Drake Kemper is a professional race car driver. He can beat you in a race. He can train you to drive a race car. And as of this week, he's proven he can chase you down on foot.
Monday night, Kemper was the first person to find Slow Poker in a day-long, eleven-hour cat-and-mouse game all over the Las Vegas metro area.
Kemper was one of dozens of people searching for Slow Poker (aka The Runner) in the PokerOrg Runner Runner Las Vegas competition. His prize for being the first to spot Slow Poker? Free entry into the NAPT Las Vegas $5,300 Main Event.
Kemper spotted Slow Poker (who was decked out with an auburn man-bun, tourist beanie, and Wrangler denim vest) at the entrance to the Resorts World poker room shortly after the Runner had put himself on the list as "U. Bolt."
If it looked easy for Kemper in the end, it wasn't. You can read more below or check out this recap video.
False alarm or decoy? Kemper chases the wrong guy
The rules were simple: Slow Poker had 24 hours to play six hours worth of live poker in the Las Vegas metro area. He had to do it all on November 4 and everyone searching was aware of his identity. All the Bounty Hunters had to do was be the first to find him, say the code words "How do you feel about rabbit hunting?" and show their Bounty Hunter ID. Kemper nailed all of it, but only after chasing PokerOrg's Editor-In-Chief (that's me) through the corridors and back hallways of Resorts World (check the video above to see it happen).
"I was like, he's covered up a bunch. Maybe it's a disguise, let's just go for it," Kemper said. "But then it was like, this dude is walking fast, man. Then he finally stopped at a corner and pulled his hood back, and I was like, 'Oh, my God" and just walked away."
$5,300 buy-in sorted, and a new race is on
Kemper has not been grinding the tournament circuit for too long, but he's amassed a long string of cashes this year. He's racked up about $80,000 in winnings since the beginning of the year and has become a well-liked guy among tourney players.
"This helps the bankroll," he said of his Main Event buy-in victory.
Kemper will play this week at the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event at Resorts World where he'll be racing for the biggest chunk of the $3 million guaranteed prize pool.
