Among the thousands of players at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), everyone has their own reasons for being here. For some it’s all about the bracelet. Others, the legacy. Most, the money.
And then some wear their motivations on their sleeve for all to see. Or, in the case of Virginia’s Steve Kobryn, on both sleeves, his cap, and everything in between. If you can’t tell, Steve’s here doing it for the dogs.
Paws of Honor
“This guy on my t-shirt is my dog Reno,” Steve explains, “I brought him for good luck. He's on my t-shirt, watching me play, but right now he's actually in a kennel, cursing me out because he's not here.”
Steve’s passion for dogs doesn’t only dictate his fashion choices, it’s also a fundamental part of why he’s here at the 55th WSOP. Paws of Honor is a charity that helps retired rescue animals, paying their medical bills once they’ve ended their careers and gone to live with families.
Steve’s here today playing the $1,000 Super Seniors NLH event, and he’s vowed to use at least part of anything he wins to help out his four-legged friends.
“I hooked up with the Paws of Honor charity through a golf tournament I heard about on the radio. Last year they raised $80,000. When I heard about the golf tournament I called them up and signed up for it. I guess the only reason I'm here playing poker is because of golf.”
‘Dog guy’ vs. 'shark guy’
Steve is a keen golfer, but much less experienced when it comes to poker.
“I don’t play much back home in Virginia,” he tells us, “There’s a casino about 40 minutes away, I might play there once in a blue moon, maybe on my birthday. I don’t play home games or anything like that. I’ve probably been playing poker a little longer than five years, but nothing like this. This is only my second event.”
His first event? The $1,000 Seniors NLH tournament just a couple of days ago, when he made it through most of Day 1, busting just five minutes before the dinner break.
He’s more confident this time, though. After all, he has 100% more WSOP experience than he did a few days ago, and he’s been rubbing shoulders with some hardened pros.
“I’m sitting next to Humberto Brenes, the guy with the shark. He just got his kings cracked when the guy flopped the jack, he's almost out. It can happen to anyone, right?”
Every dog has its Day 2
Steve, recently retired, isn’t putting a hard number on how much he’ll donate to Paws of Honor, assuming he makes it past the money bubble. “I’ll have to wait and see how much they raise at the golf tournament, then what I'll do, I'll just kind of like pump it up there, depending on what I win.”
Whatever happens, he’s already lasted longer in the Super Seniors than he did in his first event, and he’s feeling confident he’ll be finding a bag tonight and returning for his first ever Day 2.
“It’s a long event, but I will make it through the first day - I won't do anything stupid. I got too many chips, I can glide through the next few hours.
“I don’t know what it is I like about poker, I just sit there and play cards, you know? We don't do much talking; what the cards are, the cards are.”
