Update: Hilton Head’s Evan Young knocked out late on Day 5 of World Series of Poker main event

Hilton Head Island’s Evan Young was eliminated late Saturday night from the World Series of Poker’s $10,000 Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

A player with a full house — 9s over 5s — took down Young, who started the hand with an ace and a queen but didn’t get any help from the rest of the cards, according to the tournament’s website.

“I think he’s probably relieved,” his father Bill Young told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette on Sunday afternoon. “He’s ready for a little bit of a break right now.” The father and son will likely return later in the summer, he said.

Looking toward the next game, Bill Young said he’s sure his son will find some more tournaments to play after a short break. For now, “he rode the roller coaster” that is the World Series of Poker.

Evan Young exited the event in 118th place, good enough for more than $49,000 in prize money.

Hilton Head’s Robert “Moose” Rini was knocked out earlier on Day 5 — he finished in 188th place and won $42,285.

Young began Saturday’s play in 18th place before tumbling down the leaderboard of the tournament, which has a $63 million “prizepool.” His father, Bill Young, told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette during a phone interview Saturday night that there were some tense moments. He also said his son was accustomed to playing shorter tournaments. The duration of the main event, he said, and the amount of focus it required were new challenges for his son.

Bill Young remembers Evan playing in six online poker tournaments simultaneously — and winning them all.

“He was cashing in,” the elder Young said.

“We bought him a big screen computer (eight or nine) years ago, and he made use of it.”

Evan Young put himself through college at the University of Minnesota Duluth playing cards, according to his father.

“He was so very successful at it, that when he was going to college he was able to pay for his room and board,” the elder Young said. “And he traveled all through Europe — he studied in England.”

Bill Young, 66, owns short-term, long-term and timeshare properties on Hilton Head, he said. His son, Evan, 29, lives with him on the island.

“He’s a professional poker player,” his father said. “He plays up and down the east coast, Florida and North Carolina, that’s where he’s been playing lately. ... He doesn’t go head-to-head with the big boys — he looks for a pay day. He looks for consistent results. ... He’s not going all-in every hand.”

He said his son started playing online poker in high school.

“And I never knew quite how good he was,” the elder Young said, “because he was quiet about it. He didn’t come out (of his room) bragging about how much money he made. He just had a big smile on his face.”

As he matured as a player, he figured out “who the ringers were and avoided them.”

“Just looking for consistent results,” his father said.

Rini, who was knocked out of the main event Saturday afternoon, was in good spirits later that night.

“I’m not disappointed,” he said during a phone interview with the newspapers Saturday night. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t force any hands. ... I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Rini said he played well and avoided making mistakes — other players just had better cards at critical moments.

“I’m going to hit the craps tables tonight and see what happens,” he said, laughing. “Hey, I’ve won over $100,000 at a craps table before.”

After being knocked out of the tournament, Rini posted a message of support for his fellow hometown player on Facebook.

“Come on Evan Young!!!!” he wrote.

“Represent HHI.”

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Update: Hilton Head’s Evan Young knocked out late on Day 5 of World Series of Poker main event."