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EPT Champ Returns to the States
A return to the United States did not mean a quiet time for the winner of
the European Poker Tour. 19-year-old Jeff Williams, who took the first place
prize of $1 million this past weekend at the tournament in Monaco, returned
to his parent’s home in Georgia after the tournament wrapped up. The phone
has been ringing off the hook ever since.
It seems as though everyone wants to hear from the EPT champ, who is too young
to legally gamble in the United States. He is a political science major at the
University of Georgia in his freshman year, and also a reputed math whiz. It was
his mathematical abilities, in fact, that helped him to win the tournament.
Williams has said that he tends to play multiple hands online at one time,
giving him an advantage in concentration and in practice over players who only
play one.
Over the past two days, Williams has received offers to do interviews and
appearances with most of Georgia’s newspapers, many poker magazines, and one
offer to film a segment on the “Today Show”, set to shoot later this week.
Williams has said that he can’t quite remember the moment when he was declared
the winner clearly, it is lost in a haze of excitement. He does remember his
opponent, though- he had actually played him before.
Williams says that he played his final opponent online, and knew his style as an
aggressive player that would go all-in. He stated that he only bet a third of
his chip stack, so even if he lost the hand that ended up giving him the title,
he would still have had a shot.
When queried about his choice of game, Williams says that the Texas Hold’Em
variation of poker represents the game with the most skill in it. He also says
that after playing over 2,000 hands over the weekend, he thinks he should take a
bit of a break from the game.
Williams plans to take a responsible route with his winnings, leaving aside
roughly 40% for taxes, and possibly investing the rest in real estate and mutual
funds. He entertained thoughts of a new car, but decided the one he currently
uses will suffice.
The EPT champion expects to return to poker next week, when classes resume after
the spring break. He expects that he will play against his dorm mates, although
one can’t help but wonder how much action they will be wiling to give.
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