Where Are They Now: Battling Multiple Sclerosis, Paul Darden Returns to WSOP Felt
Just 22 players bagged up stacks on Day 2 of Event #22: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em at the 2015 World Series of Poker. One player still in contention for the $318,977 first-place prize is a name fans of old-school World Poker Tour broadcasts might recognize: Paul Darden.
In Season 1, Darden won a $3,150 WPT event at Lucky Chances Casino in San Francisco for $146,000, an impressive triumph considering the final table included future TV superstars Antonio Esfandiari (third place) and Phil Helmuth (fourth place). Darden, who had already won a bracelet back in 2001 in a seven-card stud event, proved he was no flash in the WPT pan with another final table. This time, he took fifth in the $10,200 Party Poker Million IV for $300,000. That limit hold'em event was won by Mike Gracz.
On one of the last breaks in Day 2, PokerNews caught up with Darden, who eventually finished the night with 433,000 in chips, good for ninth place in the counts. He filled us in on what he's been up to.
"I've just been taking it easy, getting back on my feet," said Darden, who was using a motor scooter to get around the Rio.
Darden was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at a recent time he wouldn't specify. The incurable nerve disease has left him using a scooter to get around the Rio much faster than he can walk.
"I had a little relapse, a scare," he said. "I've had to go through all that, seeing doctors, and doing a whole lot of reading."
That's behind him for the moment, though, and he's optimistic that better times are ahead.
"They put me on some new medication and I'm better," he assured us. "Everything's on the up now. God gave it to me because he knows I can handle it."
He opined that the ups and downs of life mirror the ups and downs of poker. Having gone through the swings he'd had in life lately, the swings on the felt are easy by comparison.
"Poker is a wonderful world to be in," he said. "It taught me discipline, how to read people, to make me take nothing personal.”
Those are skills he's putting to use again. A career tally of more than $2.2 million in tournament earnings dating to 2000 marks Darden as a player who has experienced his share of success in the poker world.
But an overwhelming majority of those cashes came more than five years ago, and Darden admitted there's been a period of adjustment as he eases back into a changed game. He's been putting in sessions back in his home state of Connecticut, a state in which he ranks No. 1 on the all-time money list.
"I'm getting an understanding of today's poker world," he said. "It's so much different. Everybody, for the most part, has the same information. Therefore, it's harder to steal and it's harder to win, so you have to readjust your game."
At the same time, he said, the basics remain the same. It's about getting it in good more than you get it in bad. It's about reading people, finding their tells, and figuring out how they're approaching the game. The adjustments have already begun for him, but he wouldn't let on what he's gotten figured out thus far.
"I could, but I'm not giving it away," he said with a chuckle. "Everyone's too smart, there's too much education. You're gonna have to pay for it."
He plans to play a selection of tournaments while he's in Las Vegas for the summer, staying throughout the WSOP. He's dreaming big, and when it's all over, he might let his secrets out, for a price of course.
"After I win seven bracelets this year, I'll put it in a book," he declared. "Starting with this one."
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In this Series
- 1 Where Are They Now?: The 2003 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 2 Where Are They Now?: The 1989 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 3 Where Are They Now?: The 2002 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 4 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist, Phillip Hilm
- 5 Where Are They Now: 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist, Rhett Butler
- 6 Where Are They Now: 2003 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Tomer Benvenisti
- 7 Where Are They Now: 2005 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Steve Dannenmann
- 8 Where Are They Now: 2009 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Kevin Schaffel
- 9 Where Are They Now: 2006 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Dan Nassif
- 10 Where Are They Now: 2005 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Aaron Kanter
- 11 Where Are They Now: 2007 PCA Champion, Ryan Daut
- 12 Where Are They Now: 2003 Aussie Millions Champion Peter Costa
- 13 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist, Raymond Rahme
- 14 Where Are They Now: Eric Crain
- 15 Where Are They Now: WPT Season 1 Stars Ron Rose & Chris Bigler
- 16 Where Are They Now: WPT Season V Borgata Poker Open Champ Mark Newhouse
- 17 Where Are They Now: WPT Season II Borgata Poker Open Champ Noli Francisco
- 18 Where Are They Now: WPT Season IX Foxwoods Poker Finals Champion Jeff Forrest
- 19 Where Are They Now: Adam Friedman
- 20 Off The Felt With Nadya Magnus: Where Are They Now?
- 21 Where Are They Now: Don Zewin, the Man Who Finished Third to Hellmuth & Chan in 1989
- 22 Where Are They Now: 1981 World Series of Poker Main Event Runner-Up Perry Green
- 23 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Finalist Lee Childs
- 24 Where Are They Now: 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Bad Beat Victim Paul Snead
- 25 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Tom Schneider
- 26 Where Are They Now? Harrah's New Orleans Poker Dealer Darrell Guillory
- 27 Where Are They Now: Former Team PokerStars Pro Pat Pezzin
- 28 Where Are They Now: 2007 WSOP Main Event Fifth-Place Finisher Jon Kalmar
- 29 Where Are They Now: The Nine Past EPT Barcelona Champions
- 30 Where Are They Now: EPT Season 1 Barcelona Champ Alexander Stevic
- 31 Where Are They Now: 2006 WSOP Main Event 12th-Place Finisher John Magill
- 32 Where Are They Now: The Past Nine EPT London Champions
- 33 Where Are They Now: EPT6 London Champ Aaron Gustavson
- 34 Where Are They Now: EPT4 Baden Champ Julian Thew
- 35 Where Are They Now: Past EPT Prague Champions
- 36 Where Are They Now: 2011 WSOP Main Event Champ Pius Heinz
- 37 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Runner-Up Tuan Lam
- 38 Where Are They Now: Stan Schrier Reflects on Historic 2001 WSOP Final Table
- 39 Where Are They Now: Bracelet Winner Matt Hawrilenko Temporarily Comes Out of "Retirement"
- 40 Where Are They Now: Battling Multiple Sclerosis, Paul Darden Returns to WSOP Felt
- 41 Where Are They Now? Mike Gracz Returns To Poker After Three Years To Lead Event #31
- 42 Where Are They Now: 2004 Poker Boom Breakout Gabriel Thaler
- 43 Where Are They Now: "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan Pretty Much Out of Poker
- 44 Where Are They Now: Poker's Good Guy, a Survivor, and a Rogue
- 45 Where Are They Now: 2006 WSOP Stud Dmitri Nobles
- 46 Where Are They Now: Esther Rossi’s 7-Card Stud Journey
- 47 Where Are They Now: 2007 WSOP & WPT Champ Bill Edler
- 48 Where Are They Now: Fabian Quoss Announces His Exit from Poker
- 49 Where Are They Now: Jon Aguiar Fondly Remembers Tilting Brandon Cantu
- 50 Where Are They Now: Family & Business First for Adrienne “TalonChick” Rowsome
- 51 Where Are They Now: Xuan Liu Swaps Poker Passion for eSports
- 52 Where Are They Now: Alan Boston Offended to Return to WSOP After Long Hiatus
- 53 Where Are They Now: An 'The Boss' Tran Fighting Curse from Selling Bracelet
- 54 Where Are They Now: 1996 WSOP Chinese Poker Bracelet Winner Gregg Grivas
- 55 Where Are They Now: Ali Eslami Returns to WSOP After Five-Year Hiatus
- 56 Where Are They Now: Former EPT Champ Sander Lylloff Competing in Biggest Backgammon Duel in History
- 57 Where Are They Now: Dustin Woolf Back in Poker But Not as Player
