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Ellis becomes fourth U.K. player to win at WSOP, claims $581,85119 June 2010Mike Ellis won the fourth $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #30) at the World Series of Poker on Saturday morning. A 45-year-old financial trader from London, England, Ellis took home $581,851. Ellis, who played draw and stud poker while at Oxford, had never made a WSOP final table prior to his victory, but he had earned more than $500,000 in career tournament winnings worldwide. His win marked the fourth WSOP title won by a resident of the U.K. this summer. The U.K. had three gold bracelet winners last year. With four wins already in 2010, this is the best showing ever by British poker players at the WSOP. "The British players have had a fantastic year," said Ellis. "We are all kind of rooting for each other here and we come together. We are all friends and we know each other back home. It's nice to see all of us doing well." Six years ago, Ellis rediscovered his passion for poker and began playing full time. He has played poker as a professional since 2004. His passion for poker was sparked during a business conference in Las Vegas. He began playing during the nights and "got hooked again," he says. "I absolutely love the game," said Ellis. "I never tire of it. There is always a different situation. It's a challenge to work things out. You also meet so many great people in poker – it's just a fantastic game."  Ellis became the fourth U.K. resident to win a WSOP bracelet this year. (photo by GreasieWheels) Christopher Gonzalez, from Fremont, Calif., was the runner up. He doubled up a few times and took the chip lead for the first time when play went to heads up, but Ellis finally won as the clock on the graveyard shift passed the 5 a.m. mark. Gonzalez earned a nice consolation prize totaling $360,906. Ellis cracked his opponent's pocket aces twice, including the tournament's last hand. After battling back and forth for nearly three hours, Ellis held about a 3-to-1 chip lead when the final hand was dealt. Ellis had ace-10 of diamonds, while Gonzalez held pocket aces. Gonzalez was all in by the turn, but Ellis had set the perfect trap as the board showed three diamonds, good for a nut flush. David Wilkinson, a businessman from Boulder, Colo., finished third and won $254,996. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan Law School. Wilkinson founded an outdoor travel company called Alta Terra Travel. He previously won a WSOP Circuit gold ring at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 2007. Martin Jacobson, a 22-year old from Stockholm, Sweden, finished fourth for $183,345. The fifth-place finisher was Billy Griner, a tree trimmer from Monroe, Mich., to win $133,574. William Kakon, from Miami, Fla., was sixth, Jason Hallee, from Sherbrooke, Que., was seventh, Chris Kastler, a 35-year-old business owner from Charlotte, N.C., was eighth, and Jeffrey Cohen, from Parkland, Fla., was ninth. The tournament drew a huge field of 2,394 players. The top 243 finishers collected prize money. Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included Carlos Mortensen (23rd) and Howard "Tahoe" Andrew (192nd). Andrew, who first came to the 1974 WSOP, holds the longest active streak of 36 straight years entering at least one event.
Ellis becomes fourth U.K. player to win at WSOP, claims $581,851
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
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