Santa Barbara Poker Player in Finals of World Series of Poker

Jay Farber is a former Santa Barbara City College student competing for more than $8 million and a championship live in the World Series of Poker Main Event on ESPN tonight.

Farber, 28, is from Santa Barbara and says he started playing poker at 18 at Chumash Casino Resort in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Farber is now a VIP Host in Vegas and will go head to head against 23-year-old Ryan Riess. They beat out a field of 6,352 entrants in the no-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament in July, and then eliminated seven finalists during a tense all-night session Monday and Tuesday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino off the Las Vegas Strip.

Farber left the brightly lit stage in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday vowing to spend the rest of the night clubbing in triumph.