Joe Pelton Wins 2006 Legends Of Poker Main Event

Pelton Wins $1.5 Million First Place Cash Prize In World Poker Tour Event

After four days of tournament action, the 2006 Legends of Poker championship came down to six players. On the line were a $1,577,170 first place cash prize, a $25,000 seat into the WPT Championship event at the Bellagio, and a chance to win the first World Poker Tour title since the conclusion of the 2006 World Series of Poker.

The WPT set, blocked off from the rest of the Bicycle Casino cardroom by four walls of black curtain, filled up with fans and media well before the 5:15 p.m. start time.

With the stands packed and cameras circling, the remaining six players, survivors of a starting field of 466, received formal introductions as they walked onto the stage.

The chip counts and seat assignments for the 2006 Legends of Poker final table were as follows:

1. Frankie O’Dell - $3,880,000 (seat 5)
2. Kevin O’Donnell - $2,345,000 (seat 3)
3. Joe Pelton - $$1,100,000 (seat 4)
4. Hoyt Corkins - $1,030,000 (seat 2)
5. Randy Holland - $615,000 (seat 6)
6. Scotty Nguyen - $375,000 (seat 1)

The player introductions finished on time, and at 5:15 p.m. PDT final table action began with $15,000-$30,000 blinds and $3,000 antes.

Scotty Nguyen, the biggest name coming into the action, also brought the shortest stack to the table. A chip boss until the final moments of day three, Nguyen’s low-man status occurred after his pocket aces fell to the runner-runner queen-high straight of Frankie O’Dell on the day’s last level.

O’Dell’s double-up made him the incumbent boss for the WPT final table, and sent Nguyen down to the bottom of the leaderboard. Despite the prospect of facing a dangerous final field that included WSOP bracelet winners and WPT title holders, Nguyen told Card Player that the blinds, and not his opponents, represented the biggest obstacles on the road to victory.

“The only thing that can stop me is the blinds going so high,” Nguyen said prior to the final table. “There’s nobody there [at the table] who can stop me from winning.”

courtesy of cardplayer.com

News Added: 31 August, 2006

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