Look Out: Sean Getzwiller

Sean Getzwiller won one of the largest tournaments of the summer when he picked up his first gold bracelet in event No. 8 ($1,500 six-handed no-limit hold’em) at the 2011 World Series of Poker. For topping the massive field of 4,178 players, he took home $611,185 and 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points.

The win didn’t come easy at the final table, a fact illustrated by a heads-up match that last for four hours.

“I didn’t think it was going to be easy,” Getzwiller said. “We had a lot of chips in play, and when we were heads up, we were really deep. [Sadan Turker and I] both had about 80 big blinds. So, there was a lot of play, and we just lasted four hours. He is a heck of a player.”

Getzwiller — a 33-year-old newly minted resident of Las Vegas who hails from Tucson, Arizona, and is a University of Arizona graduate — followed his gold-bracelet victory with another WSOP final-table appearance in event No. 24 ($5,000 no-limit hold’em shootout) just about a week later. He added a ninth-place cash in that event to his 2011 WSOP résumé, and he picked up another 156 POY points. He now holds a total of 1,596 points, and he sits in 70th place in the overall standings.

Getzwiller worked in real estate for several years. However, he was a victim of the economic downturn three years ago and began playing poker during his free time. He developed his skills and eventually became a professional poker player.
“I grew up in Arizona on a ranch, and I started getting into real estate right out of college,” he said. “I did okay with that, and the market hit the skids, so I picked up poker. I ended up moving [to Las Vegas] a couple months ago for this, and I guess I got fast-tracked.”

This is the third year Getzwiller has attended the WSOP. He now has 10 career cashes at the WSOP, which is good for $697,800. His career earnings stand at $830,190. If Getzwiller continues his success at the WSOP and grows his career earnings past the $1-million mark, he could be a player to look out for in the 2011 POY race, especially now that living in poker hotspots throughout the country is a larger advantage because of Black Friday. ♠