Friday, January 15, 2016 3:37 PM Local Time
Bob Beck Wins Event #9 and $17,244 in Event #9
Bob Beck is the champion of Event #9 at Choctaw. Beck defeated a field of 230 players, winning $17,244 and his first gold ring. The victory also earned him 50 points in the race for Casino Champion at this venue.
The champ is a 57-year-old part-time player from Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. By day, he’s the CEO and owner of a personal development company, and he spends the majority of his time writing books and delivering speeches to major companies all across the world. His best-known book is called Winning in the 5th Quarter: Apply the Secrets of Football to Your Life-Strategy Playbook, and it draws on Beck’s former experiences as a multi-sport athlete.
By night, Beck plays poker. “This is the stress reliever,” he says.
This result is the largest of Beck’s WSOP career, and it’s a bit of redemption after a runner-up finish in a ring event in Tunica a few years ago. He and his son, Robbie, drove in from Houston, and they barely made it to the casino in time to register for this event late on Day 1.
“Twenty-four hours later…,” Beck said, trailing off as posed for the winner’s photos with his new piece of jewelry.
Beck found himself in a number of favorable spots on his short Day 1, running up a big stack before night’s end. “I had kings, somebody else had queens,” he remembered. “I had aces, somebody else had kings.” He ended the day in in fifth place with 27 players remaining.
By the time they reached the final table on Day 2, Beck was in third place, though he had to deal with a tough group of players surrounding him. Both Kevin Haines and TJ Thondup had already won rings over the course of the week in Choctaw, and both entered the Event #9 final table with about 30 big blinds. They dropped out in sixth and fifth places, respectively, and Beck was soon heads up for the title against Daniel Hughes.
On the last hand, Beck was dealt against Hughes’ . The two players got it all in on a flop, and Beck’s two pair held strong to earn him the victory.