Congratulations to 2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah's Atlantic City Main Event Champion Tuan Phan ($188,830)!
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After nearly ten hours here on Day 3, Tuan Phan is the 2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s Atlantic City Main Event champion! Phan bested a field of 618 runners, which included pros like Erik Cajelais, Chris Tryba, Chad Brown, Amanda Musumeci, Jamie Kerstetter, and Roland Isra, and eventually defeated Hao Le heads up to win $188,830, the coveted WSOPC gold ring, and a seat in the National Championship.
Phan started the day as our chip leader, carried that lead into the final table, and proceeded to knockout seven of his nine opponents entering heads up play. “I am not afraid of anyone,” he told us on the dinner break. Thanks to his fearlessness and a good run of cards, Phan was the first and only player to cross the five million-chip mark. Phan woke up with queens against Mike Devinsky’s jacks, jacks against Larry Riggs’ fives, and hit a killer two outer with deuces against Manh Nguyen after Nguyen had flopped a pair of aces.
In the end, it was Phan’s killer aggression that pushed him over the hump and led him to victory. It all began on Day 2, when he won a huge pot against WSOP bracelet winner Chris Reslock. Phan flopped a set of eights against Reslock’s flush, and the board paired on the river. Phan then began steamrolling his opponents, crossing the million-chip mark before night’s end and bagging up more chips than any other player in the field. He showed up fashionably late this morning, but got to work early and often, dominating on his way to victory.
Also, this was Phan’s first ever WSOP event – we’re sure we’ll be seeing him around in the future.
Le will walk away with $116,796, which isn’t chump change. He won a monster pot at the beginning of Day 3, flopping a ten-high flush draw against Jeff Fielder’s two pair. There were over 1.5 million chips in the middle, and Le slammed a diamond on the river to make a flush, eliminating Fielder from the tournament. Le later made a 943,000-chip hero call for his tournament life with just a pair of eights. That takes a lot of guts. Unfortunately he fell short in the heads-up match, but there was nothing stopping Phan today.
Here’s how the final nine finished:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tuan Phan | $188,830 |
| 2nd | Hao Le | $116,796 |
| 3rd | Marc Andre Roy | $85,405 |
| 4th | Larry Riggs | $63,375 |
| 5th | Manh Nguyen | $47,684 |
| 6th | Anthony Zinno | $36,372 |
| 7th | Kevin Kaikko | $28,127 |
| 8th | Denis Gnidash | $22,048 |
| 9th | Mike Devinsky | $17,516 |
Congratulations are in order for all of these players, but especially for our winner; Tuan Phan. We’ll see you in Las Vegas next May for the WSOP National Championship.
Good night from Atlantic City!