Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. left executive Steven Begleiter without much of a plan, so he took his poker pot and went to Vegas.

Begleiter, the Wall Street firm’s head of corporate strategy before it collapsed and was bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2008, took winnings from his hometown poker club and headed to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas that July. Adding $5,000 of his own money, he played in the $10,000 buy-in main event, No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em’s world championship, and lasted three days, finishing just outside the money.

Now he’s back, fully funded by poker-club winnings. Begleiter sits third in chips after outlasting all but eight of the 6,494 entrants over eight days in July to reach tomorrow’s final table at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Two players will meet Tuesday at 1 a.m. New York time for the championship.

“I had never even played the main event when Bear Stearns got sold,” Begleiter, 47, said in a telephone interview. “I played that first one shortly after that because I felt like, why not? How much worse can it get?”

With the help of steady play and many lucky flips of the cards, life has gotten better. Begleiter is guaranteed at least $1.25 million and would win $8.55 million with a main-event victory.

The Chappaqua, New York, resident is now a senior principal at the private-equity firm Flexpoint Ford LLC in New York. After graduating from Haverford College outside Philadelphia, he spent 24 years at Bear Stearns and was a member of the investment bank’s management and compensation committees.

The firm fell apart in March 2008, brought down by excessive leverage and large bets on subprime mortgage bonds. JPMorgan bought it with help from the Federal Reserve.

Went ‘Poof’

“It was a big part of my identity, and then it just goes poof,” Begleiter said. “And it goes poof in a way that casts a lot of negative aspersions on the institution that I proudly represented for a long time.”

While his background at the failed firm has led to some ribbing by commentators on Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, which is carrying the main event, Begleiter’s play has made him a poker celebrity. He enters the final table with $29.9 million in chips, trailing only Maryland logger Darvin Moon ($58.9 million) and professional gambler Eric Buchman ($34.8 million).

“I’ve been very lucky not to be unlucky,” Begleiter said. “I never ran a big hand into a bigger hand.”

Hold ‘Em Rules

In Texas Hold ‘Em, players bet on whether they have the best five-card hand from two individual cards and five cards shared by all the players.

Begleiter was in trouble with 28 players remaining, a 70-30 underdog holding an ace and queen against a pair of kings, and all his money in the pot. He paired the ace on the fourth community card to stay in the tournament.

“If I don’t hit that card, I’m just another guy who finished 28th,” he said.

Instead, Begleiter spent the last four months playing a lot of poker to prepare for this weekend, finishing ninth in a World Poker Tour event in Los Angeles.

He’s sought advice from professionals about playing the game as the number of opponents dwindle, a situation where he’s had little experience. He declined to say who he spoke with, fearing that, like him, the other eight players are trying to learn about their opponents through media interviews.

“He’s always been extremely analytical and smart,” said Michael Levine, who hosts Begleiter’s 22-person club, called the Newcastle Poker Tour, in his Chappaqua basement. “To make it to the upper echelons of Bear Stearns senior management as he did, you have to have talent. He certainly does.”

Bear Buddies

Levine, who is now a private investor in mortgage-backed securities, became close to Begleiter while working in the same Bear Stearns group in 1989.

Their club plays 12 times each school year, setting aside 20 percent of the pot each game for a year-end tournament. A $10,000 buy-in to a poker tournament goes to the champion, with 20 percent of any winnings going back to the other club members.

Each will be in Las Vegas supporting their friend with chants of “Begs! Begs! Begs!” whenever he wins a hand, and hoping to make about $81,000 apiece should he take the championship.

“It’s good to see good things happen to good people,” Levine said. “There were a lot of good people working at Bear Stearns and it was very sad. As sad as that was going down, I couldn’t be more happy for Steve.”

Poker likely will become a bigger hobby rather than a new profession, Begleiter said. He’s already learned from his good fortune.

“It just shows you, life is a little bit like a poker game,” Begleiter said. “You do well, you take a couple of tough beats, and you have to come back again.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 00:00 EST