Less than a year ago, 27-year-old Adrian Buckley (pictured) of Westminster, Colorado topped a field of 7,275 entries – the sixth-largest live tournament of all time – to win the 2015 World Series of Poker Millionaire Maker for $1,277,193.
Buckley, who holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado, had an interesting story on his way to winning that event. On Day 2, he bagged just 80,000, which made him the third-shortest stack among the 142 survivors. He somehow managed to survive Day 3, albeit dead last in chips among the final 17 players that included Andrew "Lucky Chewy" Lichtenberger, Mike Sexton, Erick Lindgren, and Olivier Busquet.
"I came here this year with a limited bankroll, and I told myself I'm going to play in 10 events and see how I do," Buckley said after the win. "I've been trying every once in awhile, because I've been a young kid just trying to get through school, and I've never really had the bankroll to actually play poker. I've done really well in cash games and stuff. I've been a cash game grinder for a long time, but never had the money to play in some big events."
Buckley was recently at the MSPT Golden Gates stop in Black Hawk, Colorado – where he bubbled the final table in 11th place for $7,239 -- so we took the opportunity to catch up with the Millionaire Maker champ heading into the 2016 WSOP. While he isn’t here at FireKeepers, we still thought it worthwhile to share what he had to say.
MSPT: What have you been up to since your big win?
Buckley: It's been crazy. I've been traveling all over the world. Went to Ireland, went to Germany for the WSOP Europe. We've been all over the country. I've been able to do what I love doing. It's been fantastic.
You say we. Who do you mean?
Buckley: People that come join me. I'll invite people to come travel with me and such. Not everybody comes, but some people will join me. I had a really good friend go to Ireland with me, had a good time there. Now I'm back home until the WSOP.
Have you made any big purchases with your prize money?
Buckley: No. I'm kind of a nit in life, which is the opposite of poker laughs. Pretty agro in poker, pretty nitty in life. I bought a house, but it's for a rental. I have a couple of houses now, so that's nice. I'm able to do what I want to do. I paid off all my student loans, which is fantastic. I can live life the way I want now. I hit the jackpot, it's a dream come true man.
It's a touchy subject, action?
Buckley: I had 95% of myself, and the gentlemen who had 5% of me does not really want people to know who he is. I had almost all of my action. It was my eighth of eight tournaments I was going to play at the WSOP last year. I pretty much went bankroll bankrupt you could say. It was my last tournament and I was just going to go home and work again to save up some money. I got lucky in my last tournament, it's crazy.
What are you plans for the 2016 WSOP?
Buckley: I got a house with a bunch of grinder buddies. We're going to stay out in Vegas and grind the whole series. Hopefully play as many events as possible, or as few events as possible laughs, one of the two.
Finally, what is it about the MSPT that keeps you coming back?
Buckley: I actually love the structure of the MSPT. The way it's run, the way you're able to register, there aren't a lot of tables up here in Black Hawk unfortunately so you can't get a huge crowd, but the MSPT seems to structure it perfectly. It's my favorite tournament that comes through here each year. The updates are fantastic. I have no complaints at all.