Retired NYPD Officer Wins $1 Million Playing Online Poker

A retired NYPD officer, Mike Kosowski, has won $1 million taking part in the FOX poker game show PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge after beating one of the world's top pros in a head-to-head game.

"It's unbelievable," he told The Post. "We're still on an emotional high every day. Every day I wonder, ‘Am I living a dream.'"

PokerStars.com is the largest online poker room and sponsors the Fox program.

Kosowski, who began playing poker on the Web following his retirement after being injured during the 9/11 attacks, beat out poker pro Daniel Negreanu.

"I said this guy's a pro, if he gets a chance to read me he's going to pick me off," he told the New York Post this weekend. "So, being a detective sergeant, I knew I couldn't let that happen.

"Playing against a pro is difficult," he added. "Because you know he knows the game inside and out. You can't take as many risks as you would against some guy in Atlantic City."

Kosowski was a first responder at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, who was helping evacuate survivors when the South Tower collapsed. He was knocked 10 feet in the air and suffered burns and injuries to his neck and back.

Ace King, Gambling911.com