Matthew Higgins Looking for Back-to-Back Victories
Most outsiders to the poker world are only witnesses to the lavish lifestyle of the high-stakes professionals who stay at five-star hotels and eat at Michelin-starred restaurants. Matthew Higgins is not one of those players and says he doesn't want to be one of those players.
The now Mississippi resident has been grinding the mid-stakes poker tour for numerous years, accumulating a total of nine WSOP circuit rings, two of them being Main Event victories for over six figures. His most recent title came just last week at the WSOP circuit stop in Choctaw for over $218,000. Turn the clock forward a few days, and now Higgins is grinding it out at the RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix Tunica II in the $600 Main Event.
"It's a lot of travelling. I used to travel the circuit until they changed their payout structures. It's not really profitable to play those anymore so I basically go where the value's at," Higgins said during the first break of Day 1a. "I like the mid-stakes better. I do play some 5ks and 10ks but it's just not really my thing playing against robots."
Higgins has some fond memories playing at the Horshoe Casino Tunica and is hoping to find some of that hometown run-good over the next couple of days.
"It would be nice to go back-to-back main event wins. Tunica is my second home away from home. This is probably the first place I came to back when I used to just play cash games."
For the most part, travel and poker take up the majority of Higgins' time, but he did give us a brief look into his everyday life when poker isn't the center of attention for him.
"If I'm on the road, I like to sleep in, watch some college football on Saturdays. A lot of times, I don't play the last event and watch some NFL. If I'm at home, I just relax at the house with my dogs, my girlfriend and the kids. Just take it easy and stuff."
So while it may not be the luxurious everyday living for Higgins, it's the one that he chose and loves every single day. Right now, the poker room at Horseshoe Tunica is buzzing with four events on the go with players all looking to fulfill their very own poker dream.