New York derivatives Jeremy Wein won his first World Series of Poker bracelet and the main prize of $537,710 in Las Vegas this week, taking down the $5,000 buy-in NLHE big blind ante event after besting a field of 518.
Wein played a strong event, entering the final day’s action second in chips only to top pro player Shawn Buchanan, but little known Spanish player David Laka overtook them both, led the action for much of the day, and went on to not only enter the final table with a solid lead, but mow down most of its players.
That enabled Laka to enter the heads up stage against Wein with a 4 to 1 chip lead, but Wein remained composed and competent, fighting his way back into contention in a heads up encounter that went on for around three hours.
Laka’s luck literally ran out when he suffered a cooler at a critical stage which enabled Wein to eliminate him.
Laka’s impressive talent was recognised with a runner up pay day of $332,328, with the other final table cashed including:
Eric Blair $228,307
Jake Schindler $159,575
John Amato $113,510
Shawn Buchanan $82,199
David Peters $60,618
Richard Tuhrim $45,538
Patrick Truong $34,862