Congratulations to David Singontiko, Event #51 Champion! ($268,235)
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We're witnessing quite a scene here. David Singontiko of California has just won his first WSOP bracelet — in the first event he's ever entered! — besting a field of 946 to win Event No. 51, the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better event. His group of joyous supporters have surrounded him, and it looks like the celebrating will be continuing for some time this evening.
It was a hard-fought ten-handed final table that saw several big chips swings, some clever play, and more than a few moments of good fortune along the way. During the very first orbit of play, David "Doc" Sands lost his huge chip lead and more than two-thirds of his stack after losing a huge hand versus Jeffery Gibralter. Sands would hang on a while longer before exiting in 10th and missing the official final table.
While Gibralter maintained his newly-gained chip lead, the short stacks fought for a while before soon falling one by one, with John Reiss (ninth), Robert Campbell (eighth), and Cliff Kettinger (seventh) going out in short order. The Brazilian Marco Oliveira — with recent bracelet winner Andre Akkari on the rail cheering him on — went out next in sixth, followed soon by Thomas Scarber in fifth.
Meanwhile, Singontiko was accumulating chips, and after knocking Igor Sharaskin in fourth in a particularly unlucky hand for the Russian, held a large chip lead when three-handed play began.
It looked like Michael Yee was destined to go out in third, stuck on a short stack for much of the time the trio played. But a huge pot developed between Singontiko and Gibralter that saw the latter hit the rail in third, and it would only take a couple more hands for Singontiko to take the last of Yee's short stack.
The story we're hearing is that Singontiko worked several months for his father's mortgage company at $10/hour to save up for this one event, his first ever at the Series. Soon after winning, Singontiko gave his father a call to tell him the good news — in three days he'd earned a cool $268,235 with that $1,500 he saved up working for his dad! Not to mention a nice piece of jewelry to commemorate his effort.
The celebrating is still going on, and it's hard not to smile as we watch. Congratulations to David Singontiko! And thanks for following our coverage of Event No. 51 here at PokerNews.