Jason Mercier, a Fort Lauderdale math teacher, is one of five finalists for the <a href="http://www.europeanpokertour.com/">PokerStars.Com European Poker Tour’s </a>"Newcomer of the Year" award.
Mercier won the EPT San Remo event in April, earning 869,000 euros after qualifying on PokerStars. It was the first big tournament cash for Mercier, who went on to cash three times in this year’s World Series of Poker for $56,769 in winnings.
Mercier is on the ballot with Internet sensation Annette Obrestad, as well as Trond Erik Eidsvig, Denes Kalo and Mike McDonald.
The results will be announced Sept. 9 in Barcelona.
