The winner of event #34, Naoya Kihara took his nation's first ever WSOP Gold Bracelet last night when he won the Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha event and won $512,029 in prize money.
The 30 year old Japanease player made his WSOP debut in last year's WSOP where he managed to get in the money by finishing 653rd in event #58 which gave him $19,359. The former school teacher turned poker pro is mostly playing online poker but according to WSOP.com Kihara now "hopes to travel around the world and play in more live tournaments with this victory".
At the final table in event #34, Kihara was accompanied by two former Gold Bracelet winners; the 2008 Pot-Limit Hold'em winner Davidi Kitai (finished at 5th) and the No-Limit Hold'em winner of 2010 Jason DeWitt (finished at 8th). The runner-up was Chris De Maci who's WSOP record shows a 12th placement in 2005's Hold'em event #9.
As for the future, Kihara is hoping to get an online sponshorship deal but also, according to WSOP.com, to "become a poker ambassador in his home country, as well as throughout Asia".
Tournaments should be full with japanease poker players!
