Joe Cada Embraces, Phil Ivey Leaves Red Faces
He's young, handsome and cheerful....and he's the new "champion of poker". Meet Joe Cada. At the ripe old age of 21, this Michigan native is the youngest World Series of Poker main event winner ever.
Along with all the poker news outlets - Gambling911.com being one - the mainstream media was loving Cada's success as well.
Unlike the World Series of Poker final table's "big star" Phil Ivey, who declined interviews leading up to this week's final table and brushed off media after his elimination, Cada, who represents PokerStars.com, seems more than willing to embrace the media and do what he can to help the sport of poker.
"Poker has been my life for a while now, so obviously I want to see it grow. Whatever the community needs me to do, I'll do. I'm psyched about the responsibility," Cada told Time Magazine.
The Guardian Newspaper out of London heralded Cada as "the new champion of poker".
"(Darvin) Moon played powerfully heads-up, but promising professional Cada is the stronger winner. We will get to know him better now. He's no Ivey but maybe, one day, he will be."
The Guardian was also quick to take a shot at Ivey after his abrupt exit.
If the world's greatest player makes the world's biggest final, you want him to prove a point by winning, or contribute to a fairytale around the man who outplays him. You don't want him stumbling away after an absurd beat that makes the whole thing look like a lottery.
Ace King, Gambling911.com