When the prize money was divvied up recently after the 2005 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, a Wellsville native found himself $12,500 richer following a 550th place finish.

Bill Bostley said playing against 5,619 other card sharps was no easy feat.

"My goal going out there was to make it through that first day," Bostley said. "It was difficult."

Bostley, who started his poker career playing guts in the sub shop after school some 37 years ago, said the first round of play lasted more than 15 hours, and the initial field of players thinned to about 1,900 in the first three days of play.

At the end of the second round, after about 13 hours of play, 568 players remained, and Bostley said he knew he had to place in the top 560 to make any money. As his $10,000 buy-in to the event was paid for following a poker tournament win at the Seneca Casino in Salamanca in November, Bostley stood to gain a lot.

"On the third day (I played), I was really low in chips," Bostley said. "I had about $9,500 left."

At his high on his second day of play, Bostley had about $63,000 when the cards went cold for four hours straight. Following the run of bad cards, Bostley stood a mere four positions from the bottom of the chip count.

"I had to move up eight places," Bostley said.

Without a big enough bank to really play hands, Bostley was in trouble -- the blinds were $1,000 and $2,000, with a $300 ante -- and didn't even have enough to last two hands. Then fate smiled on him when he drew the button, exempting him from paying the blinds for nine hands.

"The 561st player was eliminated in the 13th hand," Bostley said. "In three more hands, I was all done. I had $1,800 left and went all in, and I wasn't successful -- but that was the end of it."

All in all, while the trip was the chance of a lifetime, it wasn't just peaches and cream.

"It was fun," Bostley said. "It was tough -- the long hours of play -- and in no-limit any wrong decision could be your last, so it was stressful. I mean, I enjoy it, but it's stressful -- it's exciting."

When the tournament wrapped up and the winner was announced, Bostley realized he'd spent one of his rounds of play at the same table with the champion. But, he said, poker celebrities are really just everyday people.

"They don't really command any celebrity status -- they're just another player when your playing the game," Bostley said. "Anybody can win. You can compete on the same level."

That's the nice thing about poker, Bostley said.

"You can't play golf with Tiger Woods, but you can play poker with Phil Ivey," he said.

Bostley's playing days are far from over. He said he plans to use his $12,500 winnings as poker dollars at upcoming tournaments in Salamanca and other casinos.

"If you're going to have a gambling habit, poker is probably the least damaging," Bostley said. "You have control of when you put your money in and how much. It's a fun game."