– I don’t think it has completely sunk in yet. It still feels a bit absurd, says Espen Uhlen Jørstad from the hotel room in Las Vegas to news. It has been a strange few days for the poker player after he went all the way to the top of the poker WC at the weekend. Only now has he taken out and looked at his mobile again, says the 34-year-old from Steinkjer in Trøndelag. In addition to the cash prize, Espen Uhlen Jørstad also won a gold bracelet worth NOK 5 million. Several thousand unanswered messages – I just put the phone away for the first two days and just try to enjoy the moment. Now I have finally started to come down to earth again and started to feel it a bit, but it took some time. There are thousands of unanswered messages to go through. The whole of poker Norway, half of Steinkjer, the mayor and many others have congratulated the recent world champion, writes Steinkjer-Avisa. – I get starstruck when I see all the messages from people I myself look up to, both in the poker environment and in other contexts – such as Magnus Carlsen, Jørstad tells the newspaper. The recent world champion with the prize he won. Photo: Antonio Abrego NOK 100 million richer He will invest and spend the money on several poker tournaments. Beyond that, he has no big plans for them. – I’m just going to live the way I do now. I have no big ambitions to spend a lot of money. – No Lamborghini, he laughs. – Enormous achievement The Norwegian poker community rejoices over the victory. – It is almost a little difficult to put into dimensions, since it is something completely unique. It is the one big tournament that almost everyone wants to play in, says Tobias Leknes. Three-time Norwegian champion in poker, Tobias Leknes. Photo: Privat He has won the Norwegian poker championship three times and is impressed by what Jørstad has achieved. – It is an enormous achievement. It requires so much, both mentally and in terms of skills and of course also a good dose of fluency throughout the tournament for it to go his way, and he managed that, says Leknes. Can’t live in Norway Jørstad has lived in London and Thailand in recent years, but is currently traveling around the world without a permanent residence. He does not envisage moving back to Norway anytime soon. – I would very much like to have done it if the gaming policy in Norway had allowed it, but as it is now it is very difficult to be a poker player in Norway, he says. Norwegian law only allows poker playing in private homes with up to 20 participants, or in annual Norwegian championships. Poker games with deposits and winnings are not allowed. This is because poker is considered a game that gives a wholly or partly random outcome. Espen Uhlen Jørstad has played poker since 2004. The picture is from the tournament in Las Vegas. Within ten days, he beat 8,663 other poker players from around the world. Photo: Privat It is also not allowed to play poker with winnings online. Only Norsk Tipping can offer Norwegians such games online. – I hope that the politicians will come around and make it a little easier for Norwegians to be poker players and live in their own country, he says. Wanting to change the law, Jørstad gets the support of cultural policy spokesperson in the Progressive Party, Silje Hjemdal. – Of course, Espen Jørstad and other poker players should be allowed to play legally in Norway, as you can do in many other places around the world, says Hjemdal. She says Jørstad’s WC victory shows that poker is a game of skill. Now she hopes the victory will create a new debate about liberalizing Norwegian poker rules. – That is why I want to challenge the Minister of Culture, what she intends to do with this legislation. If necessary, the Progress Party will then have to put forward a separate proposal in the Storting, says Hjemdal. After the victory interviews, the recent world champion simply had to call his mother and shed a few tears. Photo: Steve Marcus / AP There were a few tears After the victory, Jørstad called his mother at home in Steinkjer. She followed the tournament online from home. – It was an hour behind, so I thought I would “spoil” the fun for her and call her and tell her now, says Jørstad. Jørstad himself says he is not a particularly easily touched person. Nevertheless, the phone call was emotional for both him and his mother. – When I heard how she reacted, I actually shed a few tears myself, he says.
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Espen Uhlen Jørstad from Steinkjer won the poker WC “WSOP Main Event” in Las Vegas – news Trøndelag
