ENID, Okla. — By the time most people reach the age of 50, they are looking to remove stressors from their life.

Travis Baker doesn’t seem to fit that mold. The Enid, Oklahoma native picked up the hobby of playing in poker tournaments 10 years ago and now can’t get it out of his blood.

However, Baker’s enthusiasm for playing in high stakes poker games paid off last month when he won over more than half a million dollars at the 46th annual World Series of Poker tournament (WSOP) in Las Vegas.

Baker, 50, won the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the tournament June 21. He beat out the other 4,192 players in the three-day event and took home the top cash prize of $613,466 and a gold bracelet.

“I’m so overwhelmed right now,” Baker said afterward. “For me this is gratifying and satisfying. It’s an exclamation point.”

According to WSOP, the Seniors Championship is one of the annual classic’s most popular events. It’s also been its fastest-growing over the past five years. This marks the fourth consecutive year this event has drawn more than 4,000 entries.

Along with the success of the WSOP, professional poker continues to be on the rise in the United States. According to reg-charity.org, the game has a $5.16 billion economic impact.  

It began on June 19 and ended two days later. With each contestant having to buy in for $1,000, the total prize pool was $3,773,700.

Baker’s victory wasn’t so much a shock, but the manner in which he won and the speed by which he brushed everyone aside on the third and final day left everyone scrambling to play catch up. Media covering the event, and even the live stream announcers were caught trying to speak and type fast enough, filling in the blanks of those who were eliminated.

“I always felt comfortable while playing, Baker said. “I never got nervous or anything. It was partly because everything went my way. Even after I had a few beats (early at the final table), I stayed patient and that kept me going.”

Baker, who is a construction manager in Enid, is no novice to these kinds of tournaments. A 10-year veteran of the game, Baker said he plays poker tournaments anywhere from four to six times a month. Though Baker usually plays in the eastern Oklahoma area, he has made a handful of trips to Las Vegas to play in World Series of Poker tournaments. But this was his first time to actually come away with a cash winning.

This year was his first chance to compete in the series’ senior championship, giving him the chance to play poker in the more traditional, relaxed way that appeals to him, Baker said.

“It’s more of a laid-back tournament…. People are more chatty, more talkative and more open at the tables than a typical, conventional style tournament is,” Baker said.

Baker began his 3-day streak with the mandatory $1,000 buy-in. It was far from smooth sailing at the beginning of the game. After losing most of his chips, Baker said he was at risk of losing on the first level he played.

Luck soon played to his favor however, and he was in 11th place by the end of the first day.

From that point on, Baker’s chances were on the up and up. Gradually gaining chips throughout the game, he said he ended the second day in 10th place with nearly $500,000 in chips.

Baker faltered slightly during his last few hands, at one point holding the least amount of chips at the table, which he said did make him a tad nervous. But he quickly rebounded and made it to the final three hands. 

“It went so fast. You know, you’re just in that one moment, so you’re trying to focus on that moment. It went so quick,” Baker said. “After the hand was over and reality sets in, then it gets overwhelming.”

That overwhelming moment has gone beyond the exciting conclusion of the tournament, he said. Baker took the rest of the week off of work to celebrate his victory, going on a zip line and partying with friends, he said, all while enjoying a flood of congratulatory calls and emails from friends and family,

Baker is going the sensible route with his winnings, putting them away towards his retirement fund.

“I’m not looking to do anything stupid with it at the moment,” Baker said.

There are definitely more tournaments in Baker’s future, but for now he wants to take it slow, cherish the moment and share his thankfulness for this accomplishment.   

“I was extremely grateful,” Baker said. “Every poker player plays for that moment and that bracelet and that interview. So to capture that moment was one of my highlights of my life.”

Friend writes for Enid (Okla.) News and Eagle