Seat 3: Ekrem Bozkurt, 50, from Turkey, lives in Las Vegas, Nevada (2,570,000)
Ekrem Bozkurt used to own a restaurant in Texas, but he decided to take a shot as a poker pro in 2017. So he left the business with his brother and moved to Las Vegas.
So far, Bozkurt has been mostly thriving in low- to mid-stakes tournaments. Last month, here at Resorts World Las Vegas, he notched his first outright victory in reported live events, albeit in a small $200 nightly tournament.
The professional poker path has so far worked out for the 50-year-old. He has amassed just under $1 million in live cashes and will eclipse that mark here at NAPT Las Vegas, where he is closing on his career-best result.
Bozkurt’s previous biggest cash came in 2018 when he took $218,170 for second place in the WinStar River Poker Series Main Event. He would top that with a top-three finish here.
While aware of this potential milestone, Bozkurt doesn’t feel any pressure. “I’ve been running very lucky in this tournament,” he admitted with a big smile on his face, adding he is taking it easy.
Originally from Izmir, Turkey, Bozkurt is an avid soccer fan. He supports Galatasaray and, despite being thousands of miles away, he still wakes in the morning to watch the games.
Player bios courtesy of Jan Kores/PokerStars
Tournament Progression
Day 1: 17,500 (107/107, 1b)
Day 2: 178,000 (58/84)
Day 3: 979,000 (6/40)
Day 4: 2,375,000 (4/16)
Day 5: 2,570,000 (3/6)
Career statistics
Career earnings: $986,593
EPT/NAPT cashes: None
Best result: None
Key hands
Back on Day 3, Bozkurt was all in for 158,000 with two sixes, but Jeremy Ausmus had woken up with pocket kings. Bozkurt, though, flopped a full house to take the lead and earn a fortunate double up.
Bozkurt then became an aces magnet. Jacob Mendelsohn was his first victim on Day 3 when Mendelsohn found himself coolered holding ace-king. Katherine Porrello also ran her ace-king into Bozkurt's aces to bust in 16th, while Bozkurt picked up aces yet again after Carl Shaw shoved for 520,000 sending the UK pro out in 13th place.