Congratulations to Jesse Hale, WSOP-C Council Bluffs Champion! ($113,020)
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Sixty-seven players took their seats on Day 1, and more than half of them were shown the door before play concluded for the night. When the rest of the field went home, Hale walked across the room to finish out the Pot-Limit Omaha event that he was playing concurrently throughout the day. He would go on to take third place in that event, picking up a bit more spending money, but playing deep into the morning.
Returning on Day 2, Hale began play near the top of the leader board. Things were a bit streaky for him though, and his chip stack would slide as the night wore on. Still, he managed to survive to the final table, beginning today in the middle of the pack.
Day 3 saw the trend continue, as Hale was once again running up and down the board. He had finally worked his stack up to respectability three handed before a big confrontation with John McDonald left our future champion crippled. Hale was determined though, and from that point on, it was his table. He managed to dispense with the pesky McDonald a bit later, cracking aces with a baby full house. Down to just two, Dennis Meierotto would put up a fine fight, but he was just out-gunned by Hale. After more than an hour of trading jabs heads up, the bigger punches started flying, and Meierotto could do nothing to stave off the attack.
Apart from being the victor, Jesse Hale was the life of the party at the final table today. He kept everyone's spirits light, sometimes spontaneously bursting into song, other times riling up the spectators with a bit of self-deprecating humor. His jovial spirit and eagerness to win certainly make him a deserving champion. Hale would like to express his love for his wife Angela, as well as his unborn daughter, Kayla Dawn. The Hale family has plenty of reasons to be happy this week. From all of us here at PokerNews, congratulations to Jesse Hale, WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs champion!