Does a player with $5.6 million in career earnings, 31 World Poker Tour cashes and 369 Hendon Mob results need a breakout score?
We asked him and he said, “Yes, I’ve been chasing a WPT final table and that big score for a long time.”
Aaron Massey is working on building a stack in Day 1B of the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship. He’s fired a couple bullets this weekend already but is staying positive about it.
“It’s been pretty frustrating but I’m resilient and still out here trying,” Massey said. “But life is very good and I’m enjoying myself a lot.”
He should be enjoying himself – he’s already cashed for over $130,000 on the year between a deep run at the Borgata Open in January, he finished third in a Wynn Millions event and made a final table here at Seminole earlier this week.
Massey spent the first ten years of his career traveling the circuit, becoming a staple in the Midwest. The Chicago native relocated to Las Vegas during the pandemic, and it’s had an immense effect on his game.
He travels for events much less and iron sharpens iron in Las Vegas. He’s embraced Vegas and everything the city has to offer, but still pronounces his hard A’s and has a Chicago flag tattooed on his arm.
“Chicago is always home but I’ve built a nice life for myself in Vegas,” said Massey. “I’ve done well for myself and still love what I do.”
During his time on the road, Massey learned a lot about people during his highs and lows. “The highs overtake the lows in the long run,” he said. “You can fail to keep it in perspective of how good it’s been in the past when you’re going through hell.”
As with many pros, Massey was burned by friends a few times along the way. But it’s a learning curve that hits most players pretty hard. “I learned a lot about people,” Massey lamented. “How to deal with people in different situations and different settings.”
“The variance is the hardest part of this life for sure,” he said. “You never know when the stars are going to align for you. Even if you play great, it could be a while before you win.”
“The unpredictability of the financial aspect and the time between scores is really something that is hard to deal with,” said Massey. “But if you’ve been in the game this long, you should be able to handle it.”
Massey wasn’t all doom and gloom before the dinner break. He said, “Poker is a lot of fun and very exciting. It brings out a lot of emotions and has a lot of rewards if things work out.”
He’s looking forward to a deep run while here and plans to have a big summer. “I’m going to register every day and see what happens.”
All photos courtesy of WPT.
