After outlasting 785 other entrants in World Poker Tour’s Legends of Poker tournament, Mike Shariati of Irvine took first place a little after midnight Saturday morning at The Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens.

Shariati went head-to-head with professional player Freddy Deeb, a two-time WPT World Champion, for more than four hours and 117 hands. Shariati, a genetic engineer, said testing himself against a veteran player like Deeb was his goal from the beginning.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Shariati said. He has played poker for 17 years, and started entering tournaments about six years ago.

“(Deeb is) my favorite player, I like watching him on TV. … It was a great experience for me.”

Four players from Orange County nabbed seats at the main event of the WPT tournament Friday. Shariati, Aaron Kweskin of Huntington Beach and Craig Chait of Newport Beach placed first, fourth and sixth, respectively.

Prize winnings in the tournament were $675,942 for Shariati, including a spot in WPT’s World Championship tournament at the end of the season, $168,664 for Kweskin and $91,523 for Chait. Deeb, who also lives in Irvine, placed second and took home $383,090.

Shariati said he hopes to use his winnings to help patent a medical device he’s developing to help monitor cancer in blood cells, and also to help fund charity events he organizes to raise money for children with cancer and women’s shelters.

Adam Pliska, president of WPT and a Newport Beach resident, said watching the final match up of Shariati and Deeb was a nail-biter. Shariati was battling to get his name on the Champions’ cup, while Deeb was looking to join a select group of players who have won three WPT titles, he said.

“It kept going back and forth,” Pliska said. “You really didn’t know who would prevail at the end.”

Pliska said with WPT holding events across the world, having so many locals as finalists is still “quite rare.”

“It’s unusual, but it was especially nice,” Pliska said. “Having that many (local players) made for a good hometown feel.”

Aaron Kweskin, father of four kids ages six to 19, owns The Hangout Restaurant and Beach Bar in Seal Beach and Hangout Too Southern Bar and Grill in Huntington Beach. He said he started playing poker a little over a decade ago and has played seriously for the past seven years, including a few years of playing professionally.

“It’s like they say, this is a game that takes a few hours to learn and a lifetime to master,” Kweskin said.

Episodes of the WPT tournament and Shariati’s win will air in Spring 2016 on FOX Sports Networks.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/shariati-681218-wpt-deeb.html