2013 WSOP Europe: WSOP.com Qualifier Nick Rosen Turned $5 into a €10,450 Seat
Two weeks ago, Nick Rosen didn’t own a passport. Born and raised in New York, the father of three, Aria table games dealer, and self-proclaimed “normal guy” had never been outside of the United States before this week. Now, after winning the $215 mega satellite to the 2013 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event on WSOP.com, Rosen, who defeated a field of 56 and earned an additional $3,000 in spending money, is now more than 5,000 miles away from home playing in a €10,450 buy-in tournament.
Rosen didn't plan on playing the mega satellite until he won a $5 super satellite, and even after winning the mega, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to fly all the way to France.
“I was thinking about taking the cash,” said Rosen on the second break of Day 1b. “But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You have to take a shot sometimes, and I’m glad I did. Everything’s top notch here.”
Rosen says that he’s played poker on and off for the last 20 years, and as soon as WSOP.com launched he jumped right into the action.
“The first morning, I was in,” said Rosen. “I won the first Sunday major. It feels good to be back in the game.”
Nearly a month ago, PokerNews reported the results of the first major tournament held on WSOP.com. Sure enough, the winner of the $15,000 guarantee $215 buy-in event was “NICKKK.” He earned $4,350.
Rosen says he hasn’t visited any of the sights in Paris yet, and his French is a little shaky, but he’s focused on the task at hand.
“My main focus here is to play and hopefully go deep,” he said. “Score – that’s the main objective.”
According to the Hendon Mob database, Rosen has never recorded a score in a tracked tournament, but there are two players at his table right now who have – Benny Spindler and Jeff Madsen. Spindler won the Season 8 EPT London Main Event and has nearly $3.9 million in career tournament earnings. Jeff Madsen is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, former WSOP Player of the Year champion, and has over $4 million in career tournament earnings.
Rosen isn’t phased by the superstars though, and not out of disrespect, but for a simpler reason.
“They’re just people,” he said with a smile on his face. “I deal to million-dollar players all the time, and they’re just people too. They might have an edge because they have experience, but I can hold my own.
As for expectations, Rosen is simply happy to have an opportunity to play in this event.
“I’m blessed,” said Rosen. “This is a freeroll.”
At the second break of Day 1b, Rosen had chipped up a bit to 31,500. PokerNews will keep an eye on him throughout the Main Event.
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