Faces in the Crowd: The Engineer, the Twitch Streamer and the Retiree-Turned-Grinder

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Jun 17, 2019 7 min read Last updated Dec 19, 2019

The 2019 World Series of Poker is in full swing, and Sunday was another exciting action-packed day. PokerNews caught up with a few of the players around the Rio to find out their stories for this edition of Faces in the Crowd, sponsored by 888poker. Read up the stories of an engineer, a retired VP of Sales, and a Twitch streamer - all chasing the dream of a gold bracelet.

Louis Helm: The Machine Learning Engineer

The WSOP attracts people from all over the world, and that's what makes it such a special series. Players travel from near and far to be a part of the biggest stage in poker. Some just hope to play live poker for a change of pace, and others escape to Las Vegas because live and/or online poker is illegal where they live.

The latter is true for Louis Helm (pictured above, right). He lives in Bali, Indonesia where live poker is illegal and online sites are few and far between.

Helm frequently travels the poker circuit, and is back this summer to take some shots. Back in 2017, Helm got heads up in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout event and finished in second place for $142,115 and his biggest career score. Beyond the six-figure score, Helm's next biggest cash was for $6,721.

This year, Helm made Day 2 of the same WSOP event he went deep in, the $3,000 Shootout. He got close to making the final table once again, but unfortunately was eliminated by YouTube star Johan 'Yoh Viral' Guilbert after an epic heads-up battle, taking home $6,099 for his efforts.

"He's a really intense opponent. He's a very capable player from what I can tell. He just threatened to call me with queen-high while in the tank and it would've been good," explained Helm.

"I like watching Twitch. I miss Somerville. I keep hoping today will be 'a day of the week,' but it never is."

"I'm in Bali working on a biotech start-up. It's pretty exciting tech - there are not a whole lot of public details about it," said Helm. He is a machine learning engineer and is doing some of the genetics research for this start-up project.

Helm has been a long-time Run It Up warrior as part of the group that supports Jason Somerville. "I like watching Twitch. I miss Somerville. I keep hoping today will be 'a day of the week,' but it never is," said Helm.

Another hero of Helm's is Justin Bonomo, who secured his final table spot already. He was hoping to get to play with him, but unfortunately fell short. "That dude's a legend. He's made more and given more to charity than anyone. Really smart. He's a very, very worthy opponent."

An organization that both Bonomo and Helm support is REG Charity. "I was never one of the board members, but I was one of the founding members that was around when they started it," Helm told PokerNews. He plans on donating a portion of his winnings to REG this summer, as he always has.

Christina Read: The Retiree-Turned-Grinder

On Day 2 of Event #34: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack, a woman who stood out in the crowd was Christina Read (pictured above, center). An advocate of the Women's Poker Association (WPA) and a crusher on the felt, Read is building a stack and looking to represent women in this massive field.

Read is a recent retiree and is pursuing poker as a full-time career. "I was a Finance Director in car dealerships for many years, and then moved over to the retail side. I was the VP of Sales for SunTrust Bank," Read told PokerNews.

When asked what made her want to retire and chase the poker dream, Read explained: "I had a pretty major medical issue last year, and couldn't drive around everywhere, which is required for the bank as a sales executive - I visit car dealers." Read was going to wait five more years to retire, but the love and passion she has for poker is what swayed her. "I talked to my husband and decided to give it a shot."

"I go and play ladies events because I want to go and support that. I just think it's fun, the camaraderie, and just helping it grow."

The poker grinder has had much success since going pro, with nine final tables in 2019 alone. "I'm pretty happy. I've had some pretty good success this year - still waiting on the one big payday!" smiled Read. She is currently on the road for a week to 10 days out of the month, and spends the rest of her time at home with her husband and grandchildren. "I really like it."

Read has two coaches in Jeff Madsen and Donna Blevins, covering the technical and psychological aspects of the game. "I typically get up, work out, eat a lot of protein and just spend a few minutes just along thinking about things," said Read of her pre-tournament routine.

In looking ahead at the upcoming Ladies' tournament week across town, Read reflects on ladies events as a whole. "There's so much opportunity for ladies in poker. We're four to five percent of the field. I love ladies' events. Those who would not normally play in open field events play those," said Read.

"I go and play ladies events because I want to go and support that. I just think it's fun, the camaraderie, and just helping it grow," said a passionate Read.

Justin Taylor Lapka: The Twitch Streamer

Another person that stood out in the crowd was Twitch streamer Justin Taylor Lapka (pictured above, left), also known as 'LappyPoker'. Just before the dinner break on Day 2 of the $1,000 Double Stack, Lapka updated his chip count to 1,160,000, placing himself atop the counts.

PokerNews caught up with Lapka, and he explained that he played a big pot just before the break. Lapka opened with king-jack on the button and got three-bet from the big blind. Lapka called and flopped the nut straight, getting the rest of his opponent's chips versus top two pair. Lapka propelled himself to the chip lead, sitting on 150 big blinds at dinner.

Lapka began streaming at the end of 2016, after Twitch icons Somerville and Jaime Staples put in the work to grow the community. "They were icons... Inspirations," said Lapka.

Back in 2003 during the Moneymaker era was when Lapka started to learn what poker was all about. "I was just a little boy, lost in the world, who was just looking for something to grasp on to and chase," said a passionate Lapka. He was about 13 years old at the time, when he spotted an interesting character.

"I saw this average joe crushing the so-called 'poker mafia', Sam Farha, who is the image of that slicked back, underground kind of industry."

"You just have to embrace all of the twists and turns that poker is going to take you on."

Another one of Lapka's inspirations is Justin Bonomo. He said he is inspired by anyone "who had the dream back when they were a young teenager, and then who realized it through hard work, through dedication, through resources."

As much as 'the dream' for most poker players is to win a bracelet and hit that big score, Lapka is taking a more balanced approach. "I just take it a day at a time. I'm trying to be the best poker player I can be. The best person, the best step-Dad, the best boyfriend."

"I'm going out here knowing that any hand here could be my last hand, you know. You just have to embrace all of the twists and turns that poker is going to take you on. Some of those are in your favor, some are not in your favor. You're not always going to be in control of it. That's just something that I tip my hat on," said Lapka.

As for Lapka's future, he hopes to make a difference in the world, outside of poker. "I'd love to be able to work in community projects, and work with youth, work with communities and building one another up. The world as we see it today, there's a lack of connectedness and that's what I wanna build up as I go forward in life, and it's a motivation for certain."

• Tags Louis Helm Christina Read Justin Taylor Lapka World Series of Poker Jason Somerville Justin Bonomo Twitch poker
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Justin BonomoJason SomervilleLouis HelmChristina Read