<p>Just $150 has enabled a Duluth, Ga., man to earn at least $45,000 and a chance to win a record $5 million purse for playing poker.</p><p>Matthew Hilger paid $150 two months ago to play in an online poker tournament and won the grand prize _ a paid trip to compete in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, which included the tournament's $10,000 entry fee and $2,000 for other expenses.</p><p>After three days of competition among a record field of 2,576 people, Hilger was still in the game. He was in the top 50 remaining players Wednesday night.</p><p>"Mainly in a tournament, you don't want to play against the best players. But I came here because I wanted to test my skills against the best players anywhere," said Hilger, who was a financial consultant before he started playing poker full-time on the Internet in 2001.</p><p>Last year's champion, Chris Moneymaker, entered the tournament in a similar way. He paid $40 to enter an online tournament and won a seat in the World Series of Poker before going on to win last year's top prize of $2.5 million. The 28-year-old Tennessee accountant's Cinderella story is credited with transforming the game.</p><p>This year's grand prize is $5 million and the coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.</p><p>The remaining competitors in this year's tournament include Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, a two-time World Series of Poker Champion and the author of "Super/System," long considered the top guide to playing poker. Also playing are past World Series of Poker winners Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Dan Harrington.</p><p>Although Hilger, a 37-year-old Conyers native and University of Georgia graduate, has been playing poker at the pro level for a couple years, this tournament represents the most money he has ever won. Hilger is guaranteed at least $45,000 in winnings for finishing in the top 50, tournament spokeswoman Nicole Khoury said.</p><p>He netted about $9,000 as the winner of the New Zealand poker championship in 2002. He also is the author of "Internet Texas Hold'Em: Winning Strategies from an Internet Pro" in 2003 and has his own poker Web site.</p><p>In the World Series of Poker, players play no-limit Texas Hold'Em from noon until about 1:30 a.m. each day, the longest break being 75 minutes for dinner. His father, Greg, traveled to Las Vegas to cheer him on. His wife, Diana, plans to travel to the gambling capital soon to watch him play.</p><p>His mom has been cheering her son on from home in Conyers.</p><p>"It's very, very exciting," Barbara Hilger Bryan said. "He's passionate about poker. He's getting to play for work."</p><p>In the meantime, Hilger is bracing himself for the competition ahead and the chance to become a world champion.</p><p>"I'm exhausted. I'm barely getting any sleep," Hilger said. "Now that 2,500 players have been weeded out, it's very tough. You have to work for every single chip."</p><p>___</p><p>On The Net:</p><p>HASH(0x2865870)</p>
