magic_logoMy neighbor went to the Magic world championship a few years ago (his friend won). After that, he ditched Magic and switched to Pro Poker. Odd but anomalous, I thought.

Apparently not so anomalous.

Apparently, a number of Pro Poker players have backgrounds rooted in the CCG. David Williams was a top ranked Magic player who went on to come in 2nd in the 2004 WSOP and has made millions of dollars. (source) Noah Boeken has a similar story. (source) Brock Parker played Magic, became interested in Poker, and just won twin victories in the 2009 WSOP. (source) Others: source, source, source.

Wizards noted this phenomenon in 2004 and made light of it. Another source from 2006 notes the high stakes in Magic, but even higher stakes in poker.

Meanwhile, downtime at the 2009 WSOP was Scrabble. (source)