2008 Woodie Awards
Poker tournament takes center stage at DU
Jeffrey Petri
Issue date: 2/1/05 Section: Sports
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The first Ritchie Center Intramural Poker Tournament was held this past Wednesday and Thursday, with more than 30 excited students participating.
For the $10 entry fee, contestants were eligible to win prizes such as Chipotle gift cards, Coors Fitness Center gift cards and towels.
The grand prize was round-trip airfare for two to anywhere in the continental United States, donated by Frontier Airlines.
The Ritchie Center's Special Events & Operations Manager Ruth Brown had the idea for the tournament.
Brown said, "We wanted something for the students to do, to get into a dynamic atmosphere and have the opportunity to have fun and meet people."
There are already plans to hold another tournament in late February, and Brown is confident it will be even better.
"We got a lot of good feedback about how to make it better - mainly, to get more people involved to enhance the experience," said Brown.
Taking home the grand prize was freshman Kyle Mullica, an avid poker player.
Mullica won the tournament when runner-up Paul Nadeau moved his stack all-in after the turn.
"The best hand I had against Kyle was the first one and I blew it," said Nadeau.
He said, "I should have gone all in but I didn't pull the trigger."
The flop gave Nadeau a pair of deuces, but the turn greeted Mullica with a pair of sevens.
Nadeau needed a two, an eight, or a spade on the river to stay alive, but instead, a three gave Mullica two-pair, and a two-way trip to Oregon.
"I'm actually using the tickets to take my girlfriend Julie out to visit my Grandparents. I won it for her - I used the Chipotle gift card I won last night to buy her dinner too," said Mullica.
Mullica was lucky to get into the final day of the tournament.
He was forced all-in three times the previous night and survived each encounter to make it to the final table.
"I didn't go in thinking I was going to win, I came out to have a good time," said Mullica.
For the $10 entry fee, contestants were eligible to win prizes such as Chipotle gift cards, Coors Fitness Center gift cards and towels.
The grand prize was round-trip airfare for two to anywhere in the continental United States, donated by Frontier Airlines.
The Ritchie Center's Special Events & Operations Manager Ruth Brown had the idea for the tournament.
Brown said, "We wanted something for the students to do, to get into a dynamic atmosphere and have the opportunity to have fun and meet people."
There are already plans to hold another tournament in late February, and Brown is confident it will be even better.
"We got a lot of good feedback about how to make it better - mainly, to get more people involved to enhance the experience," said Brown.
Taking home the grand prize was freshman Kyle Mullica, an avid poker player.
Mullica won the tournament when runner-up Paul Nadeau moved his stack all-in after the turn.
"The best hand I had against Kyle was the first one and I blew it," said Nadeau.
He said, "I should have gone all in but I didn't pull the trigger."
The flop gave Nadeau a pair of deuces, but the turn greeted Mullica with a pair of sevens.
Nadeau needed a two, an eight, or a spade on the river to stay alive, but instead, a three gave Mullica two-pair, and a two-way trip to Oregon.
"I'm actually using the tickets to take my girlfriend Julie out to visit my Grandparents. I won it for her - I used the Chipotle gift card I won last night to buy her dinner too," said Mullica.
Mullica was lucky to get into the final day of the tournament.
He was forced all-in three times the previous night and survived each encounter to make it to the final table.
"I didn't go in thinking I was going to win, I came out to have a good time," said Mullica.