Whirlwind is probably a good word to describe the past month for Nick Rosen. The table games dealer and father of three went from his day job in Las Vegas to the glittering streets of Paris in the blink of an eye thanks to an online satellite on WSOP.com. Rosen, who has been a regular on the Nevada online poker site from launch day, didn't even plan on playing the WSOPE satellite tournament, but after winning his way in via a $5 super satellite, he took a shot and won the first-ever package awarded in a WSOP.com tournament.
Even then, Rosen wasn't sure if he would make the trip. He'd never been out of the country and didn't even have a passport. He decided to take his shot though, rushed through a passport, and landed in Paris just a couple of days ago to take his seat with some of the best in the game in one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year.
On Day 1, he held his own against the likes of last year's fourth place finisher in the Main Event, Russell Thomas, Will failla, and Day 1 big stack Ravi Raghavan. On Day 2, he contended with Thomas once again as well as pros like Todd Terry. While this was not to be his tournament, as he busted late in the Day 2 action, it is still an experience of a lifetime for the family man.
Rather than talk about Rosen, we'll turn it over to Rosen himself to do the talking. He spoke to our friends at PokerListings about WSOP.com, his experience in France, and what it was like to play in a field alongside the biggest names in the game: