first of all, I am not a professional. I did win a pez dispenser once for my idea for a finale episode of Seinfield years ago. Other than that, I have never been published.
Second, I was actually traveling and didn’t start this until 15 minutes before I finished it. honest. I hope it qualifies.
Thanks to everyone for participating in this little experiment! I wasn’t sure if we’d get any entries at all since this was our first stab at it, so I’m thrilled to see the varied stories that everyone came up with. Our Poker Ops and Community teams read your selections and it was a joy to go through your work.
We’re far from professional critics, but I did want to share something that stood out to us from each of your entries.
@Grateful_ed, loved traveling along with your story! It made us think about perspective, especially when you tied it back to the table in the end.
@Maya, this story was so touching! This a true story that happened here? That’s just incredible. Even with the low points, we thought it was inspiring, and just adorable, and these lines in particular resonated: “You have a better chance of hitting 2 royal flushes in a row in a game of Hold’em than finding love twice on a poker site!
But we all know that odds are just odds, and the improbable can and does happen, whether in a game of poker, or in life itself.”
@grapevine, this clever little story had us laughing out loud! The opening line hooked us immediately, and we got a giggle out of, ““Very well noble sir” he said (you did not say alright mate in the 15th century)”. Love how you used the banner to crack us up.
@Alan25main, it’s always a blast reading your fiction, and this story was so much fun. We were quickly immersed in Italy (and learned what a numismatist is!), and found the interactions between Harold and Lisa to be believable and touching.
@GoldenDonkey, you don’t count, but there’s no way I can’t include this:
@nagapie, another story with a Harold! Although the interactions between Harold and the woman in this story aren’t quite so heartwarming. 
We loved the way you used the landmarks on the graphic and we got a chuckle out of that ending!
@DaffodilFine, what a great example of how you can tell an impactful story with only a few words. And this was such a creative way to incorporate the elements of the banner.
@kravpoker, although you limit the relation to the banner in the beginning, we enjoyed how you slipped right into a fun poker story. Not only that, it’s refreshing to read a successful poker story that isn’t about coming in first or second!
We’ve decided to increase the budget and give everyone who participated the 100,000 chip award. Thanks again for being a part of this fun little contest. 
Thanks @fizzymint for the great contest and rewards. Congrats to all.
Yes! It is a true story coming straight from Replay.
Thanks again!
Woohoo! Thanks and congrats to us all! I’m glad the budget could be stretched, it would’ve been a difficult choice otherwise.
Thank you. I enjoyed writing the piece.
Nagapie
Thank you fizzymint and Replay Poker. This is so much more than an “online poker site”.
I enjoyed reading all the stories every bit as much as writing one. I’ve been too busy to play much online but I always find a few minutes to check the forum.
Thanks again to Replay Poker, both for the great site and for the chips!
Very Grateful_ed 
Thanks very much, an unexpected surprise. xx Kate
I hope to see lots of contests like this in the pipeline. I enjoy reading from others who put their soul into story and share it with all of us. I friend Requested everyone who participated in this, although 2 of you were blocked from that. Take care to all. until the next one.
Wow. The chips are nice but the kind words mean more. It was fun reading everyone’s submissions and getting to know more about their imaginative side.