The WPT Prime Championship and Friday's $5 million ClubWPT Gold Invitational Freeroll will get most of the headlines at Wynn Las Vegas this week. But there are many other intriguing events taking place during the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship festival that are seeing some big name pros such as Joe McKeehen taking down events.
McKeehen, the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner, continues to crush it on the tournament circuit since becoming world champion nine years ago. He added another title to his name Dec. 9 when he took down the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max tournament for $120,943.
The Philadelphia sports fanatic beat out 211 entrants, including Cherish Andrews (sixth place for $25,788) at the final table. Joan Moragues finished runner-up and received $98,942. McKeehen now has $20.6 million in live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob.
$3,000 NLH 6-Max Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Joe McKeehen
$120,943
2
Joan Moragues
$98,942
3
Daewoong Song
$61,269
4
Michael Arellano
$45,832
5
Byung Eun Shin
$33,862
6
Cherish Andrews
$25,788
Vengrin Wins in Omaha/8
Matt Vengrin
Matt Vengrin, a restaurateur in Las Vegas, won his third poker tournament at Wynn since October when he conquered the $1,100 Limit Omaha/8 event for $39,553. He beat out 159 players in the $100,000 guaranteed tournament that had just over $154,000 in the prize pool.
Vengrin, who now has over $1.7 million in live tournament cashes, beat Ryan Hoenig heads-up to win the shiny Wynn replica trophy. Hoering, an accomplished tournament player as well, received $23,748 for second place. Carol Fuchs, a WSOP bracelet winner, finished in third place for $16,954.
$1,100 Limit Omaha/8 Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Matt Vengrin
$39,553
2
Ryan Hoenig
$23,748
3
Carol Fuchs
$16,954
4
Robert Tanita
$12,939
5
Kathy Chang
$9,753
6
Dean Joe
$7,268
7
Bill Watchman
$5,691
8
Volodymyr Kondratenko
$4,656
Life-Changing Money for Barrios
Sergio Barrios Soto
Sergio Barrios Soto has the biggest score thus far at the WPT World Championship festival — by a lot. The Mexican poker player who had less than $100,000 in The Hendon Mob results prior to the series earned a life-changing cash in a $1 million guaranteed event.
The $800 No-Limit Hold'em tournament began on Dec. 3 and had a whopping 3,006 entrants and more than doubled the guarantee ($318,623). Barrios earned the largest share of that pot — $318,623 — when he defeated Michael O'Connor heads-up for the title. O'Connor, an American poker player, claimed a $211,189 prize. Alexander Greenblatt (third place for $162,450) and Jordyn Miller (fourth place for $124,686) also earned six-figure payouts. Joon Kim wasn't far off with a $97,375 cash for fifth place.
$800 NLH Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Sergio Barrios Soto
$318,623
2
Michael O'Connor
$211,189
3
Alexander Greenblatt
$162,450
4
Jordyn Miller
$124,686
5
Joon Kim
$97,375
6
Davide Muccini
$73,745
7
Jesse Kertland
$56,316
8
Ping Lin
$41,376
9
Andrea Virzi
$29,606
The series is just getting started. Many major events that will capture headlines such as the $10,400 WPT World Championship (Dec. 14) are still to come, along with plenty of other exciting tournaments at Wynn just like the ones we've discussed.
