Josh Prager Wins LAPC One Million ($227,775)
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One of the heftiest prize pools of the year so far for $1K players was built up in the L.A. Poker Classic One Million event, which drew 1,770 entries.
Late Sunday night and into Monday morning, the tournament ended with Josh Prager banking $227,775 as part of a six-way chop that saw everyone walk with at least $95,000. Prager took home the big prize after having the most chips and then adding the $30,000 payout the deal reserved for the winner.
It's the second-biggest cash for Prager after a score of over $500K way back in 2007 on the EPT, and he has about $1.8 million in winnings now.
LAPC One Million Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Prager | $227,775* |
| 2 | Sean Swingruber | $132,220* |
| 3 | Faisal Shihabi | $117,995* |
| 4 | Kevin Song | $95,460* |
| 5 | Aleksandr Gofman | $100,000* |
| 6 | Mihails Morozovs | $98,430* |
| 7 | Cord Garcia | $41,220 |
| 8 | Haik Rostomyan | $32,550 |
*reflects final table deal
The tournament drew its massive field over the course of four starting flights, producing a prize pool in excess of $1.7 million. Some of those who got a cut of that in the 183 paid places — 140 on Day 2 — included Brett Murray, Ari Engel, Billy Baxter, poker media's own Matt Clark and Freddy Deeb.
Prager made a run to the unofficial final table in strong shape, according to the live updates, as he was the first to 6 million, at 50,000/100,000/100,000, leading the final nine.
An Early Deal
Despite losing his lead early on, Prager scored a couple of eliminations to get back to the top.
First, he busted Haik Rostomyan in eighth, courtesy of fours holding up all in preflop against ace-ten despite two Broadway cards flopping.
Then, a short-stacked Cord Garcia got his chips in the middle holding K♦3♦ but couldn't overcome Prager's Jx8x as an eight fell on the turn.
That gave Prager a third of the chips in play and a strong negotiating position. However, he said he was willing to just take ICM payouts and be done with the tournament. It wasn't to be, though, and in the end, a payout agreement was reached that saw everyone lock up at least $95,000 with $60,000 left on the table — to be paid out as $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 prizes.
Mihail Morozovs, Aleksandr Gofman and Kevin Song would go home with just their negotiated amounts, leaving it to Prager, Faisal Shihabi and Sean Swingruber to battle for the remaining money.
In the end, Prager apparently triumphed over Swingruber to push past the $200,000 mark and lock up the trophy.
