LAS VEGAS -- When the main event of the World Series of Poker returns Tuesday for Day 2A and Day 2B, those who make up the field will come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Males. Females. Tall people. Short people. Old-timers. Young guns. Just about every race will be represented as it's a true "world" championship event.
The vast majority will walk up to their table.
But some can't walk.
We're used to going to sporting events and seeing physically challenged fans. But unless it's a wheelchair basketball game, it's extremely rare to see those wheelchairs or scooters go out of the stands and onto the playing arena. Those who face this challenge can't dream of playing in the NBA or NFL or MLB, but here at the Rio, all are welcome to compete as long as they have the $10,000 buy-in. And it's a level playing field.
Jacob Zalewski is 31 years old and has cerebral palsy. He doesn't look like a typical competitor in his red scooter and a body ravaged by CP and other illnesses, and with a welcoming smile for everyone he meets, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone happier to be alive on Day 2.
Zalewski was born Feb. 13, 1983. He was three months premature and weighed less than 1.5 pounds; doctors gave him a 3 percent chance to survive. Zalewski says he knows nothing of the mother who gave him up for adoption.
Hertzel and Simcha Zalewski of Houston were looking to adopt a child. They met Jacob when he was a few weeks old and recovering from a brain infection and broken ribs, along with other maladies. The adoption agency told the couple that they should look at some healthier kids.
"As they were holding me, I looked up at my folks with my blue eyes and grabbed my dad's finger," Zalewski said. "From that point on, my dad said I touched their hearts and they knew they were in it for the long haul."
The elder Zalewski -- who owns a used car lot in Houston and has nine WSOP cashes to his credit -- and his wife took on the daunting task of raising Jacob. With all his other physical problems, it wasn't until Zalewski was 3 that he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which is a disorder where the brain is disconnected with some part of the body and not able to send it signals for conscious movement. Jacob went through five surgeries and countless hours of exercise and therapy over the years but found his greatest success in 2003 when he became a patient at TIRR Memorial Hermann, one of the most famous rehab hospitals in the world, in Houston.
"My parents did everything they could to get me healthy, various hospitals, foods, doctors," Zalewski said. "I owe them everything. They're my angels."
Even though he had shown improvement, Zalewski still hadn't found his purpose in life. He liked hanging out in his dad's poker world and in 2005, he earned his way into a $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold 'em event at the WSOP through a satellite. He made the final table and finished ninth to earn $13,945. His dad had introduced him to Annie Duke and that led to him being invited to play in the "Ante Up For Africa" charity event that she hosted at the 2007 WSOP with actor Don Cheadle.
"That really opened my eyes," Zalewski said. "It was a glamorous event with celebrities and media to raise money for charity. But all that money went to Africa. Nothing against Africa, and it was a great cause, but I felt it would be great to do something for those suffering from cerebral palsy here in America.
"My dad wrote me a blank check to get me started and I pitched the idea to Las Vegas casinos. I don't want to name names, but they told no one would show up and called me a dreamer. I was laughed out of the building."
Zalewski said he had previously met comedian Norm Macdonald and one day Macdonald introduced him to Sam Simon, co-creator of "The Simpsons," in the hallway at the WSOP. They became friends.
"I called Sam Simon to just ask for his advice because I knew he had done charity work and told him about the problems I was having," Zalewski said. "He said, 'Give me 10 minutes.' I didn't know what to expect, but 10 minutes later he called back and said, 'Pack your bags for L.A. because you're holding your poker tournament at Hollywood Park.'"
The first All-in For CP event raised $44,000, including Simon winning the tournament and donating his prize right back to Zalewski's newly created One Step Closer Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization to raise money and awareness for cerebral palsy research. Since then, the All-in For CP poker tournament has moved to Las Vegas and was held at the Hard Rock, the Venetian and for the past two years at Planet Hollywood. The most recent event was held June 28. Zalewski said the tournaments have now raised more than $600,000, with the bulk of the money going to TIRR, though he recently added new beneficiaries in the Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston (where he was treated as a child) and a college scholarship for kids with CP. The foundation also raised $10,000 on June 27 through a "Share a Chair for Cerebral Palsy" fundraiser at the Rio as donors were able to ride with a celebrity on the VooDoo ZipLine that runs between the hotel towers, with proceeds going toward helping people with CP buy wheelchairs.
Zalewski knows how important mobility is as he has to maneuver himself to the poker table.
"I have to come in at a slant between the other players and position myself in my chair so I can reach my cards and my chips, but once I get in, it's OK," he said. "I've met several other players in wheelchairs, though I think all of them were the results of accidents. Most people bend over backwards to help us, so that's nice."
He said he doesn't feel handicapped at the poker table.
"In my eyes, it's an advantage," he says with a laugh. "I do think people underestimate me when they see me coming to the poker table. I look young for my age and combined with the wheelchair, I don't look like much of a threat, and I think people have a hard time reading me.
"But after an hour at the table and watching me play, they know they have competition. I don't get much sympathy after I start taking their chips. They treat me like just another player."
Zalewski used his early edge Saturday to build his starting stack of 30,000 in chips up to 48,000. He was all-in on two occasions.
"One was a complete bluff," he said. "I was playing pretty tight. In a lot of tournaments, I play loose and just have fun, but this one I really, really want to win or do well. I want to pay back my backer [who prefers to remain anonymous] and also my parents, though I could never fully repay them for all they've done for me. I'll also give some to the foundation, of course, and maybe party with 1 percent."
He enters Day 2 with 37,475 in chips and will likely be in the lower half of the field with the odds stacked against him. But despite looking at his smaller stack and writing him off from becoming the next main event champion, just remember that Zalewski has spent his whole life doing things that people told him he couldn't do.