Congratulations to Steven Loube, Winner of the 2012 WSOP Event 47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better ($267,345)
On Thursday, the third and final day of Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better played out as the final ten players of a 978-player field battled it out for the $267,345 first-place prize and 47th gold bracelet of the 2012 World Series of Poker. After eight hours of play, the man who walked away with the top prize and the gold was Steven Loube, a 34-year-old personal injury attorney from Atlanta, Georgia, who was playing in his first-ever WSOP event.
The day start off quick when the short-stacked Viatcheslav Ortynskiy, who was crippled in the last hand of Day 2, got all in with 
but failed to overcome the 
of Sonu Sharma as the board ran out 
. The Russian finished in tenth place and earned $15,078 for his performance.
Not long after, Paul Ewen was dispatched by Tim Finne in ninth place, while Kyle Carlston, who finished fourth in this event back in 2009, followed him out the door in eighth place.
The next elimination came when Loube raised to 55,000 under the gun and cleared the field all the way around to Paul Taylor in the big blind. The latter moved all in for around 125,000 and Loube snap-called.
Showdown
Loube: 
Taylor: 
The 
wasn't particularly interesting, while the 
turn saw Loube pump his fist and say, "It's over." Indeed, Taylor was drawing dead going to the river, which came the meaningless 
. Taylor silently made his way to the payout desk to collect $31,634 for his seventh-place finish.
A little while later, Sharma limped from under the gun plus one only to have Loube raise pot to 106,000 from the button. Finne was in the small blind and inquired with the floor as to whether or not the action would be reopened to Loube if Sharma, who started the hand with 139,000, were to move all in. The answer was no, and Finne made the call. Sharma moved in as expected, and Loube made the call.
When the flop fell 
, Finne ended up check-folding to a pot-sized bet, leaving Sharma and Loube to turn up their cards.
Showdown
Loube: 
Sharma: 
Loube flopped top two pair but Sharma held a big wrap. Unfortunately for the latter, the turn and 
river would both be dry and he would exit in sixth place for $41,589.
Charalampos Lappas, the start-of-the-day chip leader, was the next to go in fifth place. Lappas never got much going and was eliminated shortly after a river bluff failed.
It took more than three and a half hours for the next elimination to occur, which meant four-handed play was a grueling affair. Eventually Roch Cousineau raised to 100,000 under the gun and received a call from Cameron Mckinley in the big blind. The latter checked the flop, but then woke up with a check-raise to 250,000 when his opponent bet 100,000. Cousineau made the call and then watched Mckinley move all in for around 620,000 on the turn. Cousineau, who had 570,000, shrugged and put his chips in the pot.
Showdown
Cousineau: 
Mckinley: 
"Big card and I scoop," Cousineau said as he held the nut low and two pair. Much to the delight of his supporters, that's exactly what he got when the peeled off on the river. Mckinley got up to leave after the hand, but after the stacks were counted down, it was discovered he was left with 50,000. Not surprisingly, Mckinley was eliminated in the very next hand, finishing fourth place and bringing about the dinner break.
After returning from the dinner break, action was fast. Each of the three players took turns doubling, before Cousineau was dealt a crippling blow from Loube. On the very next hand, Cousineau would be eliminated in third place for $103,538.
Heads-up play saw Loube begin with a 3-1 chip lead over Finne, and it only took a couple of hands for Loube to seal the deal, which he did by hitting a lucky heart on the river. Not too shabby for a true amateur whole told us shortly before his big win: “Like I told you guys before, my biggest cash before this was a $50 [gift certificate], good for food, but not for liquor.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steven Loube | $267,345 |
| 2nd | Tim Finne | $165,486 |
| 3rd | Roch Cousineau | $103,538 |
| 4th | Cameron McKinley | $75,151 |
| 5th | Charalampos Lappas | $55,479 |
| 6th | Sonu Sharma | $41,589 |
| 7th | Paul Taylor | $31,634 |
| 8th | Kyle Carlston | $24,386 |
| 9th | Paul Ewen | $19,052 |
| 10th | Viatcheslav Ortynskiy | $15,078 |
That does it for our coverage from Event #47: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better. Be sure to visit our Live Reporting Section to see what other tournaments you can follow from the 2012 WSOP.