LUMIERE PLACE CASINO CHAMPION: PETER NIGH
Peter Nigh's journey to the Casino Championship title was done the hard way.  He didn't win a single event.  In the opening event of the Lumière Place Casino Circuit series, he made it to the final table as the chip leader, but Matt Bond went on a heater and by the time they were heads-up, Bond had a 2:1 chip lead.  Nigh fought hard, but the cards didn't  fall his way and he wound up with a second place finish and 37.5 points.

A couple of days later, Nigh found himself at another final table.  The Event 3 field was small due to the overlap with Event 2, which was the re-entry event with two starting days.  Only six players were getting paid in Event 3, which meant making the final table wasn't enough to earn any points.  He held on, but was near the bottom of the chip counts when they reached the money.  A fifth place finish in this event earned him another 25 points, for a total of 62.5.  This put him on top of the venue leaderboard, but with nine more events to go, his lead was always at risk.

The biggest threat to Nigh's lead was none other than Matt Bond, his heads-up opponent and winner of Event 1.  Bond picked up points cashing in events 2 and 5 and was in second on the leaderboard coming into the Main Event with 60 points, just 2.5 points behind Nigh.

When both these players made it to Day 2 of the Main Event and then both made it into the money, it appeared that the one that lasted longer was going to be the Casino Champion.  Matt Bond bubbled the unofficial final table, finishing 11th, and collected another 20 points, but since Nigh was headed for the final table, Bond was unable to overtake him.  The only question that remained was how high the bar would be for players chasing points in the final two events.

Nigh went on to finish 3rd in the Main Event for another 45 points for a total of 107.5. He wasn't a lock yet, with the final ring event still running, as there were still four players who could overtake him.  One by one, however, they exited Event 12 short of the money and short of the points.  Nigh locked up the title late on the final day of the series, earning himself a seat in the National Championship, which takes place at Bally's Atlantic City May 22-24.

Peter Nigh was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, but is currently "living that 'Pura Vida' life in Costa Rica" where he can grind online.  He professes to have $1 million in online earnings.  His poker ambitions are "to be free", "to work hard and play hard" and "to be 'laxed forever."

Peter Nigh's Results During This Series:

Event 1, $580 NLH, 2nd Place – $10,989  (37.5 points)

Event 3, $1,125 NLH, 5th Place – $4,004  (25 points)

Event 9, $1,675 NLH Championship, 3rd Place – $61,988  (45 points)