Is poker a young man’s game?

It certainly seems that way at times.

Five of the nine people who made the final table at Event #13 of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, were aged in their 20s.

When it was all over, the winner of the event was 23-year-old Kevin Stammen of Coldwater, Ohio, USA, picking up his first WSOP championship gold bracelet.

The event was a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament with a $2,500 buy-in, a prize pool of about $2.5 million, 1,088 entrants and 117 payouts.

The victory earned Stammen, a long-haired, bearded, overweight poker pro, a cool half-million bucks–$506,786 to be exact.

It was the seventh time he has cashed out in a WSOP event in his career.

Finishing in second place in the tourney was Angel “Boloban” Guillen of Mexico City, Mexico, who earned $312,800.

Taking third was Shawn Glines of Las Vegas, who earned $202,694.

The only big poker name finishing in the money in the event was Phil “Poison” Ivey, who finished in 18th place.

At a post-tournament press conference, Stammen described himself as a poker addict.

“My life is pretty crazy,” he said. “I play a lot of cash games and have done that ever since I can remember. I’ve always been a poker player. Ever since I was like 15 or 16, I played poker in the clubs in Ohio. I used to play in some of the small tournaments they had when I was younger.”

He also said winning a WSOP championship gold bracelet is the highlight of his poker career.

“It’s good to have a bracelet,” he said. “Last year I came out here and cashed four times. I got close a few times. But I took a few beats. This sure makes up for it.”

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)