Grant Levy, a teacher from Sydney, Australia, has won $1 million Australian dollars in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) at the Star City Casino. He took out a field of 561 players, including several world champions, to take the title.
Levy, a father of two, and a teacher at St Dominic's College, was a regular online poker player. The APPT tournament was only his third live tournament. He competed against stars such as Joe Hachem, Scot Nguyen, and Chris Moneymaker, proving his skills in front of his family and friends to become the first Australian to become a poker millionaire on home soil.
Levy was quite overwhelmed at his win, saying “To be honest I am still taking it all in, but it's unbelievable to think that I have taken on some of the world's greats and come out on top.” He also commented that he found live poker very fun to play - “I enjoy it more in person but it's easier for me to play online because it's so convenient.”
His wife, Sharon, said she found it difficult to watch the tournament. “I hated watching it;” she said, “I just don't have the nerve to watch him play. [...] Every big pot, I was shaking and had tears in my eyes”.
Levy intends to continue teaching, and his wife plans to return to work part time next year, and spend time looking after their children, Adriana (aged 3) and Copper (six months old).
“We're pretty grounded”, said Ms Levy. “We won't let it affect what we do, but we will not have to stress that much about money.”
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