Beating the Odds

Local poker prodigy Anthony Spinella has just begun his illustrious career

Story and photos by Ceilidh Clark

It’s 6:17 p.m. and the main thing worrying Anthony Spinella, online poker mogul, is that he forgot to buy milk.    

Anthony Spinella sits comfortably in his loft apartment in Plattsburgh NY; there are couches, a large flat screen TV, and several DVD’s lining the wall.  The window is open, and a warm breeze, uncommon at this time of the year in the North Country, gently flows into the kitchen.     

From a young age, Spinella was actively interested in poker.  “My family has always played it recreationally and my older brother played it with his co-workers,” Spinella says.  A lover of computer and video games of all kinds, Spinella remembers getting into trouble playing online poker at an early age.  “I would always log into my brother’s account and lose a lot of money,” Spinella says with a grin.

Although Spinella is a professional poker player today, he had a rocky start.  “I started playing cash games and I was really bad,” Spinella says.  “I didn’t know what I was doing.”  But then Spinella began to focus his attention solely on online tournaments.    
When Spinella was 19, he transferred to SUNY Albany.  While at Albany, he got into studying Texas Hold’em (a form of poker), and played with his friends on the lacrosse team.  While there, he met his poker mentor, who helped him hone his skills.

On November 30, 2008, Spinella checked into the hotel at Turning Stone Casino.  He had $8,000 on him at the time, and he was ready to play his first tournament.  With a $125 buy-in, Spinella won the satellite tournament [a small tournament in which the winner gets a free buy-in to a larger tournament] and the next day, he split the final pot for $16,000. 

"Finally, at four in the morning, with a click of a button, Anthony Spinella won $93,000, more money than the average farmer makes in seven years"

When Spinella arrived at his hotel room after his $16,000 win, he was surprised to see cleaners, casino personnel, and the police at his door.  They had found .001 grams of marijuana in his room, and forced him to wait in his room until he could get a ride home with his friends.  “I got arrested in Turning Stone, and they made me stay in my room,” Spinella recalls.  “While I was stuck in my room, I won an online tournament for $14,000.”

One lifetime ban from Turning Stone and two weeks later, Spinella faced another challenge-taking his finals at the University of Albany.  It was a Thursday night, and the campus was empty; most of the students had already gone home for the semester, but Spinella sat glued to his computer, several hours into an online poker tournament.  Finally, at four in the morning, with a click of a button, Anthony Spinella won $93,000, more money than the average farmer makes in seven years.   From November 30th, 2008, to December 17th, 2008, Spinella went from $8,000 to $120,000.  

Not surprisingly, Spinella slept through his last final on sociology.  He began to win more online satellite tournaments, and began to travel.  It was a satellite win sending him to Italy that led Spinella to seriously consider making online poker his career.  “I grinded a lot and tried to win money, and I had a feeling I could do well,” Spinella says.  His online poker career has led Spinella to several overseas excursions including trips to South America, Italy, Europe, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and his latest trip (from November 7-17 2009) to Amsterdam. 

Also giving Spinella confidence was his amazing poker summer of 2009.  In June, he won a “Monday 1 K” tournament, bringing in $101,000.  The next month was even better; in July he won an online Full-Tilt tournament for $143,000.  Since the beginning of his poker career, Spinella has appeared in 17 World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments, and a reputation as one of the most dangerous young poker players on the internet. 

As far as a routine, Spinella calmly explains that he usually just tries to be as comfortable as he can every Sunday, when he plays up to 14 hours of poker, playing up to eight tournaments at a time.  “I try and not drink too much the night before,” Spinella explains.   “I like to sit on the couch and relax, do push-ups, and wash my face to keep fresh for the tournaments.”

So is “Holdplz,” Spinella’a online alias (his friends on international poker trips address him by this name) afraid of losing his money?  “I’ve already done that,” Spinella says with a laugh.  “I’ve loaned out and invested a lot, so I’m already trying to win more.”    

SUNY Plattsburgh student Kyle McCarten, Spinella’s roommate, insists that Spinella is the best person to live with.  On Sundays, while Spinella is making a living, McCarten cooks him food, usually pasta and pancakes.  “Just don’t get in his way on Sundays,” McCarten says with a laugh.     

So what is the best part about being a professional online poker player?  “The comfortability of the life I live, other than the stress from the job itself,” Spinella says.  “I meet tons of new people from everywhere.” 

And so, as Spinella relaxes on an unseasonably warm Thursday night, he muses over the extraordinary ride that has turned into a poker career while munching a breakfast sandwich, still wishing he had a glass of milk.    

Are you A Professional Online Poker Player?