Shaun Deeb took down the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship on Saturday after outlasting 128 entries over three days of play. The famous high-stakes pro received his first WSOP gold bracelet along with the $318,857 top prize after defeating Paul Volpe heads-up.
Besides Volpe and Deeb, there were a few other big names on the final table (see final table results below) - which is being described by WSOP reporters as "the most stacked final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker".
"This was one of the toughest final tables I've ever played against," Deeb said afterward. "This was the second time I've made the final in this $10K PLO event, and to come out on top against these caliber of players was just great. It was really special to get this against Paul (Volpe), because we play together all the time. I know he wanted to win, but to get my first against him was just amazing the way it all happened."
The first-place prize money probably won't make a big difference to Deeb's life, given that he's regularly playing the biggest cash games and most expensive tournaments. But there's something special with winning a bracelet...
"This is the biggest stage of all, where it's at in poker, and where you have to win to prove yourself," Deeb said. "I wanted to cross this off my bucket list for quite some time, and I finally took it down."
Winner info:
Name: Shaun Deeb
Birthplace: Syracuse, NY (USA)
Age: 29
Current Residence: Troy, NY (USA)
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1
Profession: Poker Pro
Number of WSOP Cashes: 23
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 3
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories (with this tournament): 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: 4th (2011)
Total WSOP Earnings: $860,903
Personal Facts: Before this victory, was widely considered one of world's best players
without a gold bracelet
Final table results:
OTHER NOTABLE IN-THE MONEY FINISHERS:
Among the gold bracelet winners that cashed (10th through 18th), the big names were
Josh Arieh (12th), Todd Brunson (14th), and Matt Waxman (15th).
FUN FACTS:
This was the first event on the 2015 schedule which did not attract any female players.
All 128 entrants were males.
The average age of entrants was 35.2 years, a typical mean number for most WSOP
events. The youngest player was 23, and the oldest was 72.
Players were about 75 percent American. There were 95 players from the United
States and 33 from other nations.
