Chris Gamboa Wins First Major Tournament Victory at Harrah's New Orleans
Sometimes a tournament winner comes out of nowhere. That's what happened today in the most recent World Series of Poker Circuit tournament, held at Harrah's New Orleans. Chris Gamboa, in his first recorded tournament cash ever, made it all look too easy. He outplayed several opponents with far more cashes and final table appearances en route to a commanding victory in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament, which attracted 314 entries.Gamboa is a 30-year-old professional poker player from Houston, TX. He previously worked as a shipping agent before taking up poker full time. This was only Gamboa's second WSOP-related tournament. It was quite a showing for someone who concentrates most of his time on cash games and possible indication of things to come for the player who expects to play in more tournaments in the future. Gamboa was rewarded handsomely, to the tune of $35,313 for first place. He was also presented with his first gold ring, the ultimate achievement for winning a WSOP Circuit tournament.
This was the second gold ring event (out of 19 tournaments) on this year's WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah's New Orleans. The tournament was played over two consecutive days during May 9th and 10th. The top 36 finishers divided a prize pool totaling $147,140. After most of the field was eliminated on the first day, final table play began on a Sunday afternoon. There were no prior WSOP Circuit gold ring event winners among the final nine players, which guaranteed a first-time champion. Little did anyone know at the time when play began that not only would the top prize be won by a first-time winner, it would also be his first time to cash in a major poker tournament of any kind.
David Moyer, who ended up as the second-place finisher, arrived at the Final Table with a slight chip advantage over Shawn "Doc" Quillin and Brian Gabrielle. But the wide distribution of chips and low blinds and antes meant everyone was within striking distance of the chip lead.
David Moyer, an attorney from Luling, LA finished as the runner up. This was his second final table appearance at Harrah's New Orleans after coming in fourth in an event last year. Moyer also previously cashed in an Omaha High/Low event at the WSOP in Las Vegas. For second place, Moyer received a nice settlement which amounted to $21,703.
Moyer was down by more than 2 to 1 during the heads up match against Chris Gamboa. Moyer was not able to catch the crucial hand which might have enabled him to double up. He finally had enough of Gamboa's aggression and decided to make his final stand when he was down by about a 4 to 1 margin. Moyer was dealt Ah 3d. He hit a pair of 3s on the flop. On the turn, Gamboa moved all in on a semi-bluff and tabled Qh 8h, which gave him a flush draw and two overcards versus Moyer's pair of threes. Moyer called with what was the best hand at the time. But a third heart fell on the river, giving Gamboa a flush. The final board showed: 6c 5h 3s 9h 2h
The final hand of the tournament can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnPAWU_lb9c
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by Nolan Dalla
posted by Kurt at 8:54 PM
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