An Aberdour man who won £900,000 at the Pokerstars European Poker Tour Main Event in London said on Wednesday night it had “not sunk in yet.”
David Vamplew won the cash after a five-hour duel late into Monday night against top American poker player John Juanda.
The 23-year-old maths graduate and former Inverkeithing High School pupil is now the highest earning Scottish poker player. However, he told The Courier he is still adjusting to the last few days’ events.
“I would be lying if I said it had sunk in yet,” he said. “It is all a bit overwhelming”.
David, who began playing poker only five years ago with fellow students, said he was looking forward to catching up with some rest.
“I started in first year at university playing with some friends around the kitchen table, so to beat someone like John Juanda who has been playing for like forever is quite an achievement.
“I’m really tired after the last few days. A lot has been happening and we were playing for at least nine hours every day.
“On Monday I had been playing for at least 11 hours, including a one-hour break. It was my longest live session and biggest win by far.
“My biggest win in a tournament was 16,000 dollars online so there’s quite a difference. In some tournaments they put blocks of cash on the table but I’m glad they didn’t do that this time or it would have put me off.”
David said he planned to invest some of his money in buying a flat in Edinburgh, where he lives, and was looking ahead to future tournaments.
“There’s no big thing I want,” he said. “I don’t even need a car because you can walk everywhere in Edinburgh. That’s what I like about it.
“I’ve been playing full-time for just over a year now and am confident I can support myself from playing. I’m realistic and know that I haven’t just been lucky.
“I plan to play in tournaments around the world and I am thinking about taking part in the next one in Barcelona in November.”
David has been inundated with messages of congratulations from his friends and has the backing of proud father Peter, who works for Shell, and mother Jane, a support worker.
He is also keeping his diary free for the biggest poker tournament in the world, to take place in June and July in Las Vegas.
“It’s a $6000 buy-in for the world series and around 7000 people take part, with winners taking home nine or eight million dollars,” David said.
Image used from Pokerstars site.