On a cold December night, a man known as Isildur1 walked through the snow of his native (country name redacted) and stared into a starlit sky. He carried a small empty bag into a roadside tavern and sat beside the fire. Over a cup of mulled cider, he watched the embers climb into the chimney. He was all but alone in the little bar. It was Christmas Eve, and Isildur1 looked lonely.

On a big chair across from Isildur1 sat a right jolly old elf. He was taking a load off on a break between his stops in (country name redacted) and (country name redacted).

“What’s got you down, kid?” asked the old elf.

Isildur1 turned his head and let his (hair color redacted) hair brush against his forehead. “See this bag? It used to have $40,000 in it. Some guy named Ike took it from me.”

“Took it or won it?” the man in red asked.

Isildur1 shrugged.

It had been a long year, one people had described as nosebleed-y, swingy, incendiary. Isildur1 had been in the middle of it all. Just a few days before the holidays, a high profile appearance had ended in a way that made Isildur1 lose his holiday spirit.

“It’s almost as if you’ve stopped believing in the magic of Christmas, (name redacted),” Santa said.

Isildur1 looked up. “How do you know my name?” he asked.

The old man shrugged. “It’s my job,” he said.

Isildur1 looked around the bar. “You’re not going to tell anybody are you?”

Santa laughed. “Do you believe in me, (name redacted)? Do you believe in me as much as you believe in flush draws or the silliness of the heads-up button min-raise?”

Isildur1 asked, “Why should I?”

And with that, the man in red stood, touched the side of his nose, and rode the sparking embers up into the chimney. He was gone. The only thing he’d left behind was a small note on which he’d written, “If you want to believe, you’ll see me again on PokerStars over the holiday. You might just get back some of the money for that bag.”

Isildur1 walked back into the night with the empty sack over his shoulder. Should he believe?

Maybe this evidence would help…

Note: The above story may or may not be a holiday fairy tale created to promote Santa’s appearance at the PokerStars tables. (First name redacted) “Isildur1” (last name redacted) may or may not have actually seen Santa Claus. In fact, he may or may not be aware this little tale was created without his permission. Let’s just not tell him, okay? In fact, we’ll keep it to ourselves. In any case, keep an eye on the PokerStars tables. Who knows who might drop by and give away some free cash?

And, happy holidays to all our readers.

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