The poker pro from Georgia Daniel Weinman got his best possible gift for his 29th birthday by taking down the WPT Main Event title. The player emerged champion in the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open $3,500 Main Event after beating a massive field of 1,312 entries, which created a prize pool of $4,199,712. His share of the prize pool amounted to $892,433 and also included a $15,000 seat into the WPT Tournament of Champions, which will be held after the end of the current main tour season.
Weinman is a player with an impressive poker portfolio and has more than $2.2 million in live tournament winnings. Prior to this victory, his best live cash amounted to $280,260, which he earned for a first-place finish in a WSOP Circuit Main Event. His victory in the Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event was not an easy one. The tournament attracted several top pros from across the world. However, all the veterans hit the rail and the final table comprised of players who little experience.
The 6-handed final table began with Nathan Bjerno as the chip leader. Weinman was fifth in chips at the time when cards got in the air for the final day of play. The first elimination came on 10th hand in the form of Nicholas Immekus who collected $184,787 for his sixth-place finish. Later, the 26th hand saw Richard Foster hitting the rail. He finished 5th for $228,884. By this time, became the second biggest stack at the table, but Tyler Kenney was still the chip leader.
Later, it took only six hands and another player Jia Liu got busted in the 5th place for $275,081. The chip lead Tyler Kenney fought well to keep his lead, but his run came to end soon when he got eliminated in 3rd place by Weinman. Kenney’s share of the pool amounted to $327,578. Thus, Nathan Bjerno, who started the final table as the chip lead remained Weinman’s last opponent. Although it looked as if the heads-up match would not last long, it took Weinman 50 hands to beat his opponent and clinch the title. On the final hand, Weinman went all-in with Ad-5s and Bjerno holding Ac-4h called for his last 3,450,000. The board ran out As-8d-6c-7h-4d, giving Weinman the winning eight-high straight. Bjerno finished as runner-up and earned $524,964 for his efforts.
The Final Table Payout Results:
1st: Daniel Weinman – $892,433*
2nd: Nathan Bjerno – $524,964
3rd: Tyler Kenney – $327,578
4th: Jia Liu – $275,081
5th: Richard Foster – $228,884
6th: Nicholas Immekus – $184,787