Bellevue Dad Wins 2006 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown

Stanley Weiss from Bellevue was named champion of the 2006 World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown, bagging for himself $1,294,755.

As Weiss said, "Sure, you can sit down and get into any tournament as long as you put the money down or win a one-table satellite, but it's not all the cards. You have to read the players and you have to have a plan."

The 60 year-old said that he has come a long way from the days when he would bet some of his comic-book collection to $0.50 stakes when he was still in high school. Weiss won a $60 satellite event at the Mirage, winning him the $100,000 buy-in to the main event.

"I always thought I could play with these guys, but you never really know," Weiss said. "A friend of mine from New York would call and say, 'Stan you are as good as them.' I would say, 'Yeah, we are sitting here, I am in my skivvies, watching the World Poker Tour on TV. We could sit here and say whatever we want, but until we actually do it and play against these guys you really don't know for sure.'

For his win at the 2006 World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown, Weiss earned a spot at the $25,000 World Poker Tour championship in 2007.

"It is finally starting to sink in that I did win," Weiss mused. "It is just something I enjoy doing. I was glad I won. It was an interesting day to say the least."

February 27, 2007
Michael Orwell