It was late 2005 and poker was happily enjoying a boom phase that felt like it would never end. As one of the catalysts of the boom, the World Poker Tour was in the midst of unheard of and somewhat unbelievable growth. So much so that, 783 players made their way to Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, for what was, at the time, the single largest WPT event ever, the WPT World Poker Finals.

A quiet, sheepish-looking kid named Nick Schulman, who had never cashed in a live tournament before, made his way through that record-sized field to win $2,142,000 and become the youngest WPT winner at the time.

“You know it all happened so fast. It was so long ago, I feel a little embarrassed at this point. It was like 60 years ago. I don’t think I can remember back that far,” Schulman joked during a break at the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions at the ARIA Resort & Casino.

He was just 21 years old and had been crushing online for years at this point. Winning wasn’t new to him, and neither was the money that came with being a successful poker player. Being on such a massive stage was new though.

“I was young. It was one of my first (live) tournaments. It was an incredible experience – obviously, I had a lot of online experience, but for it to come together live on, I think it was the biggest WPT ever at the time. It was great,” Schulman said.

Reflecting how that night changed his life, the now 35-year-old admits he might not have been ready to go from screen name to household name. A 21-year-old with a bankroll that could choke a hippo might not have been the best combination for him at the time.

“I was kind of an animal. I wasn’t really looking at it like that,” Schulman said. “I was already deep in the gambling life and it didn’t change things as much as it probably should have.”

His poker career has taken multiple turns since that night at Foxwoods. He’s won an additional $9 million since then even though tournaments no longer take up most of his attention.

“I guess I’ve sort of gravitated more to be being a cash game player over the years. I still play some WPTs and I’ve just been a professional poker player and I’ve leaned cash games,” Schulman said.

Even though his WPT win came almost 14 years ago, Schulman couldn’t turn down a chance to play the WPT Tournament of Champions, especially after another former champ and good friend of his made the trip to Las Vegas to play.

“It’s a nice event. A buddy of mine, Taylor von Kriegenbergh, came out and he’s playing it. I’m just kind of hanging out with him and playing it as well,” Schulman said. “I love to play No Limit tournaments. A $15K No Limit tournament is right up my alley.”

As for the rest of his summer, Schulman doesn’t know what’s in store for him. The WSOP could be a draw, but Las Vegas high stakes cash games get very juicy during that time.

“I don’t know yet. I can’t pin it down at this point,” Schulman said. “I’m just going to see how the cash games develop and take it day-by-day.”