Making the largest score in his seven-year poker career, Clearwater, Florida’s Paul Siem recorded his first six-figure payday by finishing in 42nd place in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event for $191,000.Siem made his first tournament cash back in 2005 at a preliminary event during the Mirage Poker Showdown in Las Vegas, but it would take another couple of years for him to make a return visit to the payout cage. He would add three cashes at the Gold Strike World Poker Open in Tunica, Mississippi in 2007 and two more over the next couple of years.
The first time Siem made the money in a WSOP event was back in 2009, when he finished 33rd in a $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event. He earned his second World Series of Poker cash in 2011 in a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event, but through this entire time, none of his cashes were for five-figures.
That would all change with Siem’s performance in the 2012 WSOP. In early June, he finished in 20th place in a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournament, earning the first five-figure cash ($16,004) of his career. With that performance, Siem entered the Main Event and made his largest tournament cash to date. Talk about great timing.
Siem’s demise came against Russell Thomas very late on Day 6. After Germany's Jan Heitmann opened the betting for 175,000 and Thomas flatted, Siem moved all-in for slightly more than 1.5 million in chips. While Heitmann departed, Thomas made the call and showed pocket queens, in the lead against Siem’s A-10. Although an ace appeared in the window, a queen soon followed to give Thomas a set. Once the river ran dry, Siem was out in 42nd place.
For his efforts, Siem earned his first ever six-figure cash, $191,646. We're confident we'll be seeing more of this Florida poker player in the future.
