for a lot of us old guys.
He is so passionate about the game that he headed to Cherokee, N.C. to play in the latest circuit event to garner some more points for his second national championship quest. He won the Lake Tahoe WSOPC main in 2012 to qualify for the event.
Lake Tahoe has been good to Cary as he won his second WSOPC ring in the pot-limit Omaha event this season. For these reasons, he named his new canine traveling companion Tahoe (after a suggestion from Josh Wilgoren, a mutual friend and well-known poker circuit dealer).
I had the pleasure of virtual railing him online during last summer’s WSOP main event, where after five days he placed 71st for $103K.
He considers that his most fulfilling poker achievement after having outlasted 6,281 players. He is liked by any players who know him and absolutely adored by all of the traveling dealers. Best of luck to Marshall in his endeavor to qualify for the national event and his poker career, unless we’re heads-up for the title.
CHOCTAW: The $1 million Spring Classic at Choctaw Casino Resort was kicking off at press time (April 3-13) with a $50K-added best-all-around-player contest for the first 27 events. Event 1 was a $350 NLHE event with 220 entries and I made the final table but busted 10th. Stay tuned for all of the results in our next issue.
— Email John at anteupjohndshort@gmail.com.
