If you’ve played a lot of poker in Atlantic City the last couple of years, especially at the Taj Mahal, you may have found yourself sitting across the table from Dwyte Pilgrim, who is getting attention as an up-and-coming pro at the World Series of Poker this year.

Pilgrim is considered the greatest player in WSOP Circuit history (a circuit which often passes through Harrah’s-owned A.C. casinos such as Caesars), with 20 circuit cashes and about $425,000 in winnings at circuit events (his total tournament winnings is at $689,000).

And he got much of his experience in Atlantic City according to a nice profile at cardplayer.com.

Pilgrim initially began playing online in 2006 from his home in Brooklyn, but realized he needed some live competition to get truly good.

“When I was learning in Brooklyn, there weren’t really a lot of people playing in my neighborhood, so for me to get information and get better I had to go online, or get books, or play in the casinos to learn for myself,” Pilgrim tells the website. “When you first start out no one really wants to discuss the game with you. You have to be at there level. It’s like learning a new language with all of the different slang.”

So he moved to Atlantic City and became a regular at Taj cash games.

“Basically, I saw that a lot of money could be made,” says Pilgrim of his time at the Taj. “That was when I saw that it was a game I could play for the next 50 years, and if I got good at it I could make a lot of money. I was also drawn to the competitive aspect of it.”

His first tournament was the 2008 Borgata Winter Open followed by cashes at six WSOP circuit events in A.C.  He then started following circuit events on the road, to obvious success.

This year marks his first at the WSOP.

“I think you will see the full package,” he says. “I have worked the past two years to get my game to where it is right now. I’m doing what I do without the support behind me that a lot of players have and I’m competing with them.”

You can read the full profile here.

Tags: Atlantic City Poker, Dwyte Pilgrim, Poker headlines

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