Douglas Swinger Nears Turning Mistaken Satellite Into Final Table Appearance

By Matt Clark

When the money bubble burst in the Season XVI WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, 77-year-old Douglas Swinger (pictured) saw the fruits of his more than three days of labor come to fruition. If Swinger had it his way, though, he might not even be playing this event.

Swinger drove from his home in Missouri with his wife last weekend to spend time with their son, who lives in Las Vegas. A recreational player with a career built in real estate, Swinger entered Monday’s $1,100 satellite with the intention of collecting the $10,400 cash reserved for those who won a seat. As it turns out, Swinger soon realized he would have to play the event instead and took his seat on Day 1.

At the end of the first day of play, Swinger brought a respectable 46,050 into Day 2 and then increased that to 136,000 for Day 3. Coming into today’s Day 4, Swinger had 393,000 and is playing about that amount with less than 50 players remaining from the record-breaking turnout of 812 entries.

To play in this event took a series of events for Swinger, who is normally in Colorado during this time of year.

“I thought I was going to win $10,000,” said Swinger. “I heard some tournaments give you the option. We usually ski over Thanksgiving, but there’s no snow so we decided to drive out here.”

Swinger served in the Army before moving into the real estate business. The long days would take a toll on anyone and Swinger is doing his best to keep himself sharp by stretching and walking on breaks. At the table, Swinger is at peak attention as he enjoys the poker thrill of a lifetime.

“Before I come to the tournament every day, I do a lot of stretching and walk on breaks,” Swinger said. “It’s very stressful. The adrenaline when you win a hand, there’s nothing like that. My stomach is in knots. The whole time this tournament has been here, it’s been very exciting.”

The largest tournament Swinger had ever entered in prior to this week was a $1,100 tournament in his second home in Colorado.  In total, he has already guaranteed himself a score almost larger than his $33,140 in career earnings.

The pay jumps are starting to grow, but Swinger is not worried about the cash, saying he’ll probably give most of it away. Swinger would like to give it to his grandchildren and various charities, but is just focusing on his own play for now.

There are top pros lingering at every table, but Swinger only knows them by face, for the most part. He watches poker on TV and may soon get a chance to be filmed on the WPT final table stage.

“I see these people on TV, even though I haven’t played with them,” Swinger said. “It’s a very interesting situation for me.”

Swinger’s perspective focuses on family, saying his marriage and birth of his two sons are the best moments of his life.

The camaraderie while playing is something Swinger enjoys and he has been verbally active with his Day 4 table that features WPT Champions Club member Jared Jaffee.

Sometimes the best things in life happen by accident and Swinger is only two days away from turning what was hoped to be only $10,000 into potentially close to $2 million.

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