9/11 hero wins $1,000,000 on PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge
Former NYPD officer wins first season of the show, claiming victory over Canadian poker legend Daniel Negreanu
In a decade defined by the tragedies of
PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge airs on
Detective
From there, getting pelted with glass and debris, he hustled to the World Financial Center, in hopes of helping make sure that building was clear. Inside, he found eight people trapped. Determined to bring them to safety, Kosowski was leading the group through a back exit when an explosion rippled through the area, launching Kosowski 10 feet through the air. He slammed into a wall. Though adrenaline kept him from feeling the full force of the pain, that impact herniated three discs in his neck, two in his back and left him with pain in his legs.
Kosowski spent the rest of the day, and the better part of the next few months, searching the debris at Ground Zero and on the Staten Island landfills for human remains. He was given the Medal of Valor for his actions that day.
These searches induced serious asthma which, combined with the herniated discs, led Kosowski to retire in 2004, after 21 years on the force. Retired, in pain and bored back home in Staten Island, Kosowski started playing poker and quickly found a new passion. While watching the 2007 World Series of Poker on TV, Mike and his wife Fran first saw Negreanu play.
Mike turned to his wife and said: "I'm going to play him some day and I'm going to beat him," Fran laughed. Two weeks later, Mike had a dream that he beat Negreanu one-on-one. When he told his wife the next morning, Fran laughed again, dismissing his nonsense.
But the dream would become a reality. This fall, Kosowski saw a commercial announcing that PokerStars.net and FOX Sports teamed up to create a show that will give one player a chance to play Daniel Negreanu heads up for
Then another obstacle: the taping dates for the show were the weekend the Kosowskis were set to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Fran, who was laid off from her job in November, insisted he go to
Through great skill and a run of tremendous luck - none of the three contestants who played on the show before him that day were able to advance past the first round, giving Kosowski a shot to play on air - Kosowski thoroughly outplayed both the contestants from his show and then the top winners from the series' earlier episodes at two sit-n-go tables. Kosowski took full advantage of the opportunity, earning his way into the one-on-one final and outplaying Negreanu, the four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner.
But
* Check local listings at www.pokerstars.net/poker/promotions/millions/freeroll/. (xx) Go to Pokerstars.net for a full list of contest rules and qualifications.
About PokerStars.net:
PokerStars.net is the world's largest online poker school with over 26 million members worldwide. It's the premier destination for the world's top players - with numerous tournaments running every day. PokerStars.net is renowned for offering the best software and security in the online poker world. PokerStars.net:
- Has dealt over 32 billion hands - Has run more than 190 million poker tournaments - Holds the Guinness Book of World Records for 'Largest Online Poker Tournament' and 'Most Players at an Internet Poker Room'
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For further information: Media Contacts: Anne Locke, Paradigm Public Relations, [email protected], (416) 203-2223 x 225
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