GARDEN CITY BEACH -- A crowd of 300 people in a school gymnasium cheered for their poker-playing priest Sunday as the Rev. Andrew Trapp got one step closer to winning the "PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge."
He also brought the church $100,000 closer to meeting its building fund needs when he beat poker coach Daniel Negreanu with a pair of jacks and eights in the final hand Sunday.
Trapp's winning contest was on TV for his supporters to see, and they gathered for a viewing party to root for St. Michael Catholic Church and School's assistant pastor as he kept his poker face on long enough to beat the pro.
Trapp's supporters cheered and clapped as he ran onto the set of the new Fox TV show "PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge." They had donned purple, blue or pink T-shirts that read "We're cheering for the poker playing priest" for Sunday's gathering, and as the show drew near the end, they were overcome with joy when Trapp had the top pair in the Texas hold 'em showdown.
According to Poker News Daily, Negreanu was working on a straight with his 5-6 hole cards. But Trapp was dealt a jack and an eight, and the flop, or first three shared cards, showed an eight, a four and a two.
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