Robert Richardson is sometimes known as Todd – his middle name – due to four generations of Roberts in the family and the confusion that sometimes took place. Growing up in the small town of Grant, Michigan, he eventually moved to the larger city of Grand Rapids, where he has worked for 27 years as an HVAC service technician for commercial heating and cooling.

Robert’s first experience with poker was only about three years ago when he was looking for something to do on a Saturday night. Upon calling a friend and finding out that they were going to play a Texas hold’em home game, he decided to learn it then. He won the game that first night, and he was hooked. In the Michigan area, he mostly played home games and charity tournaments because nothing else was available, but he claims that the talent level in Grand Rapids is so high that he has received all of the poker education he needs there.

What started as a dream to play in a major poker tournament turned to reality in April of 2008. While in the process of a move to Arizona, he took the time that his wife was in Phoenix to play games seven nights a week and build up the bankroll to play a $10,000 buy-in event. When he had the money, Richard planned a trip to Foxwoods to play in the World Poker Tour’s Foxwoods Poker Classic main event. After the drive, he played some satellites and wasn’t successful, so he simply bought into the WPT tournament. He played his A-game and made it all the way to the final table of the event, finally finishing in second place for a $558,792 payday. That is what can happen when a guy with a dream chases after it.