But the featured attraction of his trip will come on Saturday, June 14. Thomas will hit the Rio Hotel & Casino and compete against some of the world's top poker players in the World Series of Poker's $1,500 No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament.

Unlike a lot of poker players who discovered the game in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker's stunning victory in the main event helped fuel the poker boom, Thomas began playing with some college pals when he was attending Rhode Island College in the late '80s and pursuing his associate's degree in business.

"That's also when I read Doyle Brunson's 'Super System' book and I just really got hooked on Texas Hold 'Em," offered Thomas. "One thing I love about this game is that it's an everyman's game. You have the opportunity to sit down and play with someone like Doyle Brunson, but on the other hand, you're watching TV and you don't get to go up and bat against Josh Beckett."

After his playing days at RIC, Thomas took part in various house games and made visits to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Foxwoods Resort Casino. Then came the poker boom, a dramatic increase in poker players, and soon after that, the start of two local amateur leagues -- the Eastern Poker Tour and Aces Up Poker Tour.

On nights he's not working at Doherty's, Thomas is usually taking part in one of the league's nightly tournaments at various pubs around the state, where for $10, participants are treated to a buffet and a competitive tournament.

"I find both leagues challenging," added Thomas. "You have a lot of different styles of players, and for the money that you put out for the buffet and the opportunity to play, it gives a great opportunity for people to really refine their game. If I look at how I played in a tournament or two and identify a weakness, I'll go to a tournament and just work on that specific part of my game and that gives me a great opportunity to do that."

The winner at the end of the night receives a non-monetary prize and a berth in the league's private championship tournament, which takes places twice a year and features a field of 300-400 players.

"These (tournaments) are as close as you can find to the World Poker Tour or the World Series of Poker around here as far as how much you have to prepare to play," noted Thomas. "You're playing for 10-12 hours a day. It gives you a glimpse of what the real tournaments are like when you have to play for 14-15 hours."

The winner of this tourney then receives the grand prize -- a seat at the World Series' main event --and Thomas has come close to victory, reaching the top 12 in three of the last four championships and making the final table in two of them.

"What you look for is consistency," said Thomas. "There's a reason why you usually see on TV the same players reaching the final table all the time."

Thomas doesn't play in house games any more "because people tend to get really upset when you go into their house and take $300 off them," he said with a laugh. "I really prefer to play organized events, and the more organized the event is, the better the play is because people really respect it more."

Thomas still plays at Foxwoods and hits Las Vegas twice a year, and he's cashed in on eight of the last 12 tournaments he played in Sin City. In his last trip there in February, he won a tournament at Caesar's Palace and a surge in confidence in his playing abilities.

"When I won, I knocked three different pros out of that tournament," said Thomas. "I've always won money when I went to Vegas, but winning that tournament -- against the quality of competition that I had -- really told me that I was ready to move up to the next level of play.

"Those tournaments are the very best. You get the best players and the pros in those tournaments and you get an opportunity to test yourself against them. I've been lucky enough to play with Doyle Brunson, Hevad Khan, and David Pham, and I still had money in my pocket. It's always a learning process. No matter how good you are, there's always somebody better."

While most of the big names at the World Series will be sponsored by (and wearing the apparel of) the likes of online poker sites, 'PokerStars' and 'Full Tilt Poker', Thomas will sport a Newport Storm cap and shirt because the Rhode Island microbrewery is paying a part of his entrance fee.

"I also have a few small investors helping me out," noted Thomas, "and I cash out, they will get that percentage back from my winning purse."

Thomas knows he has a challenging course to take in order to grab a winning purse and make it to the main event, but he plans to play his best poker and hopefully catch a bit of luck along the way.

"I feel humbly confident that I'll do well," noted Thomas. "As everyone knows, you need a lot of luck. I feel like my skill level is there, and if I can get a little bit of luck along the way, I just might win it."