It’s a lovely story and what makes the World Series of Poker Main Event so special is its egalitarianism. The tournament does not discriminate based on sex, race, or physical ability; anyone with $10,000 to spare, alternatively the skill and good fortune to win a satellite tournament for a lower price, all can play in its seminal event and test his or her luck against the game’s biggest stars. It was not about a group of 7,319 men and women who put up the five-figure sum doing everything possible to get the largest possible piece of the tournament’s $68.8 million prize pool. It was about the love shared between a father and son.
Gary Kostiuk, a 49-year-old optometrist from Grande Prairie, Alberta, finished 85th to win $79,806. Kostiuk, who won a $350 satellite in a home game with a group of 44 friends to get into the Main Event, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago and now gets around in a wheelchair. His son Ryan is quoted as saying “this might be his last year to be able to make it out here. This is special.” Six years ago, Ryan convinced his father to take up online poker. Two months later, Ryan had a $7,000 score in an online tournament, and both father and son were hooked. Gary’s run finally ended when his pocket 10s fell to an opponent’s pocket king. All you really needed to see was his son lean down to give him a giant bear hug in his wheelchair before rolling him out the door.
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