CASINO CHAMPION PROFILE: JESSE COHEN

Atlantic City, NJ (April 24, 2017) –  Jesse Cohen is the World Series of Poker’s most recent recipient of a Casino Champion title. He meticulously made his way through the Harrah's Cherokee Circuit stop, cashing an impressive six times, and overtaking the points lead in the final ring event.

Event though Cohen had a hot start to the 12-tournament series, recording a WSOP cash in Event #1, Event #3, and Event #4, he was slightly overshadowed by another players early success. John Nelson cashed in the first three events, which included winning his second Circuit title by way of Event #2: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo Re-Entry.

Nelson had an early lead in the Casino Champion race, but not by much. When Cohen  min-cash in Event #8, the two players were tied at 65 points a piece. However, Cohen was technically the new leader because he held the cash tiebreak with about $4,000 more in earnings.

A third contender was lurking in the in the rankings. Less than 24 hours after Cohen took gained control of the lead, David Aker jumped to 90 points, after grabbing gold in Event #8: $1,125 No-Limit Hold'em (1 Re-Entry). Aker also claimed a min-cash in Event #4 and a 2nd-place finish in Event #6.

Then came the Main Event, where Cohen bagged his fifth cash in an not-so ordinary way. The signature tournament drew a large field of 1,164 entries, and paid out the top 117. Cohen made it all the way to the hand-for-hand period with 118 players left. Even though he was eliminated on the bubble, another knockout occurred during the same hand. Cohen split the 117th-place money with Robert Hankins, and banked 5 points, bringing his total to 70.

Directly after bubbling the Main Event, Cohen quickly registered for Event #12. This was Cohen's last opportunity to pick up points. He survived Day 1 of the tournament with 17 players remaining. Going into Day 2, Cohen knew he had to place 6th, or better to surpass Aker.

Sure enough, the poker pro took cruesed all the way to another 2nd-place finish. The excellent run granted Cohen 37.5 points, putting him at 107.5 in total and securing him the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Champion title.

Cohen will now be playing in the 2017 Global Casino Championship. The Global Casino Championship features a minimum $1 million prizepool and will award the winner a gold bracelet. All Casino Champions and Main Event winners of the season earn a free seat into the tournament. There are also 50 free seats for the players who earn the most post points over the entire 2016/17 Circuit season. Anyone winning a gold ring this season, but not earning a free seat, can buy-in to the Global Casino Championship for $10,000. All $10,000 of the buy-in will be added to the prizepool.

More information and full point standings for the year-long race are available on WSOP.com.

Cohen's Harrah's Cherokee cashes:

Event #1 - $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry – 3,196 entries – 287th place for $642
Event #3 - $580 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry – 595 entries – 2nd place for $38,642
Event #4 - $365 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max (1 Re-Entry) – 594 entries – 6th place for $5,407
Event #8 - $1,125 No-Limit Hold’em (1 Re-Entry) – 301 entries – 24th place for $2,628
Event #10 - $1,675 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event – 1,164 entries – 118th place for $1,431
Event #12 - $365 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry – 373 entries – 2nd place for $15,213