Last week, right here on Silver Oak, I posted about a poker playing priest who was set to appear on the debut episode of a new poker reality show. Well, yesterday he appeared, and kicked some serious butt. Father Andrew Trapp took home $100,000 on the first episode of The Million Dollar Challenge, and also won the first seat at an upcoming game where the winner will win a cool one million bucks.

So what did he have to do to win the hundred g’s? It wasn’t easy. Father Trapp had to win a series of head-to-head Hold ‘Em matches, against competitors with a wide variety of experience. His first match was against fellow amateur, John Salley, a former NBA champ. When he dispatched the basketball star, he next sat down to play PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso. Shockingly, he was able to take out the much more experienced player with a mix of aggressive play and some card luck.

But it was the next match that makes you wonder if there was some divine intervention. Father Trapp took on three-time WSOP bracelet winner, and one of the top poker pros in the world, Daniel Negreanu. Though he showed obvious signs of nervousness, Trapp held his own against Negreanu, and eventually won the match when his pair of 8s held up against a missed straight-draw. He’ll now have to wait until the show’s finale in November, where he’ll play one more match, with the winner of that one taking home a million bucks.

So what does he plan to do with his winnings? Donate it to his church, of course. He says he’s already handed over the $100,000, and if he wins the million dollar grand prize, that’ll be donated too.

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