The World Series of Poker is currently underway at the Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament has proven to be a great success and has drawn poker professionals and amateurs from around the world.
Yet, Theo Jorgensen a professional poker player from Denmark says that these days he prefers to play European Poker Tour events rather than enter the WSOP. Jorgensen is well known on the poker circuit as he has a number of titles to his name including a 2008 World Series of Poker bracelet in pot-limit Omaha that fetched him close to $400,000 along with a 2010 World Poker Tour title that raked in over $800,000.
Jorgensen who hails from Denmark said that he prefers to play the European circuit and does not fancy big tournaments anymore like the WSOP, even though he has done extremely well in the tournament. In a statement Jorgensen said
Since I am paying at least 50 percent tax of any winnings outside Europe, I am not really working hard to win many more bracelets. Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to throw out the one I got. On the other hand, I would much rather win an EPT than another WSOP bracelet. Taking the tax situation into consideration, I am most likely not playing anything else at the WSOP, other than the main event.
Jorgensen first started out in the poker world on the other side of the table, working as a dealer. It wasn’t long before Jorgensen was captivated by the game and carefully studied poker game strategy and poker faces, before deciding to start playing on the circuit himself. Having won a number of prestigious tournaments, his career prize money is said to be in excess of $2.8 million dollars.
Theo Jorgensen and his family were victims of a home invasion during 2012, where he was shot. These days, he focuses on spending more time with his family but is always ready to go out and play poker. Speaking about his family and his poker ambitions, Jorgensen said
I have two children, four and seven years old, and I love taking time away from poker to be with my family. I still love poker and all the complicated setups you have to solve — sometimes better than other times. But one thing is for sure; you could always have done better. So, since I still love the game, it is very difficult for me to imagine myself not playing at all, at some point in the future. I do not know if I will play poker for a living for the rest of my life, or do something else, but right now I would bet on poker!
