When you wake up on the final day of a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event, knowing you have 25% of the chips in play, with 14-players remaining, you expect nothing more than the number one spot.
That’s how things were for Adam Weinraub. He knows a thing or two about poker. He has over $600,000 in live tournament earnings, won a World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational Event in Season 5 for $125,000 and also beat 666 players in a side event in last years LA Poker Classic to earn another six figure score.
But he couldn’t win this one.
Instead, that honor went to Gevork Kasabyan, who turned a short stack, into the only stack, by winning the WSOPC Main Event at the Bike.
669 entrants entered the $1,675 buy-in event. The prize pool just popping its head above that all-important marketable million-dollar mark. Kasabyan took $205,720, a gold ring, and a seat in the season ending WSOP National Championships.
The champion started the final day 5/14, but by the time the final table had been formed he had slipped to 8/10. The aforementioned Weinraub held a huge chip lead, at the start of the day, and things were pretty much the same with 10-players remaining.
It was a tough final table. Household names were not to be found. Solid LA grinders took their places. Kasabyan had finished fourth in the Season 8 WPT LA Poker Classic Main Event for $450,580; and Robert Suer had finished second in a WPT Main Event in Biloxi, back in Season 7, for over half a million dollars.
It wasn’t going to be easy. But, by the time Marty Cohen had been eliminated, in third place, it looked like easy was the only way forward. Kasabyan holding 13 million chips, compared to the 600,000 of Weinraub.
A double here, a double there, and before you knew it, Weinraub was right back in contention: 5m v 8.5m, until his all-in win rate let him down to hand Kasabyan the title.
Final Table Results
1st. Gevork Kasabyan – $205,720
2nd. Adam Weinraub – $127,295
3rd. Martin Cohen – $93,365
4th. Robert Suer – $69,430
5th. Rick Munro – $52,335
6th. Hermilo Vargas – $39,970
7th. Nick Phoenix – $30,930
8th. Brett Murray – $24,245
9th. Joshua Jackson – $19,245
10th. Ilya Shpiner – $15,475
Other notables to make the money were Jeremy Kottler (15th), Shane Schleger (19th), Ashton Griffin (41st), Maria Ho (52nd) and Chris De Maci (53rd).
