Dakota Grad's Poker Table Earns Honorable Mention in Vegas Competition

knew it was a gamble to enter the 2011 Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers Fresh Wood Competition as an amateur woodworker, but he had confidence in his skills and lady luck on his side when he traveled to Las Vegas, NV, this July and he didn't go home empty-handed.

A recent graduate, Boylan received an honorable mention in the High School Tables category for his submission, "Lost in the Hand," a poker table Boylan designed and constructed in his woodworking class.

"At the AWFS show I received the award of honorable mention, which happens to be equivalent to third place," Boylan wrote in an email to Patch. "The show was such a great experience and so was going to Las Vegas."

The winners were chosen from 41 finalists selected of 137 entries from 50 different schools across U.S. and Canada. The furniture category offered a $1,000 prize for first-place winners, $500 for second place and $250 for honorable mention, according to Newsvine.com.

The competition was held July 20-23 in Las Vegas.

Boylan was one of only 15 high school students in the U.S. and Canada to be selected as a finalist in the competition. As a finalist, he will be featured in the fifth volume of the publication Fresh Wood, which will be available for purchase by November 2011.

While Boylan toyed with the idea of selling the table prior to the competition, he found he could not part with his masterpiece after all.

"Yes, I am keeping the table," he said. "It will be a great family heirloom one day."

To read more about Boylan's participation in the competition,