Atlanta man wins $2.5 million at poker, weathers "dry spell" of victories

<p>Before Josh Arieh started playing poker for a living, he was a courier for a law firm.</p><p>Now he's a millionaire.</p><p>The 29-year-old from Atlanta with only a year of college education won $2.5 million on Friday. He placed third in the World Series of Poker's no-limit Texas hold'em world championship in Las Vegas, playing against nearly 2,600 competitors.</p><p>It was the largest purse the professional poker player has won and the highest third-place prize ever given by the tournament at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel and Casino.</p><p>But just beyond Arieh's reach was the top prize _ $5 million and the coveted World Series of Poker gold champion's bracelet. After seven days of poker play, that went to Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, a patent lawyer from Stonington, Conn.</p><p>"I walked out of the Horseshoe before I collected my money in absolute tears," Arieh said. "Winning is everything to me. It's been such a dry spell. I want to prove to myself that I can win."</p><p>Yet Arieh will put his earnings to good use. The money will allow him to buy a larger home in Atlanta for his family, which includes his wife and two children.</p><p>He bought a BMW X5 for his wife, who submitted her notice that she will leave her 9-year job as a legal assistant. He also said he's is planning to invest the remainder of his tournament winnings.</p><p>"I'm not complaining the least bit _ I feel like the luckiest man in the world _ I'm still going to work, I love what I do," he said of his poker career.</p><p>Five years ago, Arieh began his pro career with a start that most home-game enthusiasts can only dream of. He won a World Series of Poker bracelet and $200,000 by edging out a field of poker pros in the competition's limit Texas hold'em event in 1999.</p><p>Since then he's had great successes _ $80,000 for a second place finish to poker legend Johnny Chan in the 2000 World Series of Poker's pot-limit Omaha tournament and $75,000 for a third-place finish that same year in the now-defunct Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.</p><p>But Arieh has his eyes on another win, particularly in an event such as the World Series of Poker, which for poker players is like winning a major professional golf tournament.</p><p>"I'm not going to be happy until I prove to myself that I can win," Arieh said. "I've worked a long time _ five years since (the first win). I've had my ups and downs and have focused on playing better and continuing to fight and learn more."</p><p>His play and pleasant demeanor has helped him gain a good reputation in the professional poker circuit.</p><p>"He's an outstanding, excellent player," said Barry Shulman, publisher of Card Player magazine. "He'll be around. He goes out and takes it seriously. All that can happen is he gets better."</p><p>Arieh began playing poker at age 19 with friends in the evenings after the local pool hall closed. Two years later he was playing poker at home games all over Atlanta.</p><p>"I played against people with careers, doing it for fun. I was doing it to win," he said. "Competing is what I love to do. When money is at stake, I've always been able to step up a notch higher to get the money. That's just what appealed to me playing poker."</p><p>At 24, he left his job as a law firm courier to start his own courier business with a partner. But that proposition quickly fell through, leaving his days open to poker. A friend suggested that he play in some World Series of Poker tournaments, which led to his first win.</p><p>"I've made a good living," he said, declining to reveal his previous years' poker earnings. "There have been very few times I've thought about going to work for someone else."</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x286403c)</p><p>HASH(0x28640e4)</p>

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