Tommy Vedes

Tommy Vedes is a World Poker Tour champion. He was the last man standing in the $15,000 NLH Festa al Lago event in 2009. His victory over the 275 entrants was worth $1,218,225.

The New Yorker found poker while he was still in his teens and he began to sneak into Atlantic City card rooms to play. He was a low limit grinder and relied on other jobs, like air conditioning repairman and limo driver, to pay the bills once he was eighteen. Once Vedes was a little older he became established in the construction industry and he had a bit more money to dabble in bigger poker games. He decided he was done with the East coast and headed to Nevada to pursue a career as a professional poker player.

Vedes made his first splash on the tournament poker scene when he finished 13th in a $5,000 NLH World Series of Poker event. He won $26,311. Vedes’ first live tournament victory was a $540 NLH event at the Venetian. His first place finish in the 386 player Deep Stack Extravaganza event was good for a $57,740 payday.

In 2009 Vedes made his first WSOP final table appearance. He went out in fifth place in the $1,500 PLO Hi/Lo event that attracted 762 players and earned $47,617. Vedes then made an incredibly deep run in the 6,494 player $10,000 NLH World Championship main event. He was knocked out in nineteenth place and pocketed $352,832.

Vedes headed down south to Tunica, Mississippi in August 2009. He won the $1,000 NLH event at the Gold Strike World Poker Open and earned $46,779. The main event was a $5,000 NLH tournament and Vedes went all the way to the final table. He went out in seventh place and won $24,044.

In October 2009 Vedes became a WPT champion. He won the $15,000 NLH Festa al Lago main event at Bellagio and claimed his first million dollar payday. Vedes decided to try his luck in a $25,000 NLH High Roller event at the Commerce Casino in early 2010. He made the final table but was knocked out fifth. Vedes earned $70,890.

Vedes headed to the European Poker Tour tournament series in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in April 2010. He won the E$5,000 6-max NLH event at the EPT Grand Final and won E$170,000. The 2010 WSOP was just around the corner and Vedes cashed four times. He made one final table, the $3,000 Triple Chance NLH event, and went out 7th to earn $69,647.

Vedes made his second WPT final table in April 2011 in Hollywood, Florida. He was the sixth place finisher in the 433 player $10,000 NLH Seminole Hard Rock Showdown and he earned $166,272.

At the 42nd Annual WSOP in 2011 Vedes cashed in six events. His deepest run was a 37th place finish in the $5,000 NLH shoot out event. Vedes earned $13,368. Altogether, Vedes left the Rio in 2011 with about $30,000 in winnings, not to mention the money he claimed at the cash games.