US Poker Player Puts on a Fine Show in Vancouver
Written by Renee K | Thursday, February 18th, 2010
The love of the game of poker by top sportsmen and women is nothing new. It’s logical to expect a game that entails elements of skill to appeal to the competitive side of athletes. The latest poker fan to make headlines is JR Celski, a 19 year old American who claimed the United States’ first medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Celski won bronze in the short track speed skating event (1,500 meters) and stood on the podium at the Pacific Coliseum to collect his medal on Saturday night. Celski has been described as a “serious poker player” and we are sure to hear more about his love for the game in time.
Celski was involved in a horrific accident at the US trials on five months ago, when his skate blade lodged itself deep into his thigh, cutting through skin and muscle until the player could see his own femur bone. Doctors say that if the blade had cut one inch deeper, it would have severed Celski’s femoral artery and he might have died on the spot.
The athlete’s amazing victory to grab a bronze medal only five months after nursing his leg through 60 stitches and a severed quadriceps muscle is quite remarkable. It is probably this determination and tenacity that links the likes of JR Celski and other sportsmen-poker-players such as Michael Phelps.
Phelps, as most of us remember, won multiple gold medals for swimming at the Beijing Olympics and he is a regular face at land poker events. We recently reported that Phelps put in an appearance at last month’s Borgata Open Poker event, after lying low for several months. Phelps, however, plays online poker very regularly and is known to have cashed in many times.
Other Vancouver Olympic athletes who enjoy poker when they’re not training, include Ben Agosto (ice dancer), Hannah Teter (snowboarding) and Evan Lysacek (figure skater).
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· Written by Renee K · Filed Under Poker News · Comments Off
