Bryce Cox Claims Bounty Title for First Gold Ring
PokerNews is in town to live report both the High Roller and Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Planet Hollywood, but those are just two gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.
In Event #3: $400 NLH Bounty, 169 entrants created a $38,870 prize pool that was paid out to the top 26 spots. Among those to cash were Edward Bashuk (10th - $662), Tyree Johnson (12th - $662), Pedro Romero (17th - $489), and Craig Luedemann (20th - $438).
In the end, 42-year-old Bryce Cox of Fountain Hills, Arizona came out on top to win a $9,967 top prize and his first gold ring.
“For me it’s more about the ring than it is about the money,” he said after the win. “I’ve learned in my life that money comes and goes. It feels good. If feels really, really good.”
Cox, who has been sober for 11 years, continued: “It’s been a frickin’ struggle for two years. In the last two months of playing poker I ran so good. I just could feel like this was literally destiny. When I first got sober I was living in an abandoned house shooting heroine. I was down in the absolute gutter. I got into AA, worked the twelve steps. I sponsor guys, I give back, I help people. My life is just so full today because of that. God’s purpose is for me to help people.”
With tears in his eyes, Cox added: “I got shot when I was 18. I had a bullet run my shoulder and stop at my jaw. The surgeon that did the tracheostomy on my throat was like, ‘This is a surgery that I’ll do once in my career.’ A lot of things had to line up in order for me to be here.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryce Cox | Fountain Hills, Arizona | $9,967 |
| 2 | Adam Breeden | Las Vegas, Nevada | $6,160 |
| 3 | Brandon Brock | N/A | $4,290 |
| 4 | Roy Rubin | Alpharetta, Georgia | $3,056 |
| 5 | Adnan Aidi | Tucson, Arizona | $2,228 |
| 6 | Tim Bullard | Houston, Texas | $1,663 |
| 7 | Elena Currence | Reston, Virginia | $1,272 |
| 8 | Matthew Colvin | Dallas, Texas | $997 |
| 9 | Levi Blanchette | Denver, Colorado | $802 |