HollyWood's 2018 WSOP Dream for ASU

My name is Dwayne "Hollywood" Pelham.  I'm a proud graduate of Appalachian State University ('91) and an even prouder member of the ASU Athletic Hall of Fame (Inducted 2011-Football.) Keep that Pedigree in mind as you read the rest of this correspondence regarding a fun ride I want you to take with me.

In 2017 I participated in my first World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Championship held at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was able to participate in this Super Bowl of Poker Tournaments only after a successful campaign to raise the $10,000 entry fee through the donations of friends, family, and others who believed in my ability to win the WSOP.  In return I pledged that if I were ever to win the WSOP Main Event Championship that I would donate half of all winnings to my beloved Appalachian State University. 

This years event will be held from July 2nd-July 14th again at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This is the Super Bowl of No-Limit Texas Holdem Poker.  The WSOP Main Event Championship is the largest, richest, and most prestigious gaming event in the world.  The event has rewarded over $2 billion in prize money in addition to the prestigious gold bracelets that are awarded to each champion. 

The WSOP Main Event Championship is the longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  The event is televised globally by both ESPN and Poker Central. An estimated 40 hours of live coverage will be provided by ESPN during the WSOP Main Event Championship, and all coverage not aired by ESPN will be streamed exclusively through Poker Central’s digital distribution channels.  In addition, as the Super Bowl of poker tournaments the event is covered by virtually every national news organization in the world due to the diverse individuals who represent every corner of the globe as they descent on Las Vegas to participate in the WSOP.

The buy-in for a seat in the World Series of Poker Main Event Championship cost $10,000.  The 2017 48th Annual WSOP Main Event Championship, my first-ever participation in the main event, drew it’s third largest field ever (7,221 participants).  The total accumulated prize pool was $67,877,400 awarded in escalating amounts to the top 1.084 players.  The top prize of $8.15 million and the coveted gold bracelet that comes with winning the WSOP Main Event Championship went to Scott Blumstein. 

Of the current top 25 WSOP cash winners in the world, eight have less than 10 cashes in WSOP sponsored events despite being full-time professional poker players.  That puts me in pretty good company when one considers that I have one cash already in the very limited WSOP sponsored events I’ve participated in over the past 10 years.  I was fortunate that with the help of family, friends, colleagues, and even some strangers who believed in my ability to one day win the WSOP Main Event Championship, I was able to raise the $10,000 buy-in fee that allowed me to participate in the 2017 event.

Although I did not finish in the money during my first-ever attempt to win the WSOP Main Event Championship, as I was eliminated in the 11th hour of day one, I did outlast several world champions to include some of the following: Vanessa Selbst, the only female poker player to ever be ranked number one in the world; Mark Newhouse, who finished in 9th place in both the 2013 & 2014 WSOP Main Event Championship; John Juanda, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame; and Johnny Lodden, considered to be one of the top online poker players in the world.

I’ve proven that I can play poker with some of the best in the world.  My participation in the 2017 WSOP Main Event Championship has only strengthened that belief.  I became an Appalachian State University Athletics Hall of Famer by having a driven personality and a belief that I could accomplish any goal I set out to achieve.  One day I will make the final table of a WSOP Main Event Championship and become a household name.  Join this fun ride by helping me to again raise the $10,000 WSOP Main Event Championship buy-in tournament fee to accomplish the goal that may one day benefit our beloved ASU.

Respectfully,

Dwayne “Hollywood” Pelham
ASU Athletics Hall of Famer
Induction Class of 2011
Football 1986-'90