Dream Job Australia Finalists

Meet the Finalists and vote for your winner now

Here are the 10 Dream Job Australia Finalists. They now have six weeks to convince you why they should win the Dream Job. The ultimate winner will become a PokerStars.net sponsored player and win an AUD $60,000 salary and AUD $40,000 in tournament entries to ANZPT events.

As part of their challenge, the Finalists must meet with Team PokerStars Australia, take a poker knowledge test, and attend PokerStars.net events like the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) tournament in Sydney, where you can catch up with them. You can follow them via their blogs, twitter and facebook and cast your vote.

To vote for your winner, go to the PokerStars.net lobby and register for that Finalist’s tournament. Each Finalist has their own dedicated event, and the player whose tournament receives the most votes will win. You can find the tournaments by selecting ‘Tourney’ and ‘Regional’ in the lobby. Voting takes place April 1-May 9, and the winner will be announced on May 10. Voters may only register for one tournament.

	Name: Anthony Walker
	Age: 33
	Location: Ulladulla - NSW
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888081
	Bio: It was three years ago when Anthony first started playing the game of poker in Sydney. Since then the 33-year old concreter has enjoyed playing and learning the game both live, at his local pub poker tournaments, and online at PokerStars.net. An avid golfer, Anthony is under no illusions that winning this opportunity could ultimately change his life, but he’s keeping his strategy completely under wraps.
	Name: Chris Farrugia
	Age: 22
	Location: Port Pirie - SA
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888085
	Bio: A labourer by trade, 22-year old Chris has been playing poker since he saw a televised tournament three years ago. He plays online at PokerStars.net and dreams of becoming a professional player. This is one of the best things to ever happen to Chris, and he is very excited about the prospect of being able to play poker full time. One of Chris’ inspirations is boxing, and while he loves all sports, the dedication and commitment required by a boxer is something to be admired.
	Name: Chris Sheehan
	Age: 44
	Location: Hobart – TAS
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888080
	Bio: Recently moving to Hobart from Sydney, where he worked as a warehouse manager and superviser, Chris has returned to the painting and decorating trade as a change in lifestyle. He and his wife now live on Apple Isle, while his 20-year old daughter remains in Sydney. Chris has played poker all his life and is familiar with many varients. He’s only been playing Hold’em for eight years, but it’s now the one game he concentrates on. He has no major wins yet, but feels this is more to do with a lack of time rather than skill, and this will soon be remedied with more time at the tables.
	Name: Darrin Marr
	Age: 38
	Location: Drouin - VIC
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888084
	Bio: Darrin is a Sales manager who started playing poker 18 months ago, and becoming a Dream Job Finalist is his biggest achievement in poker yet. Darrin’s competitiveness and dedication to poker comes from a love of sports, and he also spends much of his free time playing golf and tennis. Darrin is very excited about the opportunity the Dream Job offers, and is looking forward to pitting his skills against the best and continuing to improve by playing on PokerStars.net.
	Name: Garth Bailo
	Age: 26
	Location: Sunshine Coast - QLD
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888087
	Bio: Recently moved from Brisbane to Sunshine Coast, Garth is a financial planner who first found poker back in 2005 after Joe Hachem’s Word Series win. Since then it’s been Garth’s dream to become a professional player, and this competition takes him one step closer to making it a reality. Garth is a keen sportsman who plays golf and any other sport on offer. He also goes to the beach, and likes to spend time with friends and family. Currently ranked on pocket fives despite only starting to play online this year, Garth is looking to further his poker career in any way he can.
	Name: Lloyd Zischke
	Age: 52
	Location: Brisbane - QLD
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888079
	Bio: First drawn to the game after seeing it played on television eight years ago, Lloyd started online before adding pub poker to his repertoire. He now plays regularly on PokerStars.net, and has had his fair share of wins. Lloyd grew up on a farm and moved to Brisbane to study, but instead moved into the public service where he had a successful career before taking time out to look after his father. Playing regularly in Sunday tournaments at the No Limits Social Club is one of Lloyd’s great pleasures, as it combines poker and time spent with good friends.
	Name: Nigel Brine
	Age: 32
	Location: Adelaide - SA
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888078
	Bio: A Senior Systems Engineer for a major defence company in Adelaide, Nigel is also working toward a PhD in Wireless Communications. He was introduced to the game of poker via his Xbox, and from there he moved to playing large freerolls online at PokerStars.net. Nigel can be found fishing or singing up storm at karaoke when he is not playing poker. He’s joked with colleagues that he will play poker professionally one day; perhaps these empty threats will be taken a little more seriously now.
	Name: Peter Eccleston
	Age: 48
	Location: Sydney - NSW
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888083
	Bio: Described by his friends as an all round nice guy, Peter is a town planner by profession whose interest in poker was spurred on by Joe Hachem’s victory in the 2005 World Series. Following Joe’s win Peter noticed his local pub was holding a freeroll and he’s been playing the game ever since. Peter is from Sydney and loves going to the beach and playing cricket, and is excited about having the opportunity to win this competition.
	Name: Peter West
	Age: 27
	Location: Dubbo – NSW
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888086
	Bio: Peter is a student of the game. After starting in his local pub league he has moved up to playing online, while also developing his skills by following poker strategy sites and reading books. The 27-year old is also studying for a Bachelor of Business Accounting. Peter has grown-up with poker as his family has always played at home, but it was not until poker appeared on facebook that Peter started to take it more seriously. This lead to pub poker and eventually to PokerStars.net. Peter has a young son and is interested in playing the didgeridoo and painting when isn’t playing poker.
	Name: Raija Thapper
	Age: 55
	Location: Springfield - NSW
	Voting Tournament ID: 257888082
	Bio: This Finnish mother of two has been playing poker for the last seven years. She started out after being forced to make up the numbers in her husband’s home game, and hasn’t looked back since. Working as an office manager at a Springfield construction company, Raija plays regularly in NPL and APL tournaments in the Central Coast. When growing up in Finland Raija was a keen cross country skier, and believes the competitiveness and endurance required in that sport has helped her be a successful poker player. A keen gardener, Raija, believes winning the Dream Job will be a life-changing experience.

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