Kevin Jonna Wins 2014 L.A. Poker Classic $25,400 Commerce High Roller

March 05, 2014

Donnie Peters

After a field of 25 entries were whittled down to 12 following Day 1 of the 2014 L.A. Poker Classic $25,400 Commerce High Roller, play resumed for Day 2 on Tuesday to find a winner. That player, taking home $262,840 after a heads-up deal, was Kevin Jonna. He defeated Matt Marafioti, who earned $237,160 for finishing in second place.

Place	Player	Payout
1	Kevin Jonna	$262,840*
2	Matt Marafioti	$237,160*
3	Jason Koon	$125,000

_{*Denotes heads-up deal.}

California's Jonna earned by far the largest live tournament score of his career. Previously, he had just $38,694 in earnings, and his largest result came from a 38th-place finish in the 2013 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic Main Event for $25,810.

Some of the notables that advanced to Day 2, but did not cash were Chris Moore, Phil Galfond, Anthony Zinno, and Paul Volpe. Volpe fell in fifth place, according to LAPCnews.com, and that set up the tournament in the official bubble. That's where it was time for Kyle Julius' run to come to an end.

With four players left and only three getting paid, Julius had moved all in from under the gun. Jonna was in the small blind and made the call to put Julius at risk. Jonna had the A♥J♠ to dominate Julius' A♠5♣, and the board ran out 10♥9♣4♣J♠9♥.