Military veteran Jeremy Linville is one of the King of the Club WPT qualifiers for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. (Submitted photo)

The latest ClubWPT promotion offers players the chance to become the ‘King of the Club‘ and head to Hollywood, FL to play at a televised table for a shot at $37,000 in prizes.

By qualifying through tournaments available on ClubWPT.com, 16 players earn a seat to play in an invitational tournament under the bright lights of the WPT final table at the last event of the WPT season.

One of the first players to claim his seat as part of the promotion was Delaware’s Jeremy Linville. The 33-year-old Linville happened to be watching the WPT on TV one night earlier this winter when he saw the promotion and took advantage of a free trial initial sign-up. To win his seat, Linville was one of eight players to outlast the field of 336 in the first KOTC Finale. He plays poker at local casinos in Delaware and his trip to Florida will be his first time playing on television.

While some players might feel some pressure being on TV, the atmosphere will be far from intimidating for Linville, who served multiple tours in Afghanistan. Linville served as part of the 82nd Airborne from 2006 to 2012 and earned a Purple Heart for his service. While overseas, Linville first learned poker while playing with fellow troops using snacks as chips.

A self-described “adrenaline junkie,” Linville looks forward to the challenge of playing against the best and was in shock when he earned his seat.

“When I won, I was like ‘these things don’t happen to me.’ It’s going to be a one of a kind experience to play in this event and a nice getaway. I’m excited to be in Florida,” said Linville.



After returning home from deployment, Linville enrolled at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the Biology program and is concentrating in pre-medical studies. Linville is a full-time student there and has less than 30 credits left to finish before graduation. He says he hopes to become a Physician’s Assistant once he graduates and would like to eventually achieve his Doctorate in the medical field.

Linville’s interest in medicine stems from his time enlisted in the military. As part of the Combat Triage unit, Linville was responsible for performing immediate medical procedures on soldiers injured in battle and realized those skills could translate into a career outside of the military.

“I first learned how to treat combat injuries at Fort Bragg and I gained triage experience from the military. My job was a ‘Combat Lifesaver’ and the situations were to do your job or somebody is going to die,” said Linville.

Being a part of the military brotherhood is something that Linville values greatly. In 2008, Linville was injured two months before the end of his tour and thought for months on end about rejoining his “family” back in Afghanistan. Less than eight months later, Linville was back overseas and served another tour that ended in 2010 and served one more tour before joining civilian life in May 2012.

“The adrenaline rush kicks in once you know you’re in the money. Once you get it down the money, it’s a matter of being smarter to get the max dollar. I’m excited to play in something of this magnitude. At the end of the day, it’s just a poker match. Nobody is going to be shooting at me at the table,” said Linville, with a laugh.

The subscription-based ClubWPT.com offers players the opportunity to play tons of online poker tournaments for a yearly fee of $19.95/month. Prizes on the site include seats into WPT Main Tour events, cash, and other prizes.