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HEADLINE: Richmond Hill man, 22, wins $3M poker prize

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What does a 22-year-old from Richmond Hill do with millions of dollars in poker prize?

A record $3 million first prize in the largest poker tournament outside Vegas has been won by Poorya Nazari, a 22-year-old from Richmond Hill who is relatively new in the world of professional poker.

Nazari has recently graduated in biochemistry from McMaster University, but poker has been a hobby of his throughout the years.

He started in Grade 10 of high school, playing small-stakes games with friends.

His mother speaks fondly of his skills as a mathematician, noting, "He is very, very smart."

A seemingly regular university student with a knack for poker, Poorya has been successful in his career as an online poker player, the winnings of which have served as his main source of income for several years. His competitions took place on PokerStars, the largest online poker cardroom in the world.

With more than $12.5 million in total at stake, this year's PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure (PCA) tournament brought in 1,059 PokerStars players, 746 of whom had won their seats online, including Nazari.

Nazari qualified for the PCA through a $33 rebuy turbo tournament-a series of aggressive, quick-paced games with the opportunity of buying back in to the tournament even after a loss-on PokerStars, after narrowly missing out on qualification to the tournament last year.

Asked for his strategy before the game by PokerStars, Nazari conceded to the factor of luck and said, "I'm very patient."

He added, "I'm trying my best not thinking about the money, because it would start toying with the way I would play."

The final showdown was between eight players, among whom sat Nazari, decorating his poker face with a pair of black shades.

During the last hand, he scraped by a win with a pair of tens, while his opponent only carried Queen high-both relatively dismal hands.

Nazari admits that he was utterly stunned by the win, which is one of the biggest sporting prizes in the world.

Immediately after the win, he told an interviewer from PokerStars, "It hasn't sunk in it, it hasn't hit me yet. It definitely feels unbelievable; it feels surreal. I can't believe what's happening."

With this victory, Nazari, who has never been to Europe, has a place in the European Poker Tour Grand Final, which takes place from Apr. 28 to May 3.

His win recalls a comment he made in the interview before the game. "I haven't really thought about what I would do with the money," he said with a shrug and a smile.

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