Don't get the wrong idea about Vic Avallone. He has nothing against money. He's not some crusader fighting the great American dollar. He simply doesn't idolize cash in a way other folks might.
"I think almost any amount of money is meaningful in life as far as it facilitates the things you enjoy to do," the man from Bristol, Connecticut said. "I live a pretty menial life. I don't spend a lot. I'm not into material or money."
It's an unusual philosophy to hear in Las Vegas. It's even more unusual to hear from someone who will play poker for a $1 million first prize at a table jam-packed with professional card players.
The 47-year-old self-professed nerd has spent 17 years in the IT industry after spending his 20s on what he called a "meandering career path."
IT work is his job, but it's not his true passion. He's a rock climber, artist, and musician. All of those things have his heart, but those passions are not where he'll be spending his winnings if things go well on Sunday.
That money is reserved for the biggest part of his heart: a woman back home in Bristol.
"She's dedicated her life to us, and she doesn't have a lot," Avallone said.
Intimidating, surreal Sunday
Avallone is one of the nine remaining players in the $5 million ClubWPT Gold Invitational freeroll happening this weekend at the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas. He made it to that point after surviving a cull of nearly 1,500 amateur and professional players in the event.
On the first day of the free-to-enter tournament, it was impossible to look around the room and predict exactly what caliber of players would be among the final nine. Posed with a thought experiment about how many finalists would have Hendon Mob live earnings greater than $5,000, WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage felt certain the majority of the finalists would be professionals.
He wasn't wrong.
At the beginning of Day 2, the surviving 49 players combined for more than $28 million in lifetime Hendon Mob live earnings. By the time the remaining nine reached the final table, those Hendon earnings had been reduced to $3.3 million. Finalist Patrick Eskandar's $1.6 million accounted for almost half of that number.
And Vic Avallone?
Zero. If you search the Hendon Mob player database, you will find all of his remaining eight opponents, but you won't find him.
Like most players of his generation, Avallone picked up the game after the 2003 Moneymaker poker boom. Avallone gave himself a chance in a few WSOP qualifier satellites but ended up sticking to cash games in Connecticut.
Nevertheless, when he learned about a chance to play in a free-to-enter invitational poker tournament, Avallone jumped at the chance. He was already a follower of Bart Hanson's Crush Live Poker, and Hanson had tickets to give away. A couple of weeks later, Avallone got an email saying he'd been awarded a Golden Passport.
Now, he could be only hours away from becoming a millionaire.
"It's surreal. A lot of these guys I've seen on TV," Avallone said. "It's a little intimidating, because I'm just a rec player."
ClubWPT Gold $5 Million Invitational final table
| Player | Chips | Live winnings* |
| Daniyal Gheba | 11,725,000 | $681,106 |
| Jacob Stufflebean | 5,175,000 | $4,452 |
| Chase Bricker | 3,175,000 | $347,765 |
| Victor Avallone | 3,150,000 | $0 |
| Tyler Hancock | 3,075,000 | $466,810 |
| Jason Christopher | 2,850,000 | $18,247 |
| Joshua Guindon | 2,075,000 | $76,929 |
| Patrick Eskandar | 1,700,000 | $1,657,783 |
| Eric Zheng | 1,225,000 | $78,401 |
*Per Hendon Mob database
One summit remains
Intimidating pros aside, nerves haven't held Avallone back yet. Remember, the dude is a rock climber. What's more, he's chill and people warm to him quickly--even hardened professionals.
"They're all really good guys. They've been very friendly and helpful with some strategy, which is ironic, because you're sitting next to them, playing against them," Avallone said.
Avallone and the rest of the final table will return Sunday afternoon to play on the TV table, and the biggest of the amateurs is already ahead of most of the pack in terms of prize money.
On Saturday, he had the opportunity to draw a mystery bounty prize and he pulled out the biggest one available: $100,000.
Not bad for a guy who rarely thinks much about money.
But it could be better on Sunday, and Avallone is hoping it will be – not for himself, but for his mom.
Avallone's father died a couple of years ago and his estate is still working its way through probate. The outlook has been grim.
"There's a good chance we won't be able to keep that apartment house. Usually you have to sell assets," Avallone explained. "My mom needs a house. I would really like to do that for her."
Avallone's mom has been trying to retire, but the financial situation hasn't allowed for that yet. Avallone has three siblings, and they credit their lives with their mom's hard work.
So now, the guy who doesn't spend much time thinking about money is thinking a lot more about what he could do with a lot more money.
"She's dedicated her life to us, and she doesn't have a lot," he said. "I would like to help her out in retiring in a place she wants to be at and in home that she would enjoy to live in."
Watch Avallone and the rest of the final table play on Sunday at 4:30pm PT.
