Aaron Kantor

[blakheart 3]

Front page article in the Sacramento Bee about our local luckbox. http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1...-15087671c.htmledited for those how can not get link to work. This isn't the neighborhood where you expect a professional poker player to live. Nothing about this Elk Grove house tells of the $2 million payday Aaron Kanter had last year.It's modest.It's homey.And the couple who greet you at the door are young and soft-spoken.But the hints are there. There's a wood-encased poker set on the coffee table. A Card Player magazine peeks out from the corner of the living room. Upstairs, pictures frame one of the most incredible moments of Kanter's life -- his whirlwind fourth-place finish at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.Sitting at last year's final table, Kanter became the latest rookie to inspire card players to enter the highly publicized tournament after beating 5,616 people. He inspired other Texas Hold 'em junkies with the hope that they, too, could turn a $10,000 entry fee into millions with a little luck on "the river" and a bit of trickery in a bluff.He'll take another stab at the pot as the World Series of Poker's opens its tables July 28. This year, he will pay his own entry fee."It's made a big difference in my life," Kanter, 28, said. "A lot more people come up to me asking about the experience, especially around the Elk Grove area."The celebrity and the money attached to the World Series of Poker final table isn't lost on onlookers or other poker players. Poker pro J.C. Tran, who spent 15 years in Elk Grove before moving to Natomas recently, said he's made 30 or 40 final tables in his career, but those aren't in the same league with the Vegas event."The World Series of Poker final table is what people remember," said Tran in a telephone interview while on a dinner break from a Hold 'em tournament leading to the main event. "For him to make that final table is a life change."A lot has changed since last July, but Kanter likes to think he's still the same guy who fell in love with his future wife, Jenny, while studying at California State University, Chico. They married in April in a ceremony that -- no surprise -- was upgraded with the poker winnings.Only his profession has changed, said Kanter. He went from loan officer to professional poker player with the approval of family and friends by winning his way into the poker event online through Partypoker.com."I didn't tell my parents when I first started playing (in college)," Kanter said. "I eventually eased my parents into the idea. It was tough at first. My family was skeptical. My grandparents asked me questions about it. They thought it was a problem."Kanter's mom, Gina, said the way he gradually told her he was playing poker made it easier to handle. She said she didn't really find out how often her son was playing poker until after he won his bid into the World Series of Online Poker."That's when I found out how much he was playing and where he was going with it," said Gina Kanter, who also lives in Elk Grove. "It's not something I see him doing all his life because he is frugal and smart with his money. He will live off his investments and then poker would be for entertainment purposes."There were days he second-guessed himself, especially while attending Chico State when he stopped going to work in order to play poker online. His earnings soon paid for his tuition, books and other expenses."At first he was just dabbling in college," said his wife, Jenny Kanter, 26. "I didn't mind. Then he was not going to work and playing poker instead."I figured as long as he stayed consistent, what could I say? I was still a little 'sketch' about it."Jenny Kanter said it's hard to have a problem with her husband's profession when he's winning trips to the Bahamas."As long as the bills are getting paid," she said with a shrug.Kanter plays poker online like it's a regular job, sitting in an all-but-empty room upstairs from 4 p.m. to midnight. He plays up to nine tables at a time, cascading them across his computer screen, betting with around $21,000 in his online account. It's not a game, though. Kanter has studied poker. He reads books and studies video of tournaments. He keeps a binder labeled "Poker Profit/Loss" next to his computer.Since he began playing, the Lodi native said he has yet to be in the red. Luck is involved, admits Kanter. But it doesn't override the skill. He said the longer a person plays, the less likely luck will be a factor.That's easy for Kanter to say, because he's known for getting lucky. Kanter was nicknamed "Giant Killer" during last year's poker series because he managed to make hands with the fifth and final community card."That can be tough at times because I didn't get the credit I deserved," Kanter said. "I gambled on occasion and it worked out for me."Kanter doesn't see poker as a long-term career. He is focused on investing his earnings, mostly in real estate across the country, so when he and his wife are ready for kids, he can give up poker for a bit."I travel a lot to poker tournaments and I don't want to be on the road that much," Kanter said. "I only have a few years left playing these tournaments regularly. I'm going to do my best at enjoying it while I play it. I'm not sure I'm going to play that much longer."

[ForRealDD 0]

Front page article in the Sacramento Bee about our local luckbox. http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1...-15087671c.html

Paste story please

[doublemeup 0]

Paste story please

[quadaces 0]

Paste story please

+1

[wsox8 10]

I still don't like him.

[ForRealDD 0]

Touching....

[freak2304 0]

Front page article in the Sacramento Bee about our local luckbox. http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1...-15087671c.htmlSince he began playing, the Lodi native said he has yet to be in the red.

Well, I'd hope he won't go in the red since in one tourney he scored, oh...$2,000,000!!! What a suckout king donk!!

[MasterLJ 0]

He's horrible.At least Danneman knew he was a joke. Kanter is a joke who doesn't know he's a joke.

[thrillsoft 0]

Aaron Kantor turning "pro poker player" after the 2005 WSOP is like someone winning the powerball and announcing that they're turning "pro lottery player". Just comical.

[blakheart 3]

Since he began playing, the Lodi native said he has yet to be in the red. Luck is involved, admits Kanter. But it doesn't override the skill. He said the longer a person plays, the less likely luck will be a factor.

My favorite part

[Scott3705 0]

cascading them across his computer screen, betting with around $21,000 in his online account

[doublemeup 0]

Hes still a major donk.

[socalpoker_j 1]

At least he knows he cant make a long term career out of it, and seems to be putting his winnings to good use (investments) rather than convincing himself, ala Moneymaker that he is a legitimate professional poker player.

[Whatever 1]

"That can be tough at times because I didn't get the credit I deserved," Kanter said. "I gambled on occasion and it worked out for me."

[NicksDad1970 0]

I don't know him nor do I know mike the mouth. Id rather be a donkajelic frugal Kanter than a skillful degenerate gambler Mike the mouth.I hear this Kanter fella is tight with his money and a good investor. I've also heard Mikey is broke all the time.Good for himMaybe he is a donk, but a happy one.

[doublemeup 0]

I don't know him nor do I know mike the mouth. Id rather be a donkajelic frugal Kanter than a skillful degenerate gambler Mike the mouth.I hear this Kanter fella is tight with his money and a good investor. I've also heard Mikey is broke all the time.Good for himMaybe he is a donk, but a happy one.

Excuse me? Maybe? Don't worry, he'll be broke like the mouth if he continues to have a career as a pro poker player.

[socalpoker_j 1]

I wonder what game he 9-tables with 21k?

[freak2304 0]

I don't know him nor do I know mike the mouth. Id rather be a donkajelic frugal Kanter than a skillful degenerate gambler Mike the mouth.I hear this Kanter fella is tight with his money and a good investor. I've also heard Mikey is broke all the time.Good for himMaybe he is a donk, but a happy one.

Who said he wasn't happy?? And who said they wouldn't GLADLY be labeled world-wide in the poker community as a huge donk if they could claim 2 Mill.?? We're simply saying he's a baaaaad poker player. That is all.

[thrillsoft 0]

I wonder what game he 9-tables with 21k?

I wonder what site and screen name he is??? That would be valuable information.

[freak2304 0]

I wonder what game he 9-tables with 21k?

$.25-$.50 PL 5 card draw i hear

[grocery_mony 8]

good to see hes putting some money back on the table. he was the biggest final table joke since varkoni. seeing what he called most of his chips off(aq after the flop with no help when the blinds where still relatively low) at the most recent toc shows that he hasnt improved much from last year

[NicksDad1970 0]

Who said he wasn't happy?? And who said they wouldn't GLADLY be labeled world-wide in the poker community as a huge donk if they could claim 2 Mill.?? We're simply saying he's a baaaaad poker player. That is all.

You make a very good point. I was just pointing out to some people that the luckbox got the money (well some of it anyway). I agree with you that I wouldn't mind being known as a donk as long as I was the donk with a lot of cash.

[Vandees 0]

Lot of haters in the house. Yes, I'm sure he got through 5600 players by being just lucky and a donk. I'm sure there was absolutely no skill involved. People in this forum give no one any credit. Its disappointing, and more than that, its pathetic. If Hellmuth gets to an Omaha FT, its not "big bet" poker. When he gets to a NL FT, its "he can only play hold em"....then there is hate for anyone who has had any success at the WSOP.Its why most of you are posting during it and they are playing in virtually every event year after year.

[freak2304 0]

Lot of haters in the house. Yes, I'm sure he got through 5600 players by being just lucky and a donk. I'm sure there was absolutely no skill involved. People in this forum give no one any credit. Its disappointing, and more than that, its pathetic. If Hellmuth gets to an Omaha FT, its not "big bet" poker. When he gets to a NL FT, its "he can only play hold em"....then there is hate for anyone who has had any success at the WSOP.Its why most of you are posting during it and they are playing in virtually every event year after year.

And yes, you add so much here with that brilliant 9th post of yours!

[Vandees 0]

Dont usually post, but have been lurking for over a year. Its sad...this forum used to be a place to learn about poker (still is to an extent) but know its just who can blast who the most, flame the best, etc. There's a saying, I can have people think I'm a fool or I can open my mouth and prove it (hence the 9 posts)