LEAGUE CITY — Tom O’Neal jokingly told his students in May that he wouldn’t return to his teaching job at Manvel High School if he made it big at the 41st annual World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.
The joke had some truth behind it.
O’Neal, a League City resident who taught math and special education at Clear Brook and Manvel high schools, finished second in the World Series of Poker Texas Hold ’Em $1,500 buy-in in Las Vegas in June.
About 2,500 people entered the event, which lasted four days.
O’Neal earned a total of $377,710 in two events from the tournament, prompting him to quit his job and to play poker for a living.
The earnings allowed him to pay off his house.
"I think the principal knew I wasn’t coming back," O’Neal said. "He expected my call a few days later, but they were very supportive."
Without a day job, O’Neal will travel to casinos in Las Vegas, Louisiana and Oklahoma to earn money and improve his game.
O’Neal’s ultimate dream was to earn six-figures at the poker tournament, he said.
After a mediocre showing at the tournament two years ago, O’Neal had expected similar results this year but wanted the experience under his belt.
"I told my wife I was going to go and lose," he said. "I thought it would be a great learning experience to play with the best in the world."
O’Neal described his experience at the main event nerve-racking. Spectators, called "rail birds" at the tournament, were standing behind their favorites to win. TV cameras captured every move.
One couldn’t tell O’Neal’s anxiety from his demeanor, however. A lowered baseball cap covered most of his face.
Dean Hamrick, of East Lansing, Mich., and O’Neal were the two left in the main event. After eight hours, Hamrick beat O’Neal’s ace and nine of spades with an ace of diamonds and queen of hearts.
O’Neal’s former colleagues at Clear Brook kept up with his progress, the school’s math department Chairman Jeff Brewer said.
"He’s a legend among our teachers now," Brewer said. "I think it’s great he’s able to follow his interest and that he has been successful. I hope it continues."
O’Neal fell in love with poker 15 years ago when he began playing in casinos. It occurred to him the only ways to make a living from gambling were sports betting and games against other people.
Since he hadn’t proved successful at sports betting, O’Neal focused his attention on perfecting his poker skills, particularly his favorite game, Texas Hold ’Em.
He bought poker books and magazines, started watching poker on TV and ran simulations on his own.
He also competes on www.pokerstars.com
"I just fell in love with the game," O’Neal said. "It’s really fun, and there’s a lot of math to it. Poker requires a great deal of skill."
O’Neal relies on his math background to calculate his odds.
Aside from math, he standardizes all movements to avoid giving anything away to opponents.
O’Neal said he wants to travel abroad and play poker tournaments on every continent.
"It would be nice if I could make a lot more money at this," he said. "If I can continue making six figures, I’m going to keep playing poker."
