Saturday, May 20, 2017 1:34 PM Local Time
Steve Dees Wins Six-Max in NOLA, Second Gold Ring
Budding Ohio pro scores a big boost to his confidence, bankroll
Steve Dees is the newest two-time winner on the World Series of Poker Circuit. Dees outlasted a field of 339 entries in the $365 six-max event at Harrah’s New Orleans, winning his second gold ring and the top prize of $25,423. He also collected 50 points in the race for Casino Champion at this venue and in the season-long race for seats in the Global Casino Championship.
“Oh my gosh!” Dees was at a loss for words as his postgame interviews began. “Man… golly… I’m just feeling so thankful. I’m thankful to be able to even do this. It’s humbling.”
Dees is a 29-year-old professional poker player from Dayton, Ohio. He's been living in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past few years, but there’s still no place like home. “My heart is in Ohio,” he said. “Dayton is home. Even when you get away, you still find your roots.”
Late in 2015, Dees gave up his career in import/export logistics to take a shot at playing the game full-time. A few months later, he took down the Monster Stack at Harrah’s Atlantic City, affirming his decision with a gold ring and a $20k score.
After being forced to take a step back from the game in the time since, Dees appears to be back in business. “I experienced a little pitfall over the last year or so and had to stop traveling,” he said. “So to get back on the Circuit — this is so validating.”
Although new to the area, Dees has already embedded himself in the Charlotte poker community, and he credits that group for helping keep his game sharp. “Man, just the support; everybody showered down congrats at me,” he said. “I feel like I’m an extremely good player, but only because I’ve been surrounded by other good players.”
The run to this victory was a difficult one for the new two-time winner. He entered the final table as one of the shorter stacks, but he eventually picked his way into a heads-up match against fellow ring winner Jason Maeroff. At one point early in the duel, Dees was flipping for his tournament life with ace-queen and one card from elimination, but a timely queen on the river saved his tournament life and doubled him into the chip lead.
Maeroff doubled right back before Dees was finally able to put him away, ending the heavy-hitting match with pocket jacks against Maeroff’s ace-nine in a preflop confrontation. Coincidentally, the two players had exactly the same chip count to begin the final hand, the same unusual situation by which Dees won his first ring last season, too.
As he continued to talk about his Ohio roots and the poker community from which he draws support, the happy-go-lucky Dees let a bit of emotion through: “Golly, man. I’m just so — you know how just get that feeling of just being so thankful? I could cry right now, you know what I mean? Golly.”