News
EBANKS BANKS THE BIG BUCKS
Jun 30 2011 09:53 PM EST
Another day, another million dollar-plus prize awarded at the 2011 World Series of Poker.
Ho-hum.
Many poker fans may not remember a time when the WSOP Main Event champion received a million dollars. That was big news back then. Bundles of $100 bills used to be carried out in a cardboard box and were unceremoniously dumped on the green felt of the championship final table in front of a jaw-dropping gallery of gawkers. Players and spectators were bug-eyed staring at – what at the time was the most amount of cash most had ever seen.
Now, a million dollar top prize -- $1,158,481 to be exact – seems like just another payday at the world’s richest and most prestigious poker festival.
Joe Ebanks, a 26-year-old poker pro from Stow, OH won the $10,000 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship, held at the Rio in Las Vegas. In addition to the million-dollar prize, Ebanks received his first WSOP gold bracelet, which symbolizes the ultimate achievement in the game of poker.
“This is what it’s all about,” Ebanks said afterward, nearly superfluous to the notion that he had just become a millionaire. “When I first started playing poker seriously six years ago, my goal was to get to this stage, and now I’ve achieved it.”
Ebanks, a former college student at Kent State University, defeated a stellar lineup which included several notable names from the elite ranks of online and live poker. Chris Moorman, a top online poker from England, finished as runner up. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, who won his first gold bracelet two weeks ago, finished in third place. Indeed, from first place down to the the 48th-place finisher, this was as stacked a deck of super-talented players as has been assembled for any WSOP event in 2011.
Ho-hum.
Many poker fans may not remember a time when the WSOP Main Event champion received a million dollars. That was big news back then. Bundles of $100 bills used to be carried out in a cardboard box and were unceremoniously dumped on the green felt of the championship final table in front of a jaw-dropping gallery of gawkers. Players and spectators were bug-eyed staring at – what at the time was the most amount of cash most had ever seen.
Now, a million dollar top prize -- $1,158,481 to be exact – seems like just another payday at the world’s richest and most prestigious poker festival.
Joe Ebanks, a 26-year-old poker pro from Stow, OH won the $10,000 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship, held at the Rio in Las Vegas. In addition to the million-dollar prize, Ebanks received his first WSOP gold bracelet, which symbolizes the ultimate achievement in the game of poker.
“This is what it’s all about,” Ebanks said afterward, nearly superfluous to the notion that he had just become a millionaire. “When I first started playing poker seriously six years ago, my goal was to get to this stage, and now I’ve achieved it.”
Ebanks, a former college student at Kent State University, defeated a stellar lineup which included several notable names from the elite ranks of online and live poker. Chris Moorman, a top online poker from England, finished as runner up. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, who won his first gold bracelet two weeks ago, finished in third place. Indeed, from first place down to the the 48th-place finisher, this was as stacked a deck of super-talented players as has been assembled for any WSOP event in 2011.
Indeed, it was a great victory, satisfying on every conceivable front -- in terms of prize money, prestige, and the self-satisfaction of overcoming the best players and winning a world championship. Joe Ebanks now has 1,158,481 reasons to celebrate.
For a comprehensive recap of Event #46 including the official report, please return to WSOP.COM again soon.
