Joseph 'Joe' Cada was born in 1987 and grew up to be a normal kid. At 16, he was just like any other teenage boy - with the exception of one thing; his fascination with poker. Joseph began playing poker online a lot. His interest in online poker grew rapidly and his profits did the same. He had the talent, patience and an eye for the game, which he proved during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). That year, Joe became the world's youngest poker winner in the main event of the WSOP!
The WSOP is poker's equivalent of the World Cup in football. It is a huge accolade as a poker player to win a race in the tournament. Winning the Main Event of the WSOP is an even greater achievement that all poker professionals dream of experiencing. The WSOP event in 2009 was the 40th time that the tournament was organized and there were few who knew that the ultimate winner would be the youngest ever.
Joe Cada was not a well-known person amongst the poker elite by the time he became a WSOP champion. He had played at a professional level for six years when the sought-after award was handed to him and had managed to earn $551,788 during his career. Despite his poker successes, there were few who believed that Joe would ever win the WSOP. He won $8.5 million and a professional contract with PokerStars worth $1,000,000 when he won the WSOP in 2009. He won the title a week before his 22th birthday - a rare gift for most people of that age! Shortly after his win, he attended the Late Show with David Letterman, which broadcasts on CNN, CBS News and CNBC. Joe Cada became famous overnight and he quickly became an ambassador for the poker world.
When Cada won the title in 2009, his plan was to buy a second home in Las Vegas and open a restaurant. He bought himself a new home, but there was no time for him to move into restaurant ownership, as his poker career took up too much of his time. He did eventually make his restaurant dream a reality, but it wasn't until 2011. He then opened Cada's Poker & Sports Bar near his hometown in Michigan.
Joe's win also resulted in a new role model for younger poker players. He revealed that poker is not about age and luck; instead it is about logical thinking, determination and mathematics.