Greg Merson preferred playing online poker in class to taking notes, but he was far from a slacker.

In the past few weeks alone, the former university student’s days of multitasking have more than paid off. The Laurel native recently won $1.1 million in a 2012 World Series of Poker tournament against a field of 474. And in October, Merson will be one of nine players in a field of 6,598 with the chance of winning more than $8.5 million in the main event in Las Vegas.

The tournament, which concludes with October’s final table, is widely seen as the most prestigious poker competition in the world.

“It’s been pretty surreal,” he said. “It’s just starting to hit me in the last few days.”

Merson, who spent just three semesters on this campus, dropped out of the university in fall 2006 to become a professional poker player. He moved to Toronto after spending a few years in the area, one of many online poker players who left the country after federal regulations essentially banned their sport.

Even though the memory of walking his withdrawal forms to the registrar’s office sticks with him, Merson said he knew he was making the right decision.

“College definitely wasn’t for me,” he said. “I’m not embarrassed about the fact that I dropped out.”

Merson had planned to enter the business school, but never accrued enough credits to do so. And his winnings from poker helped support a habit he picked up the summer before his freshman year: doing drugs.

He started with marijuana before moving on to cocaine. He estimates he lost 25 pounds from using.

“It just completely controlled my life, and I couldn’t do anything right,” Merson said. “It just ruined me.”

Starting in August 2007, he got clean, and he stayed sober for three and a half years, but things went downhill last February, Merson said.

“One night, I was super messed up on alcohol and I slipped on something much harder and went down that slow, slippery path,” he said.

When fellow poker player Christian Harder found out about Merson’s drug use, he asked his friend to think about the consequences it was having on his life and career.

“I was just like, watch yourself with this stuff,” Harder said. “Ever since he’s been sober, he’s been crushing it. … It’s been pretty awesome to see.”

With the support of his friends, and poker now providing some of the stimulation he sought in drugs, Merson has been able to stay sober since December.

“If anything, poker has saved my life,” he said. “I definitely am addicted to the rush of playing poker, but in a good way. I know when to stop.”

Merson estimates he lost half his net worth last year playing high-stakes poker games while under the influence, but it may have been part of the “humbling experience” he needed to quit.

Despite his short stint at this university, Merson calls himself a “Terp for life.” His parents are alumni and he roots for both the Terps’ basketball and football teams. He also finds he craves the state’s signature blue crab much more often than he can find it in Toronto.

Merson, now planning his return to the state, said he enjoyed having the freshman dorm experience. However, he said his real gains – networking and traveling around the world – have come through poker.

However, Merson admits giving up a chance for a college degree put some pressure on his card playing.

“When you do this for a living and you drop out of school, there’s no backup plan,” he said.

Since his July 5 win, Merson said he has experienced a whirlwind of media requests and online attention. An article in Card Player Magazine summed up his ascent in a headline on the morning of the final cut-down: “Greg Merson Becoming A ‘Legend’ As World Series Of Poker Main Event Reaches Final Table.”

Merson hasn’t yet been noticed in public, which is fine with him.

“I don’t really like the whole publicity thing,” he said.

His friend and former roommate Tony Gregg said he isn’t surprised by what Merson has been able to accomplish since leaving college and getting clean.

“I knew it would only be a matter of time before he had some level of success,” Gregg said. “I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Gregg, who met Merson in 2007 and has played in the World Series four times himself, is optimistic about the 24-year-old’s chances in October.

“I would definitely pick him over anyone else at the final table,” Gregg said.

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