Gambling and religion are two things that typically don’t go together which is why this particular story is rather unique. A 67 year-old gambler is combining his love for poker and his devout Buddhist faith in a beautiful way.
When Canadian-native Scott Wellenbach came in third place at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure tournament in the Bahamas, he found himself winning a staggering $671,240. While most gamblers would have taken the money and run, Scott decided to do something very different with the money.
Scott made the selfless decision to donate every penny of his winnings to charities like Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders.
Scott first started playing poker after winning a free trip to Las Vegas back in 2010, and he immediately got hooked. Before the tournament in the Bahamas, Scott had never won more than $72,000, which made this huge payday an even bigger deal for him.
Scott explained that while his meditation schedule varies, he typically meditates for at least one hour each day, and he does so for a much longer period of time when he is competing at a tournament.
Though he acknowledges that Buddhism and poker are contradicting, he does believe that the game offers some interesting insight in the religious philosophies he’s been taught.
“Poker gives you a tremendous opportunity to work with the heavens and hells of your mind,” Scott said. “You’re winning and losing every minute-and-a-half, and so some sense of how your hopes and fears go up and down with the passing circumstance of the world is brought to fore at the poker table.”
We applaud Scott for doing something so giving and selfless to help others! Find out more about him in the video below.
How can you not love this guy? Scott Wellenbach explains why he will be giving all of his winnings away. Watch that and then check our live #PCA updates as Wellenbach continues to compete for $1.5 million.
Updates: https://t.co/kuymOUG1Mf pic.twitter.com/S3WA9YFPkT
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) January 16, 2019
Watch the video below for more on Scott’s decision to donate his entire winnings.
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