‘CHIP AND A CHAIR’

In March, KKPoker announced Marco Dickner as our first 2025 Vegas Dream package winner.

Marco had battled through the first Canada-exclusive satellite qualifiers to earn his place on the 2025 KK Elite Team and win a $12,000 live poker package.

Marco had achieved this for just $20 and set his sights on ‘having fun in Las Vegas’ while ‘managing risk.’

Here’s Marco’s story of returning to play in the world’s largest live poker series, 10 years after his first appearance, and how he came to be involved in the most important live poker tournament bubble of the year!

“BIG DAY IS HERE”

Ahead of his Vegas Dream experience, Marco was asked about his main goal while in Las Vegas. His answer; “Making it to the Main Event payout places would be great! It’s on my bucket list…“

Little did this recreational player from Canada know, but he was about to embark on a journey to this goal in a wild and unexpected way, all while in the poker media spotlight.

After departing Montreal, Marco had a surprise union on the plane — seated next to fellow Vegas Dream winner Christopher Alcindor. Having boarded with his partner Rachel, who was accompanying Marco on the trip, he sat in row 13, his lucky number, and next to Chris, who began a conversation after recognizing his fellow KK Elite teammate.

They then enjoyed a steak-dinner experience together with other Vegas Dream qualifiers, organised by KKPoker, ahead of a final rest day before Marco took his seat in the Main Event Day 1C.

“DAY 1 WAS QUITE THE RIDE!”

With Marco’s profession in Risk Management, he understood how to be both aggressive and conservative when needed, a skill that would hold him in good stead.

The Main Event saw all players given a 60,000 starting stack and playing on long 2-hour blind levels. For most, the goal of Day 1 is to adjust to these dynamics, accumulate chips, and progress to Day 2.

After 6 of the 10 hours of playing, Marco had impressively improved to a 100,000 chip stack, although a reporting typo had him on 1,000,000, and in came a flood of messages from his friends asking how this could be.

“The WSOP app showed me as chip leader of the tournament — yep, top dog. A flood of texts and excitement from people following me on the app, lots of buzz… Turns out it was a typo, I had 100K chips. I bluffed my friends, saying I won an 8-way all-in with a straight flush on the river…ha” said Marco.

Marco had dealt with a dip in chips, a peak at 130K, before finally bagging on 90K, a 50% increase ahead of Day 2.

A solid performance given his table consisted of at least three professional poker players, including British player Philip Sternheimer, who just days before had won $763,000 and a bracelet in the $10,000 buy-in PLO Omaha 8 or Better event.

“QUAD ACES”

With another 10 hours of play on Marco’s schedule, he continued to be supported by his partner, Rachel, who would gift him some vital information later on in the tournament.

Here’s Marco’s key Day 2 hands:

“I looked down at Pocket Aces, boom! Then the other two Aces appeared on the board for quads! Big hand, but not much profit because there wasn’t much action — still, I won the hand!

“I had Q-9 of diamonds. Board was 10x Kh 2s. Three in the hand. Jack on the turn giving me a straight. I bet big and one opponent folded, the other thinks for 10 minutes and calls with K-J (two pair). I’ve got him dominated. But then, King on the river and he wins (1 in 12 chance). I lost a pot of 180K chips. I even found out the other opponent had folded a set of tens.

“In the final hour, I won an all-in pre-flop with K-K against A-J. My 100K stack increased to 162K, just below the 175K average, and at this point I was still in the chasing pack!”

“My favorite moment from Day 2. Alexandra Strelinski’s music in my ears, A-Q of clubs, nut flush on the turn and river. Conclusion: celestial music, divine poker hand, and my stack was growing — I was in heaven for a moment ha.” added Marco.

“I SURVIVED…BARELY”

Poker tournaments can be brutal, and momentum can switch in an instant. Unfortunately for Marco, his stack had been reduced to just 25K, approximately 4BB, going into Day 4, where the money bubble would occur.

However, his Day 3 had produced some memories, with 2004 Main Event champion Greg Raymer seated at Marco’s table, and an encounter with his compatriot Daniel Negreanu produced a photo for the occasion.

With 1,476 players remaining from the 9,735 field, and 1,461 money spots, approximately 15 players stood between Marco and his goal of cashing.

And Day 4 would be a day Marco will never forget.

$30,000 PARADISE FLIP

The money bubble was fast approaching. And not just any money bubble, but probably the biggest of the year, as hopefuls try to attain the glory of cashing in the most prestigious live poker main event.

“As the famous poker saying goes, all you need is a ‘CHIP AND A CHAIR! My strategy was to wait for 15 players to bust before I lost my last chip. That meant surviving 12 hands.” said Marco.

“On each hand, I took all my allowed time to think before my hand was automatically folded. There was zero chance I was going to call any hand, even Pocket Aces. Because finishing 1,461st means $15,000… otherwise, typically, it’s nada.”

“11 hands later… 1,462 players left. A true movie scenario.” added Marco.

With tensions high in the poker room and the action on hand-for-hand, each player faced a long wait between hands. Marco decided to take a break from his seat and came to learn some vital information.

“I go see Rachel, and she tells me there’s a special prize for the bubble player (who finishes 1,462nd): a $30,000 package to play at the WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas.

“Next hand, I shove all-in hoping to lose… and I did. Around the table at least 50 journalists, a real media buzz. But I wasn’t the only clever one aiming for 1,462nd place. There were several of us looking to go out in style at the 175 remaining tables.”

Three players, including Marco, had been eliminated during the same hand-for-hand round, which meant a final hand to decide the bubble prize distribution. A single Flip poker hand to determine the bubble winner (who gets $10,000 + a $30,000 package to the WSOP Paradise tournament in the Bahamas), and the other two get $10,000 each.

“I get Pocket 9s… my opponents, Sachin Joshi and Matthew Frankland, get garbage hands.” said Marco.

“Flop and turn: I’m ahead.

“River: Opponent hits a straight. I lose.”

Marco had been thrust into the poker spotlight and was one card away from an amazing consolation prize. However, it wasn’t to be, but Marco had achieved his goal of cashing in the Main Event with a share of the bubble prize money worth $10,000!

See the FLIP hand video courtesy of PokerNews here.

“TONS OF FUN!”

Marco’s Vegas Dream Trip Summary:
• 4 days of intense poker, but I’m very satisfied with my level of play.
• Half a dozen articles on PokerNews, YouTube videos, and I played with some poker legends!
• Goal achieved: Made it into the money!

Marco’s Final Words: “Above all, a HUGE thank you to Rachel for her support throughout the trip. Without her, I would never have known about the bubble opportunity, nor had dinners in the room between hands… and so much more!”

VEGAS DREAM TO REALITY

KKPoker is thrilled to have helped Marco on his way to achieving his poker dream in Las Vegas!

Read the next Vegas Dream story from Christopher Alcindor here.

Stay tuned for more Vegas Dream stories coming soon. Want to follow in Marco’s footsteps!? See the current KKPoker promotions here.