Greg Merson Wins World Series of Poker, Snags $8.5 Million
Poker pro Greg Merson, a mere 24 years old, bested 6,598 contenders to win this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event at Rio Las Vegas.
Merson, who hails from Maryland, won $8,531,853 (yes, we counted it) and a coveted WSOP gold bracelet valued at infinity dollars, because WSOP bracelets are just that flipping awesome.
"Cha," meet "ching."
The WSOP Main Event, the world’s largest and most lucrative poker tournament, costs $10,000 to enter, but the return on investment can obviously be substantial if you play your cards right.
The marathon Final Table event lasted 12 hours, starting at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 and ending at 5:44 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. Play at the Final Table spanned 399 hands, which is kind of bugging this blog, because we have OCD a little.
The Main Event victory was Merson’s second seven-figure prize at this year’s WSOP (which encompasses 61 separate events). He won a No-Limit Hold’em tournament this summer with a prize of $1.1 million. Merson was the only player at the 2012 World Series of Poker to win more than one gold bracelet. Somebody’s going to need a really good tax attorney.
This blog couldn't play poker professionally. The massive stacks of cash would impede our arm movements.
Thanks to Joe Giron for the pics.
The second and third place Final Table finishers were Jake Balsiger and Jesse Sylvia. Balsiger won $3.8 million for his third place finish, and Sylvia won $5.3 for coming in second. Lovely parting gifts, you might say.
The total prize pool for the 2012 World Series of Poker was $222 million, with participants from 101 countries. (Seriously? Not 100?)
Congrats to Greg Merson, and find out more about the World Series of Poker.
