Mike Ellis WIns Event #30: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em ($581,851)
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It's been a long and gruelling day, and as a new day dawns over Vegas, Event #30 has come to an end.
21 players returned today and one by one they trudged off to the payout desk - all of them taking home a little something for their troubles, but we suspect none of them feeling as though they'd really achieved what they'd come in to do.
Except one.
Mike Ellis outlasted an incredible field of almost 2,400 players to take home the biggest win of his poker career. He first made his presence felt on the poker circuit back home in the UK when he took down the GUKPT Grand Final for £197,600 ($407,700) in late 2007. Since then he's added five WSOP cashes to his record, and now he gets to take home not only the biggest poker payday of his life but also his first WSOP bracelet.
The heads up battle between Ellis and his more than worthy opponent Christopher Gonzales was nothing short of epic, lasting almost three hours and seeing the chip lead change hands several times. Both players played stellar poker, and both deserved to win. In the end though, there can only be one winner, and this is Ellis' moment.
Many congratulations to Ellis and indeed all the other finalists. From PokerNews.com at the Rio, very early on a Saturday morning, it's over and out.