Thupten "TJ" Thondup is the WSOP Circuit's newest Casino Champion, winning his second gold ring en route to the title at Choctaw. For his work over the 12-event Series, he earned nearly $25,000 and an entry into the invitation-only WSOP Global Casino Championship.
Thondup is a 32-year-old part-time poker player from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The other half of his time is dedicated to running a non-profit gift shop benefiting the Free Tibet movement. It's a business his Tibetan parents started when he was a kid, and it's something he still feels passionate about to this day.
Thondup made his first dent in the Choctaw race during Event #5. Entering the final table as one of the short stacks, he spun it up while fellow ring winners Doug "Rico" Carli and Nick Pupillo fell by the wayside. By the time it was three-handed, Thondup had a huge chip lead, but each of the three remaining players traded the lead back and forth for several hours. Finally, Thondup sealed a hard-fought victory, defeating Nathan Rowan in the heads-up duel to win the ring and more than $20,000.
Two days later, Thondup was sitting at the final table of Event #9, the one that would ultimately decide the race for Casino Champion. He once again entered nine-handed play with one of the short stacks. Kevin Haines, who had won Event #1, was also a part of that final table, and both men were looking to claim gold for the second time in the span of just a few days.
Haines was eliminated in sixth place, though, and Thondup hung on for a fifth-place finish to take the points lead with three events remaining on the schedule. That 2.5-point difference ended up being the margin of victory at the end of the week, as neither was able to secure another result. Thondup finished the Series with 75 points, and Haines was the runner-up with 72.5 points.
Since New Mexico doesn't have significant tournament action, Thondup primarily plays cash games at his local casino. His day job keeps him from traveling to more than a handful of tournaments each year, but his results are already starting to pile up. He now has two gold rings and more than $100,000 in live tournament earnings over the last three years. He won his first ring in Black Hawk two years ago, then went on to make two more final tables during that same Circuit stop, narrowly missing out on Casino Champion honors in the process. This time around, he made it stick.
"Considering how few tournaments I play," he said, "I've been pretty lucky."
The points race typically comes down to the final day of the Main Event, but Thondup had his victory locked up one day early, as none of the remaining players had the ability to catch him. Here are his results for the Series:
Event #5: Winner (50 points, $20,089)
Event #9: 5th place (25 points, $4,310)
Click here to see the final leaderboard for Choctaw.