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Bryn Mawr's Eric Brooks Wins Seven Card Stud Event in the 2008 WSOP Event

On June 12th, 2008, who would have thought that Bryn Mawr is becoming a poker capital? For the second time in the past two years, Bryn Mawr has produced a major winner in the world series of poker. Business owner Eric Brooks, the co-founder and former director of the investing powerhouse Susquehanna International Organization, won a total of $$415,856 and gold bracelet from the seven card stud event.

On last year's World Series of Poker tournament, Beth Shak from Bryn Mawr won a total of $328,683 from finishing in 2nd place in the no-limit holdem event in the WSOP. But Brooks has decided to donate his prize money to a California educational charity where he is board member. The Decision Education Foundation is an affiliate nonprofit organization of Stanford University.

The foundation's executive director, Carl Spetzler commented that the money will be a big help in their activities. Brooks said that he has been enjoying poker since he was eleven years old. After attending college and spending several years as a stock dealer, Brooks and four of his friends started Susquehanna International Group in 1987 and help build it into a good firm where poker skills are important.

Trainees of the company are required to study to variations of poker games that are included in high-stakes poker event, which is holdem poker and stud poker. Brooks said that a poker game can be seen as a dealing activity. Brooks still hold this poker related philosophy when he started on his board member position in the Decision Education Foundation in 2004.

Even before winning the event in the WSOP, Brooks has been active in helping the foundation through poker: Back in October, he recruited poker pro and University of Pennsylvania doctoral student Annie Duke to join the board of the foundation. Shak, the first poker champ from Bryn Mawr commented that winning an important event in the WSOP can change your life thoroughly.

By Todd Sanders
published 06/26/2008, Thursday

Bryn Mawr's Eric Brooks Wins Seven Card Stud Event in the 2008 WSOP Event

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