Congratulations to Kai Landry, WSOP-C Harrah's Tunica Champion! ($183,974)
It certainly wasn't an easy road for Landry. Play began three days ago with 153 players standing in his way. He picked through the field with surgical precision though, rarely making a false step. Coming into Day 3 here, Landry was in the middle of the pack with 375,000. Managing to fight his way into the final three, our champ found himself with just barely more than ten big blinds after losing a huge race against David Dao.
Not to worry for Landry though. He would claim Matt Stout as the third place finisher when his pocket sevens managed to win a race against Stout's overcards. It wasn't long after that before he delivered the final blow, putting David Dao all in, fading his opponent's few outs, and sending him to the rail as runner up.
This series of events at Harrah's Tunica was a resounding success. The sixty tables in the tournament room were jammed full of players for more than two weeks. The tournament staff here is one of the best out there, and they consistently did everything possible to create an appealing and successful tournament series. The series as a whole drew 11,764 players, generating a prize pool of $3,788,335. The Championship itself attracted more than 150 players, putting nearly $900,000 up for grabs.
After three days of hard work, the lion's share of that cash will belong to Kai Landry. In addition, he has earned an $11,000 entry to the 2009 WSOP Main Event. And don't forget the bling; Landry has already tried on his beautiful diamond-laced gold ring, and it was a fine fit indeed.
That's it for us here in Mississippi. Congratulations to Kai Landry, 2009 WSOP-C Harrah's Tunica champion!