 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Related Links
|
Gaming News
Texas amateur wins WSOP title, $735,400 in record single-day field15 June 2011Foster Hays, a first-time player at the World Series of Poker, put in a solid week's work and managed to pull off a historic parlay, turning a $1,500 investment into $735,400 by winning a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event on Tuesday. Hays beat a field of 3,157 players —the largest field ever to play a WSOP event that had just one start day. The tournament was played over 40 hours in four days. It was a good work week for the 25-year-old medical researcher from Dallas, Texas, who was scheduled to fly back home that night. "I am on the red eye flight tonight," said Hays, following the win. "I believe I should keep my commitments. I have a meeting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning." Hays was born in Dallas and has lived there most of his life, except for the four years he spent in New Haven, Conn., while in college at Yale University. Hays’ only previous live poker tournament cash was a 15th-place finish in a preliminary tournament held at the Venetian, in Las Vegas, four months ago. He earned $1,861 for that in-the-money finish. Only the second outright amateur player to win a gold bracelet at this year’s WSOP, Hays joins Houston doctor Geffrey Klein, who won Event #10. When heads-up play began, Foster Hays enjoyed about a 3 to 1 chip advantage over Casey Kelton. He increased his advantage to about 8 to 1 at one point. But Kelton went on a heater and doubled up several times. Kelton took the chip lead, but Hays fought back and ultimately won. A gold mining supplies salesman from Wickenburg, Ariz., Kelton won $454,920 for his runner-up finish. Jeffrey Lavelle, from Lakeview, N.Y., finished third. A police officer and recreational poker player, Lavelle hauled in $321,947. Allan Le from Huntington Beach, Calif., began the final table as the chip leader and finished fourth for $233,043. Stanley Tavanese from Oldsmar, Fla., was fifth for $170,648, and Robert Koss from Macomb, Mich., was sixth for $126,409. Tristan Wade, from Orlando, Fla., was seventh, Phillippe Vert, from Marseille, France, was eighth, and Jordan Young, from Twin Lake, Mich., was ninth. The top 324 finishers collected prize money. Tony Cousineau, from Daytona Beach, Fla., cashed for the 47th time at the WSOP. His 32nd-place finish means he has now extended his record as the all-time leader in player cashes without a WSOP gold bracelet. Tournament summary provided by Nolan Dalla, WSOP Media Director, reprinted by permission. |