It’s been a crazy week for Albert Calderon.
The crazy began Thursday evening when Albert’s first child was born.
There was no sleep to be had Thursday night, nor Friday. But that was just the beginning.
With the blessing of Albert Calderon’s wife, he walked into Talking Stick Resort Saturday morning for what would become a marathon four days of Poker.
The 15th annual Arizona State Poker Championship started with 1,800 players. After four days- and four hours of sleep- the final two players stared each other down across the table.
A pot of more than $200,000 is all that stood between Calderon and Huy Nguyen. With a king high, Albert Calderon became the Arizona State Poker Champion.
“What a month to win the Championship,” Calderon said. “and have my kid- my first kid. Yeah, it’s been a crazy month."
Albert’s winnings have been reported as around $237,000.
“I’m sure me and my wife will have one crazy day of shopping.” Calderon said. After that it’s back to real life, putting most of the winnings into investments.
Last year, the Arizona State Poker Championship was canceled after Talking Stick Resort was damaged by floodwaters after a monsoon storm. The storm that hit the Scottsdale area August 11, 2018 damaged both the main and backup generators, forcing the resort to close for six weeks.
