World Series of Poker November Niner, Gordon Vayo, warmed up for his $8m date with destiny winning over half a million bucks in the River Poker Series; and Sean Yu, Erik Sagstrom and Josh Turner leave the World Series of Poker Circuit Festival in Planet Hollywood with reasons to be cheerful.
Gordon Vayo is set to skirr into the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event with more wind in his sails than most after picking up over half a million dollars in the $2.5m Guaranteed $2,500 buy-in River Poker Series at the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma.
Vayo is the first November Niner to pick up a significant live win since the summer, although Vojtech Ruzicka came close when he finished 24th in the recent European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Barcelona.
The organisers met the $2.5m Guarantee after 1,054 entrants paid their $2,500 dues. Despite the huge crowd, the final table was full of quality with the likes of Layne Flack, Grant Hinkle, Chino Rheem, Jeffrey Duvall and Danny Fuhs taking a pew.
Eventually, the players agreed upon an ICM chop with five players remaining by which time Vayo had half the chips in play. It’s Vayo’s first live tournament victory and second largest score behind the million bucks he secured for making the November Nine.
Vayo’s victory comes days after fellow November Niner Kenny Hallaert defeated 4,531 entrants to capture the win in the $500,000 Guaranteed partypoker Online Grand Prix.
According to the odds comparison service oddsshark.com Gordon Vayo is now the second favourite to become World Champion behind Cliff Josephy.
WSOP Main Event Winning Odds (courtesy of oddsshark.com)
Cliff Josephy 15/8
Gordon Vayo 9/2
Qui Nguyen 5/1
Kenny Hallaert 5/1
Griffin Benger 9/1
Vojtech Ruzicka 9/1
Michael Ruane 10/1
Jerry Wong 33/1
Fernando Pons 50/1
Final Table Results
1. Gordon Vayo – $587,120*
2. Benjamin Ector – $344,826*
3. Dean Bobel – $225,048*
4. Layne Flack – $225,048*
5. Grant Hunkle – $207,669*
6. Long Nguyen – $70,054
7. Chino Rheem – $54,288
8. Jeffrey Duvall – $40,893
9. Dany Fuhs – $32,623
*Denotes five way deal
Other notables that needed to wear wellies in this event were Ray Qartomy (10th), Jacob Bazeley (12th), and Kevin Eyster (16th).
Sean Yu beats Eli Elezra to Capture Second WSOPC Gold Ring
Sean Yu has defeated the three-time WSOP bracelet winner, Eli Elezra, to capture his second World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) title at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas.
The Korean-American topped a field of 528 entrants in the $1,675 buy-in Main Event after fighting his way back into contention from a Day 1A disaster that saw him fall as low as 3,000 chips.
The 41-year old first rose to prominence in 2014 when he defeated 3,599 entrants to top a final table that included Scott Clements and Christian Harder to win the $260,000 first prize in the WPT500 at The Aria.
His first gold ring victory came in San Diego, two years ago, when he defeated 283 entrants on his way to a $101,882 first prize. Yu has now won $947,901 in live tournament earnings, and this was his fourth six-figure score. Yu plays poker part time and works as a salesman when he’s not beating the crap out of poker players.
Final Table Results
1. Sean Yu – $170,286
2. Eli Elezra – $105,281
3. Daniel Needleman – $76,911
4. Arianna Son – $57,016
5. Kevin Calenzo – $42,879
6. Jake Schindler – $32,710
7. Brandon West – $25,304
8. Keith Doering – $19,855
9. Colin York – $15,800
Other notables to get within a sniff of the final table include Mark Darner (13th), Jordan Cristos (15th), and Steve Gross (21st).
Erik Sagstrom Wins Planet Hollywood High Roller
The Swedish high-stakes cash game player Erik Sagstrom ended a 36-hour poker marathon with a victory, jumping in the $5,300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em High Roller at the end of a night of cash game action.
26 entrants combined to create a $130,000 prize pool, a lot lower than the 102 competitors who showed up last year. Joe Kuether won that title, and he came close to a successful defence, making it to the heads-up stage where he left with a $39,000 consolation prize. Jayakrishnan Nair finished third for $26,000.
Sagstrom is a regular in the high stakes mixed games in Bobby’s Room. Tournaments aren’t his thing, although he did finish third in the 2009 WSOP Poker Player’s Championships for over half a million dollars.
Sean Yu gains entry into the season-ending WSOPC Global Casino Championships. Joining Yu is Josh Turner, who earned the Planet Hollywood Casino Champion title after making two final tables, and winning a gold ring.
