A few days ago, we discussed how the 2012 WSOP Main Event final table has officially been decided. Furthermore, little known Jesse Sylvia currently leads this group with 43,875,000 chips, which puts him in the best position to win the $8.5 million first place prize. Taking this fact into account, it’s no wonder why much of the poker community is currently interested in Sylvia. We’re also pretty interested in him, which is why we’ve discussed the current 2012 Main Event leader below.

Strange Origins

Most people spend their lives trying to get a place on Martha’s Vineyard island in Massachusetts. However, Sylvia moved away from the beautiful vacation spot in order to further his poker career.

The Tisbury, Massachusetts native spent his high school days waiting tables and playing online poker on Martha’s Vineyard. Some time after graduation, Sylvia chose to move to Las Vegas because he wanted a better live poker scene. Following his move to Sin City, Sylvia has made a good living through live cash games.

First Poker Tournament Success

While Jesse Sylvia has no doubt proven himself in the mid-stakes cash games in Las Vegas, he’s just now coming into some poker tournament success. Before bolting into the Main Event final table lead, his largest cash of $15,078 came in a 2008 Mega Stack Series side event. He also took 175th in a 2011 WSOP NLHE tourney, which earned him $2,954.

The average grinder wouldn’t mind either of these cashes; however, it’s hardly enough to make one a poker star. But a Main Event title…..now that’s definitely a different circumstance. Of course, we may be getting ahead of ourselves here because Sylvia still has to win the WSOP Main Event, which has proven to be a tall order for chip leaders in the past. But Sylvia no doubt has the experience and skills to win if he runs good.