Belfast Poker Man Wins A Million

Belfast-born professional poker player, Andy Black, was last night celebrating scooping $1,750,000 (approximately £1 million) in Las Vegas.

Andy, who turned 40 on Wednesday, is this morning enjoying life as a very wealthy man, after finishing fifth in the glitzy World Series of Poker Championships.

At one stage, he'd been in pole position to win the $7,500,000 jackpot, an extraordinary performance given there were 5,619 entrants in the marathon event.

Andy, now based in Dublin, had reportedly partially gleaned his $50,000 entry fee for the glamorous Vegas event, by getting his poker buddies and dealers at the city's Merrion Club casino to back him, in exchange for 20% of his winnings.

He began playing poker nearly 20 years ago while studying law at Trinity, but instead of being called to the bar, he has followed a lucrative career at the tables.