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Like many poker players and fans, Mike Baldiwn and his wife tuned in to PokerGO in the summer of 2024 to check out the action in the World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event. A commercial popped up detailing the opportunity for subscribers to win a seat in the tournament. His subscription actually ran out during this time and it seemed like a good time to re-up.
“Wouldn't that be crazy?” he said to wife about potentially winning the seat.
Fast forward a few months and that notion became a bit of déjà vu when he was named the winner and will now be among the field of thousands of players this summer.
“At first I could not believe it. I thought there was no way,” he says. “I got the year subscription and honestly forgot all about it until I got the email from Donnie Peters. I reached out to him on Twitter to make sure it was real. Once we spoke on the phone, I knew it was real because I recognized his voice immediately from listening to his podcasts. I’m honestly still in shock!”
Business Owner & Poker Player
Born in Norwich, New York, and now living in Weeki Wachee, Florida, Baldwin has been playing poker for 20 years after watching the WSOP on television. He first started playing at Turning Stone Casino in Oneida, New York, which soon led to his first WSOP event in 2015, where he finished 2,201st in the first Colossus event. He’s now played in some smaller series events every year or two since and has more than $28,000 in live tournament winnings.
“I am a product of the MoneyMaker boom,” he says. “I love the calm and peacefulness. I like to wear headphones and just get lost in the game.”
Baldwin prefers tournament play and normally jumps in events in the few hundred-dollar range. His largest buy-in was the $1,000 Mystery Bounty event at the WSOP in 2023. He now will ramp that up even more with the Main Event seat. As a music fan, Baldwin likes to complement his play with different types of tunes throughout a tournament, depending on situation
“I like to get in a groove and change my music based on my chip count and position in the tournament to help my mood,” Baldwin says. “If I need to relax, a little slower music. If I need to be aggressive, I like to put on something a little more upbeat.”
In his life away from poker, Baldwin is self-employed and owns Royal Pool Service. He and his wife Heather have three children: Blake, 12; Blair, 10; and Blayn, 8. His greatest poker accomplishment actually involved Heather and the event is still a bit of a bone of convention apparently.
“My wife and I once placed first and second at the Turning Stone tournament,” he says. “We chopped when it got down to us. She claims she got first because she had more chips. But she didn't! I was first!”
Coach, Family Man, & Card Player
Away from the tables, Baldwin loves to fish and coaches youth football. He’s also the type of guy who sees a problem and seeks a solution. That goes to finding a solution for his son’s football team. His youngest son is a world champion flag football player and played in the world championship last year on ESPN+.
“Unfortunately the league that we were a part of was found to have been stolen from by the president and that they had been faking safety stickers on our equipment,” he says. “So we went ahead and are trying to build a better league. We are in the middle of fundraising right now for new equipment for our league. My wife and I, along with our amazing board, just started a non-profit youth football league called the Gulf Coast Stingers.
“I am extremely proud of my work with the youth and coaching football, and now building a new organization the right way to help support our local youth and build young men and women with our non-profit entity Gulf Coast Youth Athletics Inc.”
Family is an important part of Baldwin’s life and he considers raising his kids as the biggest accomplishment of his life. No doubt Heather and the family will be looking for updates as he plays in Las Vegas this summer. Some of his preparation will also include checking out some action on PokerGO in the coming months.
“I love PokerGO because I love to relax and watch tournaments and strategy that players use,” he says. “I like to try and guess bet sizing and moves before the players make them.”
When it comes to following poker, Daniel Negreanu is his favorite player and the poker-playing dad loves listening to his podcasts and watching his vlogs. A close second is Brent Hanks, “only because he's in the Bills Mafia!” Baldwin is a Buffalo fan also, and has the team’s logo tattooed on his leg. Perhaps some Bills magic will be a bit of good luck this summer in the series.
Baldwin is looking to spread the wealth after his stroke of luck in winning the Main Event seat – offering friends 10% of his action at no markup and donating 10% directly to the Gulf Coast Youth Athletics. What’s his favorite thing about the WSOP?
“The thought of getting a bracelet,” he says. “It would be amazing to hold that bracelet and take that picture!”
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