Peter Eastgate, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event winner has given up the poker life. Eastgate is only 24 years old. I guess I can see wanting to get away from the poker circuit and try new things at 24 years old. This is a standard deal with these kids anyway. they run all over the globe and do the poker lifestyle bit. there is always a new tournament to go to somewhere. Rather than just say they are taking a break and cooling it at home for a while to recharge, they get into absolutes and talk about their soul and identity. In a couple years they will pop back onto the poker scene and talk about their “renewed passion for the game” and being a “more balanced person now”. So good luck in finding yourself Peter Eastgate, see you in a couple years.
From the Pokerstars Blog:
“When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008. The period following has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience. In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high level poker along the way and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank Pokerstars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”
Michael Holmberg, Pokerstars Nordics Director had this to say:
“We know that poker will miss this world class player and world class role model, but Pokerstars has only the deepest respect for Peter’s decision. Poker is about determination and excitement and if Peter lacks this in his game, the right decision is to take a break, Peter has played amongst world champions and he has carried his title in the most admirable fashion. Tournament after tournament, the young poker player from Odense, Denmark has achieved great results and has established himself as one of the greatest natural talents the poker world has ever seen.”