What a Tripp
At the end of April, Tripp Kirk punched his ticket to the National Championship after taking down the Harrah's St. Louis Main Event for $190,961 and his second gold ring. Kirk is in action today and holding his own. Most recently, Kirk eliminated a short-stacked opponent after the latter's 
failed to overcome Kirk's 
on a 
flop. Kirk isn't flush with chips, but he is holding steady with around 24,000.
Want to know more about this WSOP Circuit star? Check out PokerNews' interview with Kirk. The full interview can be viewed here, but we'll hook you with a little excerpt:
I am very fortunate to have an amazing wife who understands how much I love poker. Obviously, she enjoys the big scores like this, but she also had to suffer through the throwing of laptops on Sundays for a few years. Being that I do work full time, any free time I usually have, I try to squeeze in as much poker as possible, and without her support and understanding.
My entire family has been ridiculously supportive of my poker playing. My mom was skeptical at first, but she now understands what a passion I have for it now. Her and my dad have always been so supportive of everything I’ve done and poker is no different. I can’t express how amazing it felt to get text messages from my in-laws, cousins, sister and all my other friends within 10 minutes of winning the tournament. So happy I gave my mom a 10-minute lesson on how to get to PokerNews Live Reporting section on Monday morning before we started Day 3.