Elvyn Bello limped with 5♦4♣ in the small blind and Faraz Jaka checked his big blind option holding K♥5♠.
Bello checked his straight on the 3♠2♣A♥ flop and Jaka checked back to see the 2♥ turn. Bello led out for 40,000 and Jaka tossed in the call.
The J♥ river saw Bello check to Jaka, who took some time before sticking in an overbet of 300,000. Bello quickly made the call and showed Jaka his straight to take down the pot.
Faraz Jaka raised to 110,000 holding J♣9♣ in the small blind and Michael Nia flatted with A♦10♣ in the big blind.
Jaka found a pair on the 5♣9♠7♣ flop and led out for 130,000. Nia checked his cards and opted to make the call. The 8♠ turn saw Jaka check, with Nia checking behind.
The dealer flipped over the 2♥ river and Jaka led out for 200,000. Nia counted out a raise to 500,000 and Jaka did not take long to stick in the call.
Nia showed his bluff with ace-high, while Jaka regained the chip lead with his pair.
Elvyn Bello opened to 80,000 with A♦4♦ on the button and Faraz Jaka replied with a three-bet to 285,000 holding J♣8♣ in the small blind.
Jaka checked the J♦10♠K♣ flop and called after Bello fired 150,000. The Q♥ turn saw Bello find Broadway, while Jaka led out for 400,000 with his pair.
Bello called to see the 8♠ river, giving Jaka two pair. After taking some time, Jaka moved all in and Bello flipped in the call. Bello celebrated after seeing Jaka's hand, earning the full double up.
Faraz Jaka moved all in on the button and Michael Nia made the call in the small blind. Elvyn Bello got out of the way and the hands were turned up.
Faraz Jaka: K♥4♣ 
Michael Nia: 7♥5♥
Nia was the only one to improve on the 8♣A♠9♥6♦7♦ runout, making a straight to send Jaka to the rail in third place.
The LA Poker Classic has a long and storied history in the poker world, and few players would know that history better than Michael Nia. The Southern California native has been playing this event for more than 15 years, and earned a special piece of hardware at The Commerce Casino & Hotel.
After four days of dramatic action, the 71-year-old Nia reached a heads-up deal with Elvyn Bello, earning the victory in the $10,000 LAPC Main Event.
“I am seriously honored to have been able to take this one down because it’s LAPC,” Nia told PokerNews while preparing to take his winner photos. “It was a dream since 2010 for me to actually take this down and take the trophy home.”
The prestigious tournament attracted 145 entries over two starting flights and an hour of late registration on Day 2. That created a total prize pool of $1,348,500, split up among the top 19 finishers.
Nia takes home the largest share, earning $308,270 for the largest tournament score of his career.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Nia | United States | $308,270* |
| 2 | Elvyn Bello | Dominican Republic | $300,000* |
| 3 | Faraz Jaka | United States | $138,900 |
| 4 | Frank Brannan | United States | $84,320 |
| 5 | Adam Weinraub | United States | $65,400 |
| 6 | Gevork Kasabyan | United States | $54,010 |
| 7 | Cecile Ticherfatine | France | $47,200 |
| 8 | Anthony Hu | United States | $42,140 |
| 9 | Jonathan Pastore | France | $37,230 |
* Denotes heads-up deal
The LAPC Main Event field was full of notable names, including start-of-day chip leader Faraz Jaka. Nia was quick to erase that deficit and claim the chip advantage on the opening level of the day, staying at the top of the counts throughout the rest of the final table.
Nia explained that he was prepared for the high level of competition that this LAPC event provided. “The players that I’ve been playing with the past days, every time I played with that individual, I changed my strategy because individuals would also change the way they play.”
“When I lose a hand,” Nia continued, “I don’t lose it, I don’t lose my energy, and when I win, I don’t show any celebration or anything, because that’s just the process and it’s a long process.”
That process served him well, watching his competitors head to the payout desk one by one throughout the day. That included WSOP bracelet winners Jonathan Pastore and Frank Brannan, plus high-stakes veteran Anthony Hu.
Others to earn a spot at the final table were Cecile Ticherfatine, Gevork Kasabyan and Adam Weinraub.
Jaka survived to three-handed play, but his exit in third place saw Nia and Bello call for the floor to discuss a deal. Once they had an agreement in place, Bello celebrated with his rail as the result and $300,000 runner-up prize represented the biggest score of his young career.
“I been getting prepared for this kind of moment,” Bello told PokerNews shortly after play had concluded. “It means a lot because a lot of people don’t believe that I’m capable of being here competing with really good players, but this is just the beginning.”
“I’ve only been playing tournaments for a year and a half, and with this $300,000 it will be almost a million, so you’re going to see in the future more of me, so they gonna know me soon.”
As for the champion, Nia was able to reflect on his accomplishment and success here at The Commerce.
“It means a lot, because you come to the casino and grind all day long, spend so much time and so much money, so much effort for one goal, and that it to achieve first place in a tournament.”
Nia explained that he loved the level of competition and that is what bring him back to this special venue. “I’m a retired person, I do this for fun and a challenge, Commerce has been one of the better card rooms in the industry overall.”
“It’s a huge joy achieving this level of success in a tournament.”
That concludes PokerNews coverage of the LAPC Main Event, but be sure to check back for more live reporting of other exciting poker tournaments around the globe.
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