Finnish poker pro Jens Kyllonen will make history when he becomes one of the first people to embark on a passenger voyage to space in 2014.
Kyllonen, who built his success playing some of the biggest online poker tournaments in the world, was able to reserve his seat for a pricey E160,000. "I've always been fascinated with space and now that I have the opportunity to be one of the first people going I just felt like I had to do it," he said.
The Texas Hold'em star rose to prominence in 2005 when he became only the 2nd Finn to scoop a coveted ETP title after his emphatic win at Patrik Antonius. In June 2008, using the name 'Jeans89, he also clinched the iPoker poker network ECOOP II tournament series (European Poker Championship of Online Poker) main event winning $315,000 in the process.
The poker star is likely to be joined by some famous company when he boards the flight with A-List celebrities Aston Kutcher, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks also rumoured to be making the journey.
However, the thrill seeker did warn that an exact date for the flight has not yet been confirmed as engineers strive to fine-tune plans. "I''ll probably be going in 2014," he explained.
When asked about any preflight training, Kyllonen answered, "There is a 3-4 day training period at the spaceport in New Mexico before the flight but other than that there isn't any need for it. As long as you don't have certain diseases you can go even if you are old or in bad shape."
It has been over 50 years since man entered space and it looks like Kyllonen is all set for the exciting adventure. This news also comes when recent tragic news informs that the first man to set foot on the moon Neil Armstrong passed away on the 25th August 2012. Hopefully his legacy will inspire a new generation to head in to space to follow in his footsteps. Maybe not setting foot on the actual moon. But to head into the big black abys
Kyllonen, who built his success playing some of the biggest online poker tournaments in the world, was able to reserve his seat for a pricey E160,000. "I've always been fascinated with space and now that I have the opportunity to be one of the first people going I just felt like I had to do it," he said.
The Texas Hold'em star rose to prominence in 2005 when he became only the 2nd Finn to scoop a coveted ETP title after his emphatic win at Patrik Antonius. In June 2008, using the name 'Jeans89, he also clinched the iPoker poker network ECOOP II tournament series (European Poker Championship of Online Poker) main event winning $315,000 in the process.
The poker star is likely to be joined by some famous company when he boards the flight with A-List celebrities Aston Kutcher, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks also rumoured to be making the journey.
However, the thrill seeker did warn that an exact date for the flight has not yet been confirmed as engineers strive to fine-tune plans. "I''ll probably be going in 2014," he explained.
When asked about any preflight training, Kyllonen answered, "There is a 3-4 day training period at the spaceport in New Mexico before the flight but other than that there isn't any need for it. As long as you don't have certain diseases you can go even if you are old or in bad shape."
It has been over 50 years since man entered space and it looks like Kyllonen is all set for the exciting adventure. This news also comes when recent tragic news informs that the first man to set foot on the moon Neil Armstrong passed away on the 25th August 2012. Hopefully his legacy will inspire a new generation to head in to space to follow in his footsteps. Maybe not setting foot on the actual moon. But to head into the big black abys
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