Under the Radar

Mike Ellis isn't the archetypical poker player, and certainly not the image one might have of a pro formed from the 2003 poker boom. To look at him, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was an accountant, not one of UK poker's current hot topics. However, that actually isn't too far away from the truth, as before he turned pro, Mike worked in banking and investments where he specialised in analysing financial markets. Although he played as a student at Oxford University, it wasn't until 2004 that he truly got bitten by the bug, a business conference in Vegas quickly turning into an excuse to play poker and thus triggering his hunger to earn a living from the game.

Now 45-years old, Mike is a regular in the London cash games - predominatly at the Vic - and has also built up a meaty set of results, one of which was a win in the 2007 GUKPT Grand Final for £197,600. But despite his record, you won't have seen his face in many magazines or TV shows, and he is rarely mentioned in the same breath as some of the UK's more prominent figures, whether they have earned more than him of late or not. Mike is just so quiet and unassuming that he's one of those players who seems to continually pass under the radar unnoticed.

It is perhaps because of this that everyone was rather surprised to see Mike Ellis become the fourth UK bracelet winner when he fended off 2,394 other participants to win Event #30's $1,500 No Limit Hold'em. Yes, that's a field of 2,395, and he did it without so much as a murmur. I'm sure he had his fair share of good fortune, but he never gave up, and when he was within reaching distance of the bracelet, he maintained his focus to win a three-hour heads-up against America's Christopher Gonzales. It was an epic performance, and one that concluded at the yawn-inducing hour of 6am.

The very next day, Mike was back in the Rio to play another donkament. He wasn't out by the pool or balling (is that a word?) with his newfound fortune or waltzing around as though he owned the place. He was there to grind, and to add another bracelet to the trophy cabinet. He still looked like Mike Ellis, the financial trader and poker player, in his jeans and raggy T-shirt, and about as unostentatious a bracelet winner as I'd ever seen. This was the sign of a man dedicated to his job.

"The British players have had a fantastic year," commented Mike. "And you can see from all the support we get. We are all kind of rooting for each other here and we come together. We are all friends and we know each other back home. It's nice to see all of us doing well. It's great.

"This [winning] means absolutely everything," he continued. "It's definitely the marking post for playing poker. If you have won a bracelet, then you have really achieved something.

"I love the game. I absolutely love the game and never tire of it. There is always a different situation. It's a challenge to work things out. You also meet so many great people in poker - it's just a fantastic game."

Meanwhile, the tale was bitter-sweet (mainly bitter for the immediate future) for Black Belt Poker's Neil Channing. Although he made his 15th WSOP cash in three years and finished a credible 11th place for $33,191, that first bracelet still evades him. Channing was desperately unlucky not to have made the final table when K-x outdraw his pocket tens to leave him short-stacked, but he proved once again what great form he is in. He's been the bridesmaid way too many times lately, and it's only matter of time before it's him walking down the aisle. Maybe the Poker Gods are holding him back for the Main Event...

1st Mike Ellis -- $581,851
2nd Christopher Gonzales -- $360,906
3rd David Wilkinson -- $254,996
4th Martin Jacobson -- $183,345
5th Bill Griner -- $133,574
6th William Kakon -- $98,605
7th Jason Hallee -- $73,719
8th Christopher Kastler -- $55,814
9th Jeff Cohen -- $42,790

Previous Bulletins:

Employee of the Month
Fairytale Endings
Must Be Nice
Make Mine a Double
Blonde on Blonde
Summer of Sam
Chuft to Bits

Vegas Blog Entries:

May 23: My Old School Teacher
May 31: Welcome to America; Let the Institutionalising Begin
June 1: Pleasure & Pain
June 5: 100% British Beef
June 9: Alphabetti Spaghetti & Giant Meatballs
June 13: Colour Me Up
June 14: The Crying Game
June 20: Last Gasps