Success of amateurs at poker’s biggest event has more people thinking they can win it all

Hector Contreras figures he has as good a chance as anyone to win the poker world's most prestigious event.

In fact, amateurs like Contreras have won the main event of the World Series of Poker every year since 2002.

"This is the highlight of all poker tournaments," the 26-year-old truck driver from Hollywood, Calif., said Friday on the first day of the series' main event. "This is the one everyone wants to win just for the (gold) bracelet. It's not even so much about the money as it is about winning that bracelet. To get that bracelet you get a taste of immortality."

Contreras was among more than 1,000 players on Friday who were seated at the 40th World Series of Poker's $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold 'em event, which was scheduled to run until 10:30 p.m.

More "first day" tables will continue to be seated today, Sunday and Monday. After Monday, the number of tables will begin to be cut back for the remaining players.

Play will continue until July 15 when a final table of nine players will be determined. Those players will return Nov. 7 to play until a final player remains.

Seth Palansky, the series' communication director, said the final number of this year's entries and the prize pool will not be known until

until Monday night.

Last year's main event drew 6,844 entries with $64,431,779 in prize money. Student Peter Eastgate won the gold bracelet and the $9.2 million prize pool.

Eastgate was the seventh consecutive amateur to win the main event, and the 15th in 39 years.

It is the only tournament event Eastgate ever has won a cash prize, even after entering numerous events this year.

Although the exact number is not known, Palansky estimates amateurs make up nearly 98 percent of the main event's field.

Contreras, who started playing poker five years ago, said he wrote down winning a main event gold bracelet as one of his 99 life goals a few years ago.

His first trip to the main event came by chance on Sept. 20 when he paid a $120 entry fee to enter a tournament at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood.

"I thought I had entered a regular tournament," Contreras said. "It turns out it was actually a satellite for the World Series."

Contreras won two of the events that day, cashing in $9,880 and a seat at the World Series of Poker main event.

Contreras arrived at the Rio, where the series is being held, at 6 a.m. Friday after driving all night. If he survives the first day he plans on looking into getting a hotel room.

He invited friends and family but everyone said they couldn't make the trip.

However, Contreras is confident they will start coming if he starts winning.

"The funny thing is, they said if I make the money they'll all show up," Contreras said, laughing.

One amateur player who will not be grabbing the bracelet and any cash this year is Rapheal Zimmerman, who went out six minutes into the main event. The 27-year-old, who went all-in with an opened-ended straight and backdoor flush draw, was at Seat 8, Table 117 and lost to a full house on the river.

ESPN wasn't there to catch the action so they asked him to go back to the table and stage another goodbye. He played up to the cameras by ripping off his bracelet and screaming, "I'm the first one out this year, but I'll be the last one out next year."

The main event will determine the series' player of the year.

Only 35 points separate the two contenders, Jeffrey Lisandro from Australia and Ville Wahlbeck from Finland.

Lisandro has won three bracelets and cashed in six times this year. Wahlbeck has cashed in at six events.

Contact Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly @reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.