Edited by John Stokes

Poker is a game with no age limits, and that's just what 92 year old Ellen Deeb proved when she played in the World Series of Poker last month. Entering alongside her 26 year old poker pro grandson, Shaun Deeb, the pair from Troy made their mark on the event.

Shaun paid for the buy-in for both himself and his grandmother to the $10,000 Texas Hold'em Championship tournament that took place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from the 7th July to the 16th July. They played alongside 6,598 other entrants from 82 different countries.

Ellen was the oldest player entered into the World Series of Poker Main Event, both last year and this year. To mark her record, Ellen provided the shuffle up and deal on the first day of the tournament, an honour usually held for celebrities. She said, "I was able to thanks to my grandson. He has a great reputation with the WSOP."

However, she was eventually eliminated on day 1C of the event. Ellen remained positive about her efforts in the competition though saying, "I thought I did very well. I'm proud to be the age that I am and still playing poker."

Shaun faired rather better, having a good run that lasted until the fourth day and receiving $32,000 in winnings.

Ellen introduced Shaun to the world of poker at the tender age of five. He spent most of his time with his grandmother playing cards and developed a love for the game. He started holding poker tournaments from his house at the age of 16.


Ellen Deeb

Now a respected poker player Shaun travels and lives out of hotels to compete in some of the most infamous tournaments in the world, while Ellen is quite happy to keep playing cards locally.

Other players competing in this year's WSOP included Team PokerStars Pro Jan Heitmann, who seemed destined for greatness but unfortunately was knocked out in 26th Place.