The latest World Series of Poker (WSOP) title winners include Australian James Obst and Las Cruces native, Tyler Groth.
Obst won his first WSOP gold bracelet this week after he defeated Las Vegas import Eric Kurtzman heads-up in Event 26, the $10,000 Razz Championship for a payday of $265,138.
Obst was denied his first bracelet earlier this week by Jesse Martin in Event #7, $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (see previous InfoPowa report).
This win takes Obst’s WSOP career earnings to over $1.5 million and marks his 21st WSOP cash.
Final Table Payouts were:
1 James Obst, $265,138
2 Eric Kurtzman, $163,867
3 David “ODB” Baker, $112,645
4 Andrey Zhigalov, $79,616
5 Anthony Zinno, $57,903
6 Brandon Shack-Harris, $43,370
7 Jyri Merivirta, $33,485
8 Jack Duong, $26,674
Event 25, $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha was taken down by Tyler Groth, another first-time WSOP bracelet winner and first-time WSOP cash.
Groth outplayed a field of 1,086 to win $179,126 after defeating Jonathan Zarin heads-up.
Final Table Results were:
1 Tyler Groth – $179,126
2 Jonathan Zarin – $110,655
3 Allan Le – $78,372
4 Darren Taylor – $56,242
5 Igor Sharaskin – $40,862
6 Adam Brown – $30,090
7 Daniel Spencer – $22,456
8 Mark Zullo – $16,986
9 Casey Carroll – $13,026
In related news, the specter of sub-standard cards appears to be a recurring conversation within poker focused circles and the WSOP, as has been the case in the past.
Numerous pokercentric news sites and player forums, have expressed concerns on the quality of the cards and how easily they can be marked, with some players reportedly sitting out of major events until the issue is addressed.
The problem first came to light during the final table of the $111,111 One Drop High Roller event by eventual winner Doug Polk who noticed white marks on the cards. Play was suspended for 45 minutes by officials who surmised the marks were caused by the card shuffler, an excuse quickly dismissed by players.
The WSOP promised a thorough inspection early on in the competition indicating a new batch of cards would be put into play, if necessary.