A farmer from small-town Saskatchewan is hoping to strike it big at a $10-million US poker tournament.

Doug Gattinger of Neudorf, 137 kilometres east of Regina, got on a plane to Las Vegas Thursday bound for the World Series of Poker.

Doug Gattinger is dreaming of poker millions.
CBC

Gattinger said he plays poker daily and has done "reasonably well" over the past year — winning a few thousand dollars here and there. 

However, his big break came last week when he qualified for the World Series.

In doing so, he won an all-expenses-paid trip, plus the $10,000 buy-in for the tournament.

"I was very surprised. Just went in online with a $16 entry fee, like a bit of a lotto, I guess, but I made it," he said.

In Las Vegas, he'll be seated next to the world's best and playing for a much bigger pot.

The winner will walk away with $10 million.

Big-time players may be intimidating

Ironically, Gattinger has played relatively few games of poker in the offline world.

"It will be quite a bit different than playing online," he said. "A lot of these professionals are used to playing live poker and we will see if I have a poker face."

Gattinger says playing against the poker stars he watches on TV may be intimidating. He's been thinking about using sunglasses, and says one person he knows joked he should bring his welding helmet along.

Rooting for him at home will be his wife, Nadine.

"When he first started out, I thought maybe it was a pastime for him," she said. "Then he started watching it on TV and talking about how good it would be if he could get to Vegas, and dreaming about it, so I knew he was quite serious."

The tournament, which is expected to attract 8,000 people, runs until Aug. 10.

Gattinger says his chances of winning are slim, but luck and skill will determine the outcome.

"It's hard to say until I get there," he said. "They have to get the cards the same way I do. But they have been around the block a few times. It should be interesting to see if I can compete against the world's best.