{"id":18312,"date":"2018-12-03T12:47:19","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T13:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=18312"},"modified":"2018-12-03T21:42:38","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T21:42:38","slug":"from-missionary-to-poker-mission-nathan-manuels-crazy-quest-for-a-platinum-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/from-missionary-to-poker-mission-nathan-manuels-crazy-quest-for-a-platinum-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"From Missionary To Poker Mission: Nathan Manuel\u2019s Crazy Quest For A Platinum Pass"},"content":{"rendered":"

It sure seemed unlikely. Nathan<\/strong> Manuel<\/strong> has been trying again and again to win a PokerStars\u2019 Platinum Pass<\/strong>, but he was aware of the odds of winning the tournament.<\/p>\n

But at Run It Up Reno<\/strong> in late October, his odds improved.<\/p>\n

He topped a field of 825 entries to take home the coveted pass to play the PokerStars<\/a> Players NL Hold\u2019em Championship<\/strong> (PSPC) in January<\/strong> in the Bahamas<\/strong>. The $30,000 package includes a $25,000 buy-in to the PSPC tournament, six nights\u2019 accommodation at the Atlantis<\/strong> Resort<\/strong> and travel expenses.<\/p>\n

It was a dream come true for Manuel.<\/p>\n

Chasing a dream<\/span><\/h2>\n

Originally from Garland, Texas, the 39-year-old<\/strong> has been living in New York<\/a> City<\/strong> for 10 years.<\/p>\n

He manages a facilities and real estate team for a large advertising technology company, which involves traveling the world designing, building and furnishing various office locations.<\/p>\n

He loves the job and has taken advantage of some time abroad to chase<\/strong> the pass<\/strong>. The first effort came at a MegaStack<\/strong> event at London\u2019s<\/strong> Hippodrome<\/strong> Casino<\/strong> in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in London working and found out about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI actually paid for my own flight change and hotel stay for two extra nights so I could stay for the weekend to play a ridiculous \u00a3150 event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite playing all four starting flights, Manuel didn\u2019t win. However, living in New York City gave him more opportunities with attempts following at the Foxwoods<\/strong>, Maryland Live!<\/strong> and others.<\/p>\n

Despite not claiming a pass, Manuel kept trying. In August, he played an event at Stones Gambling Hall<\/strong> in California<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He attempted to win a pass from Jaime Staples\u2019 Ultimate Sweat Challenge<\/strong> and was a finalist but not a winner.<\/p>\n

He attempted the PokerStars\u2019 #VloggerInParadise<\/strong> competition. No luck.<\/p>\n

Manuel just kept coming up short until Jason Somerville\u2019s semiannual Run It Up Reno tournament. A longtime follower and subscriber to Somerville\u2019s Twitch stream, the event was Manuel\u2019s seventh to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of my home base,\u201d he said of the event. \u201cThose are my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having some friends in the house must have helped because Manuel finally won<\/strong> his pass.<\/p>\n

Newly married, his wife was there to cheer him on \u2013 the first time she\u2019d seen him play live US poker<\/a>. She plans to join him on the trip to the Bahamas for an extra honeymoon.<\/p>\n

A passion for poker<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s been an interesting path for Manuel.<\/p>\n

He studied art and design at Corcoran School of the Arts & Design<\/strong> in Washington, D.C. and served as a church youth minister and missionary in Austria. He then went on to do some business and information technology consulting work for a nonprofit in D.C.<\/p>\n

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, he helped in the rebuilding efforts and loved the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really opened the door for me to combine some of the things I\u2019d been doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Manuel later moved to New York City to attend graduate school. There, a friend asked to work at his company; he\u2019s been there for 10 years.<\/p>\n

Like poker pros David Williams<\/strong> and Justin<\/strong> Bonomo<\/strong>, Manuel came to poker after playing the card game Magic: The Gathering.<\/p>\n

When Williams finished second in the Main<\/strong> Event<\/strong> in 2004, it served as an inspiration. Manuel had played \u201cMagic\u201d against Williams, who also grew up around Dallas, and was interested in his new card game. Manuel became a casual player for about a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very passionate about the game,\u201d he said. \u201cIn graduate school in New York City, I became a little more interested.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s famed underground games became frequent stops for Manuel. By his second year in grad school, he was playing 20 to 30 hours a week and turned a $30,000 profit<\/strong>. Not bad for a student.<\/p>\n

Jimmy\u2019s boss<\/span><\/h2>\n

After he began working for his current company, an employee named Jimmy<\/strong> Cappucci<\/strong> turned Manuel on to tournament poker.<\/p>\n

The two headed to Vegas in 2015 to play in a World Series of Poker<\/strong><\/a> event and other tournaments.<\/p>\n

New to the idea of swapping a percentage in each other, they traded 30 percent in each player\u2019s action. In a $400 tournament at Planet<\/strong> Hollywood<\/strong>, Manuel finished fourth for $17,549. Coughing up a third of that to\u00a0Cappucci\u00a0was tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened though was that it fueled us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

More tournaments followed and Cappucci would have his own big score a few months later. Living in Boston at the time, Cappucci had been going to Canada to play online \u2013 and winning a PokerStars Sunday Million<\/strong> for $115,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Monday morning, I got a phone call I knew was coming,\u201d he said. \u201cJimmy said, \u2018Nathan, I am no longer going to be working for you because I\u2019m going to play poker full time.\u2019 Since then, \u2018JimmiesBoss\u2019 has become my online screen name for just about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a card-playing fanatic, along with watching the Run It Up Twitch coverage, Manuel also listens to several poker podcasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing I see about the Players championship for people like me who are passionate<\/strong> about the game<\/strong> is that it opens up the door to play at the highest levels and against people who think about the game on a really deep level,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople I\u2019m just not going to play with otherwise for life-changing money.\u201d<\/p>\n

As January\u2019s event approaches, Manuel is thankful he has a shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think what they\u2019re doing is pretty unique,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been in the poker world long enough to know that opportunities like this don\u2019t come up that often. So it really does feel like a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I\u2019m really trying to grasp it and go after this.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a moment he added laughing: \u201cI better get a lot better at poker. I never really thought I was going to win one on some level because I\u2019m a poker player and I understand how these things work. The likelihood<\/strong> of winning<\/strong> these things is very low.\u201d<\/p>\n

After overcoming such long odds, Manuel\u2019s hoping to<\/strong> do<\/strong> it again<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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