On June 11th, Shiao was a 24-year-old working man hoping for a cash at the World Series of Poker.
Now Shiao is a 25-year-old millionaire.
“This is absolutely amazing,” said Shiao. “Never in a million years did I think I'd be the winner of the Monster Stack.
“It's the best birthday present I ever gave myself.”
Shiao turned 25 on Day 1 of the Monster Stack and proceeded to have the best tournament of his life.
Funding the Monster
This is Shiao’s first WSOP cash and just his second WSOP event.
Shiao played the Millionaire Maker earlier this month but missed out on the million.
He won a bit more today, though.
Shiao took home $1,286,942 for winning the Monster Stack, bringing his total tournament earnings up to $1,295,640.
Before today, Shiao’s largest cash was for $7,535. That score was responsible for Shiao’s victory today.
“We came out here for 20-something days because I won a tournament in Florida,” said Shiao.
“That gave us the funds to come out here and play four or five events.”
Shiao is planning on staying for a bit longer now.
Dealing, Playing and Winning
“I probably don't have to go to work for a little bit,” said Shiao.
Shiao is a poker dealer at the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida but hasn’t been able to play much poker.
“I’ve been playing poker since I’ve been 14 years old,” said Shiao. “I just never had the time, you know.
“It's a struggle to play while you deal because you deal 20, 30 or 40 hours a week and poker, as you guys can see, is a long, long grind.”
They don’t get much longer than the Monster Stack.
Taking five days to complete, the Monster Stack was one of the longest events of the year. It was also the seventh-largest tournament ever held and one that Shiao will never forget.
“I'm just glad I won,” said Shiao.
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