US poker pro Loren Klein (36) had plenty to celebrate at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this week: a $1,018,336 winner’s pay day and the rare achievement of winning his third bracelet in as many years.
Klein triumphed in the $10,000 buy-in PLO Championship, besting a final table laden with respected and braceletted names; five of the six finalists were former bracelet winners whilst Jerry Wong, who busted out at fourth for $303,491, can claim a WSOP Main Event finalist achievement on his cv.
The event recorded a 476-strong entry list, generating a prize pool of $4,474,400 from which 72 entries cashed.
On the last day of the contest Klein was around the middle of the chip counts among the final six players, with fellow pro Brandon Shack-Harris holding the chip lead as final table action got underway.
Klein quickly chipped up to overtake Shack-Harris and was able to maintain the lead and control for most of the remainder of the competition, busting three of the final table members.
Going into heads up, Klein held the lead over three-bracelet pro Rep Porter, and soon widened the gap to ultimately eliminate Porter and claim his biggest yet pay day and a bracelet for the third year running.
Porter’s runner up reward was $629,378, whilst other final table cashes included:
3rd: Brandon Shack-Harris – $433,259
4th: Jerry Wong – $303,491
5th: Ryan Hughes – $216,391
6th: Scott Bohlman – $157,097
7th: Mike Leah – $116,166
8th: Alexey Makarov – $87,522