The 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate announced that he is officially coming out of retirement to re-ignite his career as a professional poker player. Eastgate retired in the summer of 2010 after becoming disillusioned with life as a professional poker player. He even went on to auction his 2008 WSOP bracelet which sold for $147,500. All of the money raised was given to a charity.
However, now Eastgate has revived his love for the game and is back with a new passion and lease of life for the poker world. He will make his return by playing in two tournaments sponsored by PokerStars, whom he considers to have been very supportive during his controversial retirement stint. The first will be the PokerStars EPT event in Copenhagen and the second will be the NBC Heads Up Championship.
This association with PokerStars has caused a lot of speculation because it coincides with Greg Raymer’s acrimonious departure from the Team PokerStars Pro roster. Did PokerStars let Raymer go because Eastgate was in the pipe line or did they go after Eastgate because Raymer decided to leave? The questions are mounting.
Nonetheless, the 25 year old Dane who comes from the small Danish suburb of Dalum in Odense is one of the biggest names in poker right now even having spent the last 6 months out of action. He has always courted controversy due to his laissez-faire attitude towards life and in some respects this approach has earned him even more respect and adulation.
His return is not only an exciting prospect for poker but also a warning shot to all of those players out there with one eye on the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Peter Eastgate is back and he has rekindled that fire in his belly. The best thing about him is that you just never know what he’s going to bring to the table, literally and figuratively speaking!
