QUALIFIERS - Pete  Malkoun

What's your home town?
Brookhaven, PA.

How about your education?
I attended West Chester University in Pennsylvania until my junior year when I realized I was just going play poker for the rest of my life.

What's your marital status?
Single.

What do you do for a living?
I’m a full time poker player.  

How long have you been playing poker?
About three years.

What or who inspired you to start playing?
My older brother inspired me to start playing poker without even knowing it. I was watching him play poker online one day and was wondering why he was folding K-10 pre-flop. I got curious, so I wanted to try it out and then I realized why he was folding certain hands like that if a raise occurred.

How long have you been playing at Bodog?
I would say I have been playing at Bodog for around one-and-a-half years.

Tell us about your best poker win...
My best poker win was in New York at Turning Stone casino when I won $30,616. It was a $1,000 + $70 buy-in. There was not a certain hand that I won it on because once we got down to the last four players at the final table we all decided to chop up the remaining prize money four ways according to chip stacks.

How did you win your seat?
I won a seat through the Main Event semifinal tournament by just buying straight in for the $250 + $20 and placing first in that. After I held up on the final hand of the tournament, I called my parents and some friends out of excitement to inform them that I was going to Las Vegas to play in this year’s WSOP* Main Event.

What do you think your chances are of winning the WSOP*?
Slim, because the field is enormous involving thousands of players, and a lot of your hands have to hold up from bad beats and draws. So luck will need to be a factor and obviously skill as well.

Who is your favorite poker player?
Daniel Negreanu.

What would you do if you won?
If I won, I would give some money to charity and my parents, buy a nice house, cars, vacation a lot, and invest.

What would your tagline be if you turned pro?
I have never really thought of a tagline for myself, but Pete “The Milkman” Malkoun sounds good.

What single story best defines you and your life?
I guess, the story of me playing poker and partying. That and the fact that my dad saved my life when I was like five years old and drowning in the ocean at Edisto Beach in South Carolina.

How will you spend your time off in Vegas?
I’m not sure about everything that I'm going to do in Vegas, but I would say bar-hopping sounds like a good idea.

What type of player are you?
Tight-aggressive.

Have you ever been to Vegas before? If so, any good stories?
I’ve never been to Vegas before. I’m expecting it to be wild, crazy and a lot of fun.