Local wins New Zealands largest poker tournament

A native New Zealand man, Daniel Cracker, has been crowned champion of the country’s largest poker tournament that finished up over the weekend. Cracker, a plasterer by trade, beat out more than 300 players, most of whom were from New Zealand.

The tournament was held in conjuction with the SkyCity festival of poker, a four day event. 305 players were involved in this tournament.

The vast majority of players were from New Zealand but the final table of the tournament was a bit different. Only four of the final 9 players were New Zealanders, the others hailed from Australia, Finland, Great Britain and Singapore.


Heads up action saw Cracker against Australian Matthew Konnecke, and in the end it was Cracker’s pocket twos that won him the event and the top prize of $257,040. Konnecke received $162,791 for his 2nd place finish.

“The final table was sensational,” says Skycity Auckland Executive Manager of table games Ejaaz Dean. “The crowd participation, the quality of the players and the quality of the hands was second to none.”
Craker does not expect his new found fame and fortune to change him too much. He says he will use his winnings to buy a house but definitely has not forgotton his day job as a plasterer.
“I'm actually in the middle of a job at the moment,” says Craker, before telling his boss: “I'll get to that job eventually!”
Craker's win means he has qualified for the Sydney championship in December – its top prize is one million dollars.

News Added: 13 October, 2008

Number of views : 696