Erick Lindgren was in the news earlier this year as he addressed his gambling addiction by going to rehab. Unlike other addictions, for Lindgren it is very important to draw a clear line between his profession as a professional poker player and his addiction which causes him to bet on numerous games and lose heavily. As of now, the rehab appears to be working as Lindgren was back at the WSOP and was clearly focused on his game.
Lindgren managed to win his second WSOP bracelet in event 32 making it his second bracelet at the WSOP, the first of which he won way back in 2008. Lindgren played a strong game and managed to defeat some well known professional players in the $5,000 buy-in six-handed no-limit hold ’em Event 32. He got his second bracelet along with a cash prize of $606,317.
In a statement to the WSOP, Lindgren said
I was at the top of the game once and took some things for granted. I had to rebuild from the bottom. It was that kind of hard work – like playing in small games or smaller tournaments. I just worked as hard as I could. I got my game back to where it needed to be and that’s why I am here today.
Some of the competitors at Lindgren’s table included Vasile Buboi, Connor Drinan, Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, Lee Markholt and Jonathan Little, who are professional players. However, when it came down to the final table, Lindgren was the only one with a bracelet to his name. He went on to defeat Lee Markholt during a heads-up for the title. Incidentally, Markholt is one of Lindgren’s poker heroes and considered to be a great player by many. Lee Markholt finished the table with $374,960 and in third place came Jonathan Little who won around $238,833.
Lindgren went on to say that
I don’t think people understand how great a player Lee is, and how much respect I have for his game,” said Lindgren. “He’s one of my poker heroes. … Everybody respects Lee. He will get his (gold bracelet). And I’ll be on the rail to sweat that victory.
Winning this WSOP bracelet will hopefully motivate Lindgren to focus on playing more professional poker tournaments and at the same time keep his gambling addiction under control. Eric Lindgren will continue to play at the WSOP and look to add to his prize money.
