Former Santa Barbara resident Jay Farber is playing for the World Series of Poker championship today in Las Vegas.
Farber. a-29 year-old amateur player, will face off against 23-year-old professional Ryan Riess from East Lansing, Mich., for the $8.36 million first prize. The runner-up receives $5.17 million. The final will be shown on ESPN2.
On Monday night, Farber eliminated three of the final table’s “November Nine” by himself, including favorite J.C. Tran. Farber built a stack of 105 million chips during a nine-hour session of Texas Hold ’Em at the Rio Casino. Riess has 85 million chips.
“I was happy to be the underdog, and I thought everyone was underestimating me,” Farber told the Las Vegas Sun. “Just because I don’t have a lot of tournaments doesn’t make me a poor poker player.”
Farber attended Santa Barbara High School and SBCC before moving to Las Vegas.
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