Red hot poker player wins £100,000

A Lancashire card ace has hit the £100,000 jackpot after winning a televised poker tournament.

Dad-of-three Nick Slade, 45, of Brindle Fold, Bamber Bridge, quit the game in May last year after a water skiing accident that shattered his neck.

His wife, Jane, has also been battling serious illness.

But the 100-1 outsider fought through a 72-strong field to win the PartyPoker European Open IV title in London and $200,000. It is to be broadcast on Five later in the year.

Nick out-bluffed poker champions Annette Obrestad, Juha Helppi, Ian Frazer and Josh Tyler along the way before defeating Craig Burgess on the final table.

He also beat celebrity players including rugby star Austin Healey and Michael Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster in Coronation Street.

Nick said: "I did a lot of work studying Annette before the tournament because I thought that if I was to get anywhere she would be there or thereabouts.

"I basically knew that if she got a lot of chips she would continually try and re-raise me with a bag of rubbish and it proved to be right.

"I knew that Frazer would try to be the table captain, Helppi would be seriously solid and Tyler was a good player after encounters in cash games."

The poker player, who used to work as a headhunter, hopes to take his children on holiday to Florida with the winnings before returning to the circuit.

A PartyPoker.com spokes-man said: "There is little doubt that Nick Slade was amongst the outsiders at the start of the tournament and at the start of the final table.

"We congratulate him on his win and, after all he has been through, we hope this is a new dawn for him and his family."

The event, organised by Matchroom Sport, is to be shown all over the world after being broadcast in the UK. Players forked out $7,000 each to buy into the event, creating a $504,000 prize fund.

They played through 12 six-seater heats before moving on to a semi-final stage and final table.

Matchroom Sport director Eddie Hearn said, "It's a huge achievement for Nick to overcome such a strong field.

"We saw some of the world's biggest names fall in the race for the title and it was a thrilling final in which Nick thoroughly deserved his victory."

Nick follows in the footsteps of other poker stars in the area including Pippa Flanders, of New Longton, who scooped £100,000 in a televised tournament two years ago.

News Added: 24 February, 2008

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