Losing online poker hand still pays off for Penticton man

A Penticton man hit the jackpot to the tune of $377,000 in a recent lottery online poker win.

Chaudhary Irshad turned a losing poker hand into the winnings while playing PlayNow.com poker while at the table with seven other players.

He had ‘quad 10s,’ which is a tough hand to beat, but his opponent had a straight flush to win the hand, according to a B.C. Lottery Corporation media release.

Irshad’s losing hand gave him the Bad Beat Jackpot prize, however, which grows from every raked hand across PlayNow.com in British Columbia and Manitoba, as well as Quebec’s online gambling site, until the pot is won, BCLC said.

“It took a couple of seconds but it showed I had won the Bad Beat Jackpot for $377,948 and I was so excited,” Irshad says. “It’s a huge prize and it hasn’t sunk in yet."

Irshad plays poker on occasion at the Cascades Casino in Penticton. He signed on to PlayNow.com a month ago following the closure of B.C. casinos due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He hasn’t made any plans for his winnings, but would like to take his poker buddies on a vacation overseas once travel restrictions have been lifted.

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