Veteran poker reporter wins WSOP opener

Chad Holloway from Reedsburg, Wis., won the Casino Employees Championship at the World Series of Poker early Friday morning to claim his first WSOP bracelet and the $84,915 first-place prize.

Holloway is a 30-year-old poker writer and reporter. He has worked for PokerNews since 2009. Holloway spends most of his time on the road, covering poker tournaments all over the world. In fact, he arrived in Las Vegas to cover this year's WSOP as a floor reporter and editor.

"When there were 12 people left, I reflected back to the countless situations I've observed where I have watched the mistakes people have made," said Holloway. "They get too aggressive, they push with the wrong hands, or what have you. And so I was patient. I kept my head about me and I remembered all the mistakes I've seen players make of the years and try not to do that. If I was going to go out, it was going to be from them having to crack my hand or come from behind."

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Holloway later attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he completed one year of law school. But he became infatuated with poker about four years ago and has been playing and writing about the game ever since.

This victory sets up Holloway quite well financially for the summer. With a bankroll that's now bigger than ever, he hopes to play in a few open events – on his days off, that is. Remarkably, Holloway planned to return to work only hours after his victory. He'll be in the unusual position of covering players who hope to win a gold bracelet with one of his own dangling from his wrist.

"As media members, we have all been in the seats where the winners sit or we hold the trophy or try on the hold bracelet," said Holloway. But to actually think I would have one to call my own and to show my family was a pipe dream more or less – at least until today.

Runner-up Allan Kwong lost two big hands late and had to settle for second place. Kwong is a 31-year-old prop player at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, Calif. Other final table players included Robert Rooney (third), Brian Pingel (fourth), Daniel Ellery (fifth), Sean Small (sixth), Tyrone Smith (seventh), Michael Trivett (eighth) and Hieu Le (ninth).

The Casino Employees Championship has served the launching pad for most WSOP schedules since 2000. The tournament was initially called the “Dealers World Poker Championship," since the inaugural tournament was open only to casino dealers at the time. The following year, all casino employees became eligible.

This tournament was added to the WSOP schedule and has been maintained to recognize the considerable contributions of many dedicated professionals in the gaming industry. It has been an official gold bracelet event ever year since its inception.

Tournament summary modified from notes provided by WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla, used with permission.