David Guay's Turn in Main Event

Earlier this summer, Pablo Mariz became poker’s newest millionaire. The Canadian outlasted a 7,761-player field to claim one of the World Series of Poker’s largest payouts, a $1.2 million score in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker. The scene after Mariz’s victory was full of emotion, primarily with his friend and teammate, David Guay.

A week before the win, Mariz and Guay played in the $1,000 Tag Team event. They finished as runners-up but a few days later, they had won the bracelet they had been working towards for years. Fast forward to the end of the summer and Guay is still alive in the WSOP Main Event, looking to become a millionaire himself.

“The thing is, this year I pray for my boy,” Guay said, referencing Mariz. “He is so good, he deserved something. I prayed for him and now it is my turn.”

That turn has yet to really take hold of Guay. Even though the opportunity to become poker’s next table of millionaires is staring in him the face, with 36 players remaining in the Main Event, he believes that this run is only the beginning.

“For now, I’m on the top of my game. I know that in six months, one year, I will be better and better.” Guay said, before returning to the task at hand and adding, “With my style, my lines, my chips and with my big ego, my big heart; I will be hard to beat.”

The journey to Day 6 of the Main Event has certainly included ego and heart. Guay made reference to a hand near the bubble, where he bluffed all-in and forced a fold from an opponent that had a set, but his journey to the World Series may have taken even more heart.

Guay quit his job just weeks before the WSOP started and followed Mariz to Las Vegas. The original plan was to stay in Sin City for two weeks but over the course of the last two months, the pair have cashed in nine World Series events and extended their stay after each one.

With an above average stack just one table from the end of Day 6, Guay and Mariz will likely be extending their stay again tonight. While Guay battles at the outer PokerGO feature table, Mariz is directly behind him, on the rail, confident that lightning can strike twice.

“I’m feeling confident for him. Right now, everything is in line for him to reach the final table.” Mariz said on the last break, before concluding, “I’ve had my turn, now it is his.”