Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Dan Nassif is a 33-year-old sales executive who really didn't expect to be sitting at the final table of the Main Event in the Amazon Room at the Rio Hotel during the 37th annual World Series of Poker, taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. He certainly intended to be participating in the World Series in general, taking time off from work in order to do so. Last year his participation ended on the first day when his opponent's big slick found another ace and took out Dan Nassif and his pocket tens. This year it was a different story.
By Day Four Dan was well ahead of most of the other players and had to make a call in order to keep his seat. It turned out to be a great decision, as all the final table finishers were guaranteed a least $1.5 million. As much as the other players might have enjoyed his company, they were all happy to see the sales executive hit the rail 30 minutes into the final table. Some seven hands went by and Dan's vacation came to an end. All the other players were guaranteed at least another $400,000 in prize money as Dan took the bottom rung of $1,566,858. He started the day in ninth place and he ended the day in ninth place but he also ended it a millionaire. His story sounds similar to the second-place finisher from last year Steve Dannenmann, a "regular guy" with a regular job who became a millionaire at the World Series of Poker, and his face can now be seen at many major events. Look for Dan to appear with his new bankroll at major poker events in the near future.
