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World Series of Poker
25-year-old wins title and
$8.1m in first appearance |
24/07/17 |
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 Editor |
• Scott
Blumstein from New Jersey had sharpened skills online
• Rookie beat
7,200 other competitors to first place in Las Vegas
A New Jersey man with a degree in accounting is this
year’s World Series of Poker champion.
Scott Blumstein won the
no-limit Texas Hold ‘em main event early on Sunday in Las Vegas surrounded
a crowd that included relatives and college friends. He is now $8.1m richer
after eliminating Pennsylvania’s Daniel Ott on the 246th hand of the final
table, more than 60 hands with just the two of them with bricks of bills and a
gold bracelet separating them.
“I’m really happy about how I
played tonight,” said the 25-year-old Blumstein. “This is just one
poker tournament. It takes variance and luck and playing your best, and all
those things came together, and I’m happy to be the winner.”
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Blumstein’s final
hand of an ace of hearts and a two of diamonds ended up being stronger than
that of Ott, who went all in with an ace of diamonds and an eight of diamonds.
The community cards were a jack of spades, a six of spades, a five of hearts, a
seven of hearts and a two of hearts. It was the last card that prompted
Blumstein’s supporters to erupt.
“I’m really happy with
the result, really happy with the deuce because I was playing good, but
I’m pretty tired of poker at this point honestly, and to have to go back
and battle pretty deep again, I wasn’t looking forward to it,” said
Blumstein, who fell to his knees near his supporters after the two of hearts
was revealed.
Blumstein, Ott and seven other players reached the final
table after having bested more than 7,200 participants. Unlike the past several
years, the final nine players didn’t have to wait until November to take
their spots at the final table. Each of them was guaranteed at least
$1m..
The famed tournament marked the end of this year’s series, in
which dozens of tournaments drew 120,995 entrants from around the world,
shattering attendance records. The men who made the final table represented the
United States, Argentina, France and Britain. Earlier, on Saturday night,
Frenchman Benjamin Pollak was eliminated in third place.
Ott earned
$4.7m. Neither he nor Blumstein had previously played at the main event. Both
had dozens of supporters who cheered and gasped — depending on the hand
— throughout the night. Some in Team Blumstein sported t-shirts that
wondered “Is this real?” and others that declared “I don’t
like folding.”
Ott said overall he was satisfied with how he
performed and the result. “At the end the chips didn’t go my
way,” Ott told PokerNews.com after the event. “The cards didn’t
go my way. But I got second place ... I can’t complain about that.”
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Blumstein, a graduate of
Temple University, is a regular on New Jersey online poker sites but had never
cashed in the World Series of Poker. His total live winnings stood at more than
$300,000 before Sunday. Besides his multimillion-dollar payout, he also took
home a bracelet made from white and yellow gold, diamonds and rubies.
The millions of dollars Blumstein earned probably won’t go toward
buy-ins at high-roller poker tournaments, though. Blumstein said money is not
what motivates him to play, but his payout will allow him to do
“whatever” he wants to do whether that is play more poker, go into
business or return to education.
The champion’s home state is one
of three states where online poker is legal. After the tournament ended, he
credited his many hours online for helping him to win the main event. “The
best way to get better at anything is through repetition and practice,” he
said. “When you play online in New Jersey, it’s hard for any live pro
to see even close to the amount of hands I’ve probably seen in the last
two years.”
John Hesp, a semi-retired businessman, who usually
plays a £10 tournament at a casino in Hull, won $2.6m (£2m) after
finishing fourth.
WSOP 2017
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