
The annual World Poker Tour (WPT) cease at Choctaw On line casino in Durant, Oklahoma performed all the way down to the ultimate desk of six Monday night. However the motion will not resume till Could 30 in Las Vegas.
Mike Vanier, who has over $1 million in profession WPT cashes, will carry the most important stack to Sin Metropolis as he makes an attempt to hitch the WPT Champions Membership. Oh, and in addition gather the $338,000 first place prize.
Vanier Out in Entrance

The $3,800 buy-in WPT Choctaw Championship started Could 1 and had 586 entrants. Day 3 started on Monday with Trung Pham, Logan Hoover, Mason Vieth, and Lifu Zhang on the prime of the ultimate 24 gamers. Three of these people reached the upcoming Las Vegas closing desk.
Pham was the odd mann out as he busted in seventh place ($54,000) when he misplaced a 60/40 to Vanier. That ended play in Oklahoma and gave the remaining six gamers purpose to have a good time understanding they’d reached the ultimate desk.
WPT Choctaw Championship Ultimate Desk Chip Counts
Vanier will return to the felt later this month with 7,950,000 chips, or about 80 huge blinds (50,000/100,000). Whereas there is a comparatively sizable hole between first and second, no participant on the desk is short-stacked, which suggests Vanier nonetheless has loads of work to do if he will end it off.
Zhang, who entered Day 3 with a big stack, continued to construct his stack all through the latest session, and he can thank a fortunate river card for the place he is in.
With 12 gamers remaining, Rick Alvarado bought all of it in preflop with A♠Okay♣. Zhang known as off the massive wager with A♣Q♥ and was nicely behind. The flop and switch ran out 10♥8♥5♥10♣, giving some hope to Zhang, who spiked his flush on the 3♥ river, sending Alvardo house in twelfth place ($29,500) on a nasty beat.
Zhang will enter the ultimate desk with 6,150,000 chips (61 huge blinds). Every of the six remaining gamers have a minimal assured payout of $70,000. Fifth place pays $92,000, and the primary six-figure money goes to fourth place ($122,000), adopted by $163,000 to 3rd place, $220,000 to second place, and $338,000 to the champion.
There have been a variety of huge title professionals among the many 74 gamers who earned a bit of the $2,051,000 prize pool. That record consists of Michael Wang (69th for $7,000), Andrew Moreno (67th for $7,000), Will Failla (62nd for $8,100), Harrison Gimbel (fiftieth for $9,500), and Faraz Jaka (thirteenth for $26,000).
The defending champion, James Mackey, who has gained this occasion twice, didn’t money.
James Mackey Wins WPT Choctaw Championship for the Second Time
*Photographs courtesy of the World Poker Tour.