Satellite Survivor: Gary Reknar Looking to Turn $20 Satellite Spectacular Seat into WPT Score

By Sean Chaffin

The Gardens Casino is serious when it comes to satellite qualifiers. The property already has 51 satellite players already qualified for the WPT Gardens Poker Festival with eight more to qualify today and tomorrow. Among those is Gary Reknar (pictured), a local player who qualified in the WPT Gardens Satellite Spectacular.

The event allows players to qualify for a $20 tournament, which awards entries into various WPT events – from the WPT Choctaw to the Bellagio Five Diamond Poker Classic to the events here at the Gardens.

Players qualify by earning points for entering and cashing in the property’s regular tournaments. Players’ chip stacks are determined by the number of points they have accumulated before the final Satellite Spectacular event.

Reknar is a computer engineer by trade, but has been between jobs lately. He’s been using the time off to play more poker and see if he can make it work as a full-time job. At the Gardens, he’s a tournament player especially in some of the property’s bigger events. So far things have been going well.

“I come here a lot and just live down the street,” he says. “I just started playing full time about six months ago. I’m thinking about playing full-time. I went to the WSOP this summer and played two or three tournaments and cashed. So I’m feeling good about my game. I’m pretty consistent.”

Married with a 9-year-old daughter, Reknar is, in essence, playing a freeroll here at the Gardens. Along with his $20 Satellite Spectacular entry, he also spent $300 trying to win another buy-in through a satellite in case he needed to fire another bullet in the $5,000 buy-in event. He came up just short in that effort.

Beyond his poker life, Reknar also has some stocks and investments to help pay the bills. When not at the tables, he enjoys golf and chess. However, those pursuits have been put on hold for a while. Has his new poker life taken their place?

“Yeah, kind of,” he says laughing.

With a virtual free entry in the championship event, Reknar’s hoping to ride the Satellite Spectacular wave into a nice WPT cash. Things have been up and down so far through the first break. He hit two pair early, but was beaten by a set. Despite the loss, he’s determined to battle back and cued up some smooth jazz on his phone to keep himself focused and in the zone. 

His musical choice seems fitting for the reasons Reknar enjoys playing at the Gardens – the relaxed atmosphere and comfortable amenities.

“There are decent people here,” he says. “There aren’t a lot of swear words and they keep it tight here. It’s not like other casinos where people are aggressive and use abusive language. They try to control things like that, especially in the tournaments. I feel it’s better than some other properties I’ve seen. I like this one the best.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.