Golden Gopher Wins College Poker Championship

Outlasting 25,000 students, playing online from 55 countries, Chad Flood won the 2nd Annual College Poker Championship this past weekend, claiming a $41,000 scholarship. Flood, a Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, native, is a junior economics major at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

When asked how it felt to win such a significant tournament, and one which required no buy-in at all, the 20 year-old Flood responded, “I'm feeling mixed between being in shock and being thrilled. It was pretty overwhelming once I thought about it.”

Flood caught the poker bug a couple years ago and it has become a full-fledged passion ever since.

"Throughout the school year, I play almost every night and then go out on weekends. I play online at a few sites and then I play at Canterbury Card Club," he said.

The fact that he has been able to keep up a 3.0 grade point average while logging all those hours playing poker is quite the accomplishment.

Unlike many parents who might be a bit wary of their children spending too much time playing cards instead of studying, Chad’s father, Bill, is extremely proud of his son’s accomplishment.

"It's a great deal," he said. "He's got a knack for that. He's always been pretty strong in mathematics and things of that nature. He's got a couple of years of college that he'll finish by hell or high water before he goes on the World Poker Tour."

In addition to the scholarship, a $1,000 donation is also being made in Flood’s name to the American Diabetes Association.

Flood helped his school place 10th on the School Rivalry Leaderboard. Fellow Big Ten school, Penn State, took the school crown.

Information about the next installment of the College Poker Championship can be found at http://www.collegepokerchampionship.com.

Originally published June 9, 2005