Two players from Galway's Eglinton Card Club have cashed in at the world's premier poker tournament in Las Vegas.

Pat O'Callaghan and Bernard Brady both qualified for the World Series of Poker through smaller buy-in tournaments to take their places among the 6,842 other participants.

The World Series of Poker began in 1970, with approximately 30 players and little interest surrounding the event. Today the event attracts the best players from around the globe and is televised by the ESPN sports network in America. Hardly a surprise, considering the total prize money on offer is a rather substantial $65 million.

Pat O'Callaghan and Bernard Brady made it down to the last 400 players, and returned to Galway last weekend with a combined total of nearly $60,000 in their back pockets.

Speaking to the Galway Independent earlier this week, Bernard Brady said he was absolutely shattered, but had had a great time of it in Las Vegas.

"It's a phenomenal achievement when you consider the small pool of players involved in the Eglinton club," he said.

Indeed Bernard was very quick to praise the standard of poker in the Eglinton as part of his success. "I think the experience I've gained at the IPC (Irish Poker Championship) in Galway stood me in good stead. It speaks volumes of the standards of play in Galway really."

Despite the presence of a host of professional poker players, Bernard admitted he was very relaxed. "There were pros at each table but I was still confident enough and wasn't overawed at all. I just tried to play my normal game. It's all about hanging in there and being resilient. It always helps that you're patient too. The first few days were ferociously tight but after that then it really opened up.

"I think I could have gotten a lot further but when you get knocked out you're always disappointed and you're thinking, 'I was unlucky there,' but you forget all the times you've gotten lucky to get to that point," explained a philosophical Bernard, adding, "You have to have a lot of luck anyway."

The unassuming Tuam carpenter is also very appreciative of the support he received during his trip. "I had my brother over there with me and the phone was going 90, with calls and text messages just wishing me the best. It was great having Pat there too because there were times when one of us would be down and the other would be egging him on."

A delighted Bernard said he was still recovering in terms of catching up his sleep but would be back in the Eglinton on Friday for a league final.

Fintan Gavin of Irish Poker Events and the Eglinton Card Club also paid tribute to the performances of Pat and Bernard. "The World Series is really the world's ultimate poker tournament, so the performance of the two lads is just fantastic," said Fintan. "We're not surprised they got so far though, as they are two of our best players here every Wednesday night," he added

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