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# Local man walks with $1.5M in poker win
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/local-man-walks-with-1-5m-in-poker-win/
- Published: 2004-06-03T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:28:57.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Sports, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Dan Harrington, an investor, wins fourth place in 35th annual World Series of Poker*

LAS VEGAS — A Santa Monica man played his cards right last week and walked out of a casino $1.5 million richer.

Dan Harrington, 58, a local investor, placed fourth in the 35th annual World Series of Poker at Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Co-founder of Anchor Loans on Ocean Avenue, Harrington was one of 13,000 to play in the poker tournament.

Most of the 2,500-plus gamers in the finals paid $10,000 to play. Not so for first-place winner Greg Raymer, 39, a corporate patent attorney who took away $5 million. Raymer won his seat in the finals after cleaning up in an online poker competition.

ESPN filmed the month-long tournament, and will begin airing it July 6\. The finals will be shown on Sept. 14, organizers said.

Participants in the finals played “Texas No Limit Hold ‘Em,” a version of poker where each player is dealt two cards and shares a communal pile of five cards. During games last week, players were at the table for 12 to 16 hours a day.

As is the norm in gambling houses, cocktails were free — but organizers said players were more keen on the free massages.

“It’s definitely an endurance challenge,” said Nicole Khoury, a publicist for Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., which bought the rights to the event this year. “They get breaks for 15 minutes, and then there’s a dinner break for 70 minutes or 75 minutes, but they’re playing for hours and hours and hours.”

Harrington was one of nine players at the final table Friday. He was joined by players as young as 23 years old, with occupations ranging from a professional poker player to an aspiring math teacher and an economics student.

Nicknamed “Action Dan” for his consistent play, Harrington, who lives in a condo off of Second Street, has been a finalist in the poker world series three times in the last 10 years. He won the championship in 1995\. Harrington turned to gambling to make his “second fortune” after establishing himself as a successful investor, organizers said.

“It’s very rare that somebody’s been able to be in the top 10 as many times as he has,” said Stephen Krallman, vice president of finance for Anchor Loans.

First-place winner Raymer, a native of North Dakota, worked around the country before settling down with his wife and daughter in the woods of Southeastern Connecticut. This was his first appearance at the final table. Other players called Raymer “Fossilman” because he collects antique fossils. His motto? “I only appear to be wacko — in reality, I’m much worse.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/060304-02_02-7.jpg)

to the Daily Press Harrington was nicknamed ‘Action Dan’ for consistently strong play. (Photo: Eric Harkins/Special)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 3, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060304.pdf?ref=smdp.com)