Poker player and family man Baskin wins $372,240

Family man Clint Baskin turned a victory in a $200 super-satellite tournament into $372,240 after winning the $10,000 buy-in, No-Limit Hold'Em main event on Monday at the 2006 World Series of Poker Lake Tahoe Circuit Event in Stateline.

Baskin, a Stockton resident, made a straight on the final card, much to the delight of his wife and two children. His cheering section watching from near the Hard Rock Cafe inside Harveys Resort and Casino exploded when the final bet was made.

Holding A-4, Baskin was staring at a board of 9-6-5-2 and was behind in the hand to Brian Fidler's Q-9. Fidler made a $50,000 bet and Baskin called.

With Fidler's pair of 9s leading, a three fell on the river, completing Baskin's inside straight draw. Fidler acted first and moved all-in. Baskin quickly called.

"I knew that if I caught a three or ace, I would win the tournament," Baskin said in a press release about his $50,000 call after a deuce fell on the fourth card. "It didn't cost me that much to call, so I did."

The 32-year-old plumber started playing poker 25 years ago, when he was taught how to play by his great grandmother. The four-day main event at Harveys was his first major poker tournament.

Baskin gained entry into the $10,000 buy-in tournament by winning a $200 super-satellite tournament earlier in the week at Harveys. A super-satellite tournament involves a few dozen players competing for one $10,000 berth into the main event. If enough money is generated from a super-satellite tournament, more seats for the main event are awarded.

Once in the big-money tournament, Baskin beat out a 110-player field that included some of poker's biggest names, including 2002 world champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and 1995 world champion Dan Harrington. Barry Greenstein, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu and Erik Seidel also competed in the tournament, but none of them made the final table.

Fidler's second-place finish earned him $206,800, while Reno's Tony Le finished third and collected a check for $113,740. Robert "RCW" Cheung of Vancouver, British Columbia, finished fourth ($82,720) and was followed by Detroit's Justin Scott ($72,380); Sacramento's J.C. Tran ($62,040); Joe DuBois of Green Bay, Wis., ($51,700); Houston's Matt Russell ($41,360); and Jamin Stokes of Grand Rapids, Mich., ($31,020).

Baskin's WSOP circuit event victory also earned him a spot in the 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions $2 million freeroll event at the Rio in Las Vegas. He will be joined in the 27-player field by the 11 other champions from this season's 12-stop circuit event tour, all nine players from last year's TOC final table - including world champ Joseph Hachem - and six invited players.

News Added: 22 June, 2006

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