After two weeks of grueling tournaments, the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa waved a fond New Jersey farewell to WPT poker players with the climax of Poker Classic Championship on Saturday. 507 people had dumped $10k into the pool but it was American pro Gavin Griffin who still had his head above water at the end. Griffin, who competed in the EPT Monte Carlo with pink hair to raise awareness of breast cancer, becomes the first player to win a WSOP bracelet, an EPT event and a WPT tournament.
He had started the day in second place of the six remaining players. In 1st place was David Tran and so it transpired that they would be the two players left standing. He won a few key races against Tran but the killer hand was one where the board was allowed to develop. Tran was on the button and simply completed – Griffin checked from the big blind and both players stared at a 10-6-2 board.
Griffin checked, allowing Tran to take a 150,000 stab but it was called. When the turn brought a 7, both players checked and allowed the dealer to place a snowman on the table. Griffin immediately bet out for 475,000 but Tran hit him with an uppercut of 1,125,000. After languishing on the ropes for about twenty seconds, Gavin found the inner reserve to land a 3,625,000 haymaker. By that point, Tran was not going to leave the ring without a declaration. He called and felt the force of a sucker punch as Gavin flipped J-9, the runner-runner giving him an unbeatable jack-high straight.
It left Tran with only 800,000 chips and it was only a matter of time before he was on the canvas. When the trap door finally opened, all of the money was in pre-flop and he was a marginal favourite holding K-8 against Griffin’s Q-J. The board offered no salvation – A-9-8-Q-10 rang the final bell on his tournament.
For his troubles he opens a $737,685 purse, almost enough to get Don King out of bed, but the true glory rests on the head of Gavin Griffin as he hoists $1,401,109, wins a customized Harley-Davidson and becomes the first man to wear poker’s Triple Crown.
He had started the day in second place of the six remaining players. In 1st place was David Tran and so it transpired that they would be the two players left standing. He won a few key races against Tran but the killer hand was one where the board was allowed to develop. Tran was on the button and simply completed – Griffin checked from the big blind and both players stared at a 10-6-2 board.
Griffin checked, allowing Tran to take a 150,000 stab but it was called. When the turn brought a 7, both players checked and allowed the dealer to place a snowman on the table. Griffin immediately bet out for 475,000 but Tran hit him with an uppercut of 1,125,000. After languishing on the ropes for about twenty seconds, Gavin found the inner reserve to land a 3,625,000 haymaker. By that point, Tran was not going to leave the ring without a declaration. He called and felt the force of a sucker punch as Gavin flipped J-9, the runner-runner giving him an unbeatable jack-high straight.
It left Tran with only 800,000 chips and it was only a matter of time before he was on the canvas. When the trap door finally opened, all of the money was in pre-flop and he was a marginal favourite holding K-8 against Griffin’s Q-J. The board offered no salvation – A-9-8-Q-10 rang the final bell on his tournament.
For his troubles he opens a $737,685 purse, almost enough to get Don King out of bed, but the true glory rests on the head of Gavin Griffin as he hoists $1,401,109, wins a customized Harley-Davidson and becomes the first man to wear poker’s Triple Crown.
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