Another one of 2007’s average joe to poker heroes was Shankar Pillai from Commack, N.Y. He entered the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em event of the World Series of Poker and walked away a winner.

It was the aspiring poker pro’s first World Series of Poker event ever, and he turned it into a $527,829 paycheck.

That should be enough for the young man working in investments to build a solid bankroll with and turn “aspiring” into a “full-time” poker pro in the near future.

He may be one to keep an eye out for at future tournaments – even Phil Hellmuth described him as an animal at the poker table.