After only four to five years of recreational poker, Reston resident Lee Childs almost reached the very top of the game. A little more than a month after quitting his job, the 35-year-old finished seventh at the World Series of Poker Main Event held in Las Vegas last week.
"I got involved when Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event," said Childs about his decision to start playing poker online and with friends. Moneymaker won the world’s premier competition in 2003 as an underdog. "It showed that an Average Joe could win it," said Childs.
On June 15, Childs worked his last day as the vice president of applications development with the JASON Project, an education division of the National Geographic. "I left to take some time off, maybe a couple of months, and dedicate more time to poker," he said. It was a decision he and his wife Jenny had been considering for some time. On July 18 he walked away from a poker table in Vegas with more than $700,000.
"Fifteen or so family and friends just dropped everything they were doing to come out and support me," said Childs. "I would have loved to go a little deeper, but finishing when I did gave me a chance to hang out with them. The dinner was definitely on me." One of those 15 fans was his father, Bill Childs, who spent $10,000 buying Lee Childs into the tournament. It was an investment he said was more than worth making. "Absolutely, he made us proud. He’s as good as any of those players," said Bill Childs, who lives in Pinehurst, North Carolina. "It was very exciting," he said. "It reminded me of when he was in high school, wrestling in the state championship."
THE FATHER AND SON combination have spent the last couple of years playing poker together. "It’s very competitive, we don’t give each other breaks," said Bill Childs. He said he is waiting for the next chance to play his son.
In April the two made the trip to World Poker Tour boot camp. Lee Childs said the experience taught him to recognize strategies that should be employed in different tournaments. He said his game showed drastic improvement after the trip.
Reston resident and poker player Mike Heffner said he pays attention to what is happening in poker circles through Web sites and blogs. Heffner, 34, graduated from James Madison University, as did Lee Childs, but does not know him personally. "It is pretty nice to see somebody local at the final table," said Heffner. "All kudos and honors to Lee. You have to do a lot of things right to get past 6,351 players," he said.
Heffner said he plays poker online for the most part. He said it is not hard for a poker player to figure out who was holding what cards at the main table as he watched Lee Childs on television. Heffner said poker is a game of short-term investments. "It is very instructive. There is a reason why people who do well have a background in science or mathematics," he said. This year’s winner of the World Series of Poker comes from that background. Jerry Yang, 39, is a psychologist who is $8.25 million richer after last week.
AFTER LAST WEEK’S success, Lee Childs said he donated 1 percent of his winnings to the Put a Bad Beat on Cancer campaign, started by poker professionals. Lee Childs lost his mother to cancer a few years ago, and said he was glad to give money to a cause she believed in. "She was always there for all of my wrestling matches, football games and baseball games. I would have loved to have her there, but I know she was watching and smiling the whole way," he said. He added that he would be donating money to more causes.
Lee Childs has not decided what to do next yet. "I will take a little more time off than I planned," he said. He is contemplating returning to school and whether he wants to keep working in the same industry he has been working in. "It may be poker for a while, I’m just kind of letting it all sink in," he said.