Michael Lech's Hot Streak Continues as He Captures 8th Gold Ring
PokerNews is in town to live report the $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit at Horseshoe Tunica, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.
Event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold’em attracted 1,005 entries over three flights, which resulted in a $331,650 prize pool. That was paid out to the top 149 players and among those to go deep were Craig Welko (4th - $18,106), Byron Tipton (20th - $2,468), Jeff Whittinghill (33rd - $1,513), and Eddie Shade (47th - $1,232).
In the end, Arkansas’s Michael Lech bested Jeff Burns in heads-up play to win the title for $53,320 and his eighth career gold ring (five of which have come in different countries).
“It’s the first one of the decade, so, let’s go! It’s a good start, I’m happy to be here. I’m going on a vacation next weekend to take my mom to Mexico for her birthday, so I paid for it,” Lech said after his victory.
The 29-year-old continued: “I ran pretty good from start to finish. I started the final table second in chips, then got down to last in chips on dinner break. I only had seven big blinds, but then the other guy started throwing chips in for no reason, and I ended up having almost all the chips.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Lech | Alma, Arkansas | $53,320 |
| 2 | Jeffrey Burns | Mount Juliet, Tennessee | $32,995 |
| 3 | Ronnie Young | Hopkinsville, Kentucky | $24,278 |
| 4 | Craig Welko | St. Louis, Missouri | $18,106 |
| 5 | Parker Drew | Harrison, New York | $13,690 |
| 6 | Jeremy Moore | Conway, Arkansas | $10,496 |
| 7 | George Norton | Selmer, Tennessee | $8,163 |
| 8 | Derek Schroeder | St. Charles, Missouri | $6,441 |
| 9 | Donald Crabtree | Mount Juliet, Tennessee | $5,158 |