Matt Vengrin, one of the poker world’s most promising young professional players, decided to shift his attentions elsewhere for just one weekend and acted as a judge in the Miss California Teen USA beauty pageant.
Not that Vengrin has anything to complain about as a member of Team Absolute Poker, where he shares a table with the lovely Lacey Jones and the reality TV stunner, Trishelle Cannatella.
The Absolute Poker pro joined other judges at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage to help decide among the bevy of beauties who would be crowned Miss California Teen this year and succeed the reigning queen, Chelsea Gilligan of Beaumont.
“As a poker player, I know how fierce competition can be,” said Vengrin. “Just like playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), these girls are in for a grueling, but fun weekend, and I’m excited to be an integral part of the experience.”
The girls were judged based on their performance in an interview with the judges, as well as their appearance in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. They were also expected to have “character, poise, confidence and personality,” according to the official Miss California website.
The 24 year old Matt Vengrin is certainly living it up and enjoying the good life (and the perks that go with it) since he burst onto the poker scene. He has won nearly $2 million playing at Absolute Poker and other sites, and has also taken his talent to land poker tournaments.
2009 has certainly been a good year for Vengrin. He has finished in the top ten of no less than six popular online poker tournaments, grabbing first place in a recent No Limit Hold ‘em competition where he won $61,000.
Vengrin’s latest appearance was at the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic where he took home $13,280 for his 27th place in the Main Event.
And for the record, here’s Vengrin’s theory on the chance versus skill element in poker that has become a hot topic in the US these days. In a recent interview, Vengrin said: “Poker is a lot of short term luck. You have to get lucky in tournament poker to win tournaments, but it usually takes a lot of skill to close when you do get chips. Luck also has a lot of factors such as getting lucky by winning your flips, and not getting unlucky (KK vs AA). I think short-term, there is probably around 35% luck, and long-term there is about 1% luck.”
