It took nearly 11 hours for Tony Veckey to claim the title, but he'll tell you it was worth the effort and the missed flight home to Chicago. Our newest WSOP bracelet winner bested a field of 2,818 to walk away with the hardware and more than $673,000 in first-place money.
Today was no piece of cake either, as 28 players returned to battle for the prize. Eliminations moved quickly though, and we were down to 10 players just after the dinner break. Veckey played an aggressive and smart game throughout, raising his opponents and applying pressure whenever possible. His most impressive play, however, may be the hand he didn't play when he laid down pocket kings preflop to an all in raise.
In the end, his tactics worked as he bested Jason Wheeler in a hard fought heads-up battle to claim the bracelet.
Jason Wheeler bet 450,000 on a flop of and Tony Veckey made the call.
Wheeler bet another 1,200,000 on the turn and Veckey moved all in, having connected with his gutshot straight draw. Wheeler called and we saw the hands:
Veckey:
Wheeler:
The on the river gave Wheeler trips, but they weren't enough to best Veckey's straight. Wheeler left in second place with $418,122.
Jason Wheeler made it 240,000 to play from the small blind and Tony Veckey joined in.
On a flop of , Veckey bet 300,000 and Wheeler came along. The turn brought the , another 300,000 bet from Veckey, and another call. The river brought the and yet another 300,000 bet. When Wheeler raised to 1,500,000, Veckey called and tabled for the straight. Wheeler mucked.