Latest World Series of Poker Bracelet Winner Takes Bets In Sports BookCJ Sand Wins Casino Employees Event For $75,157 |
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The 2016 World Series of Poker began a lot like it has since the year 2000, with the Casino Employees Event. The $565 buy-in tournament is open only to those who work in the gambling industry, from the housekeeping staff in the hotel to the poker dealers themselves.
For the last year, Christopher “CJ” Sand has worked in the sports book at Caesars Palace, making him eligible to play in the event. In two days, the 45-year-old poker enthusiast made the most of the opportunity, steamrolling through the tournament to collect the bracelet and the $75,157 first-place prize.
What makes Sand’s title even more impressive is the fact that he won the bracelet on only his third attempt. Sand has now entered just three WSOP events in his career, has cashed twice and won a tournament. That’s not a bad record for someone who doesn’t have any plans to quit his day job.
Card Player caught up with the California native shortly after he received his gold bracelet to talk about his love for the game and how it felt to win the first event of the summer.
Julio Rodriguez: How did you first discover poker and what brought you to Las Vegas?
CJ Sand: My mom taught me how to play poker when I was just 13 years old. I’ve been hooked on Las Vegas ever since I was a little kid. My parents took me for the first time when I was just 10 years old and my mom played a lot of poker. Back then, way before the poker boom, there wasn’t a lot of poker being played in Vegas, but there was Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim, and my mom.
As an adult, I’ve probably driven between Southern California and Las Vegas something like 500 or 600 times. Last year, after I played and cashed in the Colossus event, I said enough was enough and decided to pack my bags and move to Vegas. I just wanted to play poker, but after the series I got a job with Caesars Palace as a writer in the sports book.
JR: What is it like working in a sports book?
CS: It’s been a great job and I’ve had a lot of fun with it. One thing people might not know about sports books is that they don’t need to feel intimidated. Half of the bets I take on a daily basis are from tourists who don’t know what they are doing. They don’t know the difference between a spread or the money line. And that’s great. I don’t mind explaining how it works, so nobody should feel intimidated.
JR: I would imagine that you are pretty tired of sports by now
CS: You know, it’s funny. I’m not sick of sports. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of sports. But I don’t bet sports anymore. I’ve realized that these casinos are built by those who play against the house, which is why I love poker. Yes, the house takes their cut, but I like playing against other players. May the best, or luckiest person win.
JR: Can you talk about your tournament run?
CS: On day 1, I was seated with David Tuchman, who does the WSOP live stream commentary. I recognized him and told him how much I loved his insight on the game. Then I actually busted him from the tournament when he had eights and I had aces. The next day, he came up to me before the final table and told me that because his chips were in my stack, I’d better win the tournament.
I came into the final table with the chip lead, but to be honest, I didn’t feel any pressure. Earlier in the tournament I put a bad beat on somebody and from that point on, I felt like I was free rolling. I felt like I was playing on borrowed time with a second life, so I told myself that I was going to go down swinging.
JR: What’s more important to you, the bracelet or the money?
CS: The bracelet means more than the money. I’m not going to lie. If this were the main event bracelet, then the money would be more important. But as great as the money is for me, the bracelet is really special. It’s not quite poker immortality, but my name is on a list somewhere of people who won one. No matter what happens, they can’t take that accomplishment away from me.
For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2016 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.
*Photos courtesy of the World Series of Poker.
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