A poker record was broken on November 1, 2008 when Peter Eastgate won the 39th World Series of Poker. At 22, he is the youngest winner ever, usurping that title from Phil Helmuth, who was 24 when he won in 1989.
Poker’s popularity and wide exposure is the media is attracting younger players to live tournament tables, with many of these players getting their start through online poker rooms. The typical stereotype of a poker player is usually grizzled older guys, often wearing cowboy hats, but that image is changing fast. Today’s poker player is just as likely to be under thirty, and wearing baseball caps and sunglasses at the table.
When the World Series of Poker was originally launched 1971, Johnny Moss won the very first tournament by a vote, then he actually won the second year’s played in 1972. He was in his sixties at the time, and the players were mostly middle-aged and older. Stu Ungar paved the way for younger players when he won the WSOP in 1980 at age 26, and Phil Helmuth held the honor as youngest winner for 19 years.
Younger players are coming to dominate the game now. Online poker and intense TV exposure has drawn them to high stakes televised tournaments. Steve Billirakis, age 21, won a bracelet and more than half a million dollars in this year’s WSOP.
When the WSOP hosted events in London, where 18-year olds can play in casinos, three winners were less than 23-years old. Annette Obrestad won a bracelet and $2 million+ the day before her nineteenth birthday. Eric Froehlick won two bracelets while only 22 years old in 2006, and Jeff Madsen earned two bracelets along with $1 million+ in 2006, and was named Player of the Year. At the final table of the 2008 WSOP, five out of nine players were 26 and under; and the oldest was 53.
