An American man of Nigerian origins has scooped a grand prize of $1,147,499 at the 50th edition of the World Series of Poker, reputed to be the largest live poker tournament in history with 28,371 entries. This life-changing fortune was amassed in Event #3: Big 50 - $500 No Limit Holdem, with a buy-in (entry fee) of $500.

Prior to this win, Fashakin has a total live tournament winnings of about $60,000. In addition to the money event winners get a (gold) bracelet, the most coveted poker accessory, the Nobel Prize of Poker. Speaking on his victory, Fashakin stated,

“Overwhelmed, it’s really amazing, super excited. I can't even describe it, but I’m also grateful, and it's a humbling experience. It’s my third cash at the WSOP here in Vegas, and I think it’s been okay so far! I didn’t really plan a celebration because I wasn’t sure. But I had a feeling! Today I sprinted in the hallway of the hotel, and I thought: when I get to the end of the door, I’m going to stop there and visualize the bracelet. I did that sprint, and I saw it…”.

Very little is known about Femi Fashakin at this time except that he resides in Orlando, Florida. His name however strongly suggests that he's a migrant from South-Western Nigeria.

The World Series of Poker is analogous to the World Cup in football. It holds every year in Las Vegas, formerly at Binion's Horseshoe casino where it started 50 years ago, until 2005 when Caesars Entertainment Corporation (known as Harrah's Entertainment until 2010) acquired Binion's Horseshoe and rights to the World Series of Poker. Since 2005, the World Series of Poker has been holding at Harrah's-owned Rio Hotel and Casino, located just off the Las Vegas Strip.

Poker is a collection of card games with the most popular being Texas Holdem Poker, or simply Holdem (Poker). Poker gained popularity in the very late 90s with the release of the movie Rounders in 1998 starring Matt Damon. The big break for poker came in the early 2000s when amateur poker player and accountant Chris Moneymaker (that's his real name) won the 2003 World Series of Poker scooping $2.5 million, an event he qualified for by winning a $40 buy-in online tournament on PokerStars.

Today, poker is mostly played in online casinos on the internet with either real money (with which a lot of people now make a living) or play money. However, in Nigeria, very little is known about poker. There are a handful of casinos and cardrooms, not up to 15 throughout the country: and the games they offer, with buy-ins in thousands of naira, are mostly for the affluent.

For a country with a very high rate of unemployment, (online) poker being very lucrative and legal, can serve as an alternative to vices among youths such as internet fraud and sorts. Poker, in the words of a legend of the game, takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master. How to Poker, available in Google Play Store is probably the best game to start with. It takes one from the very scratch to basic strategy. Poker World also available in Google Play Store is my favorite offline poker game for beginners. For online play money action, Pokerist, PokerStars, Zynaga are among the best. For online real money action, 888poker and PokerStars are reputed to be the best is reputed to be the best, however PokerStars just recently left Nigeria amongst other countries due to lack of customers.

For real life action in Nigeria, my favorite stop is the lobby of my dormitory just outside the University of Ibadan where I study. My neighbors and I gather almost every night till the early hours of the morning to catch some action. Poker is worth it, give it a shot.

That's nice!

I would like to learn playing poker and casino games the same as that man...

Where can I do it in Canada?

Wow, people who play betnaija and the likes can never hit it this big.

NickLingboon:

Wow, jackpots every hour and day? Sounds well. TY mate for new casinos.

You can check this out https://bookofratricks.eu/ if you are really interested in making it big time.