Andrew Downing Wins National Championship
Andrew Downing from Grand View, Texas was the big winner in the National Final at Caesars Palace, winning the $5,000 main event seat package and bringing home the title of National Champion to Texas...It was his first trip to Vegas! Andrew gathered a commanding chip lead down the stretch and finished off Wade Kyser and Clay Lipke in the end. The tournament featured "the best of the best", a field of 23 players who each won a trip to Las Vegas. Over $12,000 worth of buy-ins were awarded and every player received a minimum of a $220 entry. Three players went on to cash in the events...
Bob Winegar from Glasser, NJ and Mike Goldade from Bismarck, ND both cashed in the Double-Stack Turbo NL Holdem event. Mike busted in 15th place when his pocket Kings got crushed by A-K. About 7 poker league players went deep in this event and many just missed cashing, including Wade Kyser from Fargo, ND, Jerry Anderson from Waite Park, MN, John Verhaeghe from Kenosha, WI, David Delaplane from Elgin, ND, and Glenn Schaefers from Sioux Falls, SD.
Runner up Wade Kyser continued his stellar play following the national championship tourney. He won 2 seats and nearly cashed in both. In the $550 Sunday event he placed 17th for $1200!
Many of the players commented that it was their first time in Las Vegas, including champ Andrew Downing. Due to extreme and unusual circumstances, Andrew was unable to take his seat in the WSOP Caesars Palace Main Event. However, the league was able to arrange a seat for him to play in the upcoming World Series of Poker, along with a nice lump of cash. Andrew is one happy camper and we look forward to seeing how he does in the WSOP.
We already can't wait for the next trip - for the World Series of Poker at the Rio - and it's not very far away...On July 1st the national championship will award a $10,000 main event seat and at least 21 additional players will have earned a seat to play in a preliminary WSOP event. Those are huge events, where a minimum cash could mean many thousands of dollars!
A lot of players took in the sights and enjoyed the atmosphere at Harrahs and Caesars Palace right in the heart of the strip. Congrats to all players who made the trip and especially those players who made the most of their opportunity by cashing in!
Here is the top 10:
1st - Andrew Downing, Grand Prairie, TX ($5,000 Main Event Seat)
2nd - Wade Kyser ($550 + $220 Seats)
3rd - Clay Lipke ($550 Seat)
4th - Kris Liepke (FPN Online Qualifier) ($550 Seat)
5th - Lance Zietz ($550 Seat)
6th - Lois Kihne ($220 Seat)
7th - Derek Potter ($220 Seat)
8th - John Verhaeghe ($220 Seat)
9th - Jerry Anderson ($220 Seat)
10th - Glenn Schaefers ($220 Seat)