Sep 15, 2012
Poker Millionaire Dusty Schmidt joins Americas Cardroom Elite
By RTR Dennis
Ever since Americas Cardroom unveiled their new Elite Benefits program, many players have been taking advantage of its rewards. In fact, even notable pros like Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt are collecting major benefits through Americas Cardroom these days.
Schmidt is actually a very interesting story here because he’s managed to play enough poker to make the prestigious ACR Elite level. This being said, let’s take a closer look at Schmidt’s poker background and how you too can earn lots of extra money through the Elite Benefits program.
From Golf to Poker
Despite being one of the most successful online cash game players of all-time, Dusty Schmidt didn’t originally set out to play poker. Instead, he was a top-ranked amateur golfer who even managed to break a couple of Tiger Woods’ records. It looked as if he was destined for a future on the PGA Tour one day; but unfortunately, a heart attack at age 23 derailed Schmidt’s golf career and forced him to stop playing.
But while one avenue closed, another option opened for Schmidt when he started playing online poker under the name “Leatherass.” Success came quickly for him on the felt, and months later he was able to make a decent living through poker. By 2007, Leatherass was known as one of the world’s top online poker players, and he’d made well over a million dollars while multi-tabling $5/$10 and $10/$20 NL Hold’em.
Fast-forward to today and Schmidt has played over 11 million hands and made over $4 million in cash game profits, which doesn’t even include the VIP benefits he’s collected. And now he’s continuing this tradition of success by winning big at Americas Cardroom.
Elite Benefits Program
You may not play anywhere near the volume of hands that Schmidt does. However, you can still make plenty of money through the Elite Benefits program at Americas Cardroom. The first thing worth noting here is that there are six different levels based on how many Rank Points you earn each month. Starting from the bottom, the six ranks are Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, General and 5-Star General.
The higher your ranking is, the more rewards you’ll collect each month. For example, a Lieutenant receives the ability to enter site freerolls, Medals of Achievement, and Lieutenant Store access. Anybody who is able to move up to 5-Star General – which is where ACR Elite member Dusty Schmidt is at – will get the following perks:
- 5x Combat Points multiplier
- 5-Star General Elite Store access
- $10,000 cash for store
- $5k Luxury Live GSOP Peru package
- $5k Luxury Live Punta Cana package
- Select benefits from lower levels too
Aside from all of the bonuses you can earn through the Elite Benefits program, it’s also worth mentioning that you can get 27% rakeback by signing up at ACR through RakeTheRake. A rakeback deal is just one more huge bonus to playing at this poker room!