What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?

About eleven years ago, on March 18, 2015, I was living in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Riots erupted during the opening of the European Central Bank’s new headquarters.

I found myself caught up in the unrest while escorting an eight-year-old Turkish girl with autism to school as part of Germany’s federal volunteer program, the Bundesfreiwilligendienst.

It wasn’t my first riot. In 1983, I was caught up in anti-American riots in the Caribbean. Nonetheless, I got the young Turkish girl home safely.

However, if somebody had told me back then that ten years later I’d be riding a Harley-Davidson, dealing cards at the World Series of Poker, and owning a Las Vegas townhouse, I would never have believed them.

In May 2015, I returned to America to pursue a job opportunity. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out, and I found myself homeless in Las Vegas. Through a homeless veterans program, I was able to obtain my military benefits and begin getting my life back together.

Meanwhile, I was doing gig work for Amazon Flex. I had found a shopping mall conveniently located between three Amazon warehouses, making it a good place to book delivery blocks.

One day, a job fair was set up at the mall where I drank coffee and booked delivery blocks. There, I saw a recruiting booth for Crescent School of Gaming and Bartending. I met the owner, and before long, I was attending gaming school.

That led to two years working as a blackjack dealer at Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas. Eventually, I returned to school to learn poker.

In 2025, I dealt my first World Series of Poker. In 2026, I returned for my second.

And now I’m hoping to make it three years in a row in 2027.

Eleven years ago, I was escorting a little girl to school through the streets of Frankfurt. Today, I’ve dealt two World Series of Poker tournaments in Las Vegas. And somewhere along the way, I even bought myself a townhouse here in Las Vegas, something else I never imagined I’d own.

I certainly never saw that coming.