Saturday, May 20, 2017 12:20 AM Local Time
Michael Lech Wins Event #9: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller ($106,377)
Event #9 Champion - Michael Lech
After 10 hours of play on Day 2 Michael Lech walked away as the champion of Event #9: $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. Lech locks up his second Circuit ring, after earning his first in Event #10: $365 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max last year at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort in the Caribbean.
Lech began the day 6th in chips and mostly stayed quiet, picking his spots here and there. He didn't hold the chip lead until he eliminated Ray Qartomy during three-handed play. From there, he and Marshall White traded blows heads up until Lech took a huge chunk of White's stack then won the next hand.
For most of the day the chip lead was exchanged between Ray Qartomy and Maurice Hawkins. The two bounced back and forth as the leader, but eventually, both fell short. Hawkins fell in fourth to Qartomy when his ace high, couldn't outrun king high. Qartomy fell next when he found himself in a similar situation and couldn't catch up.
Thirty-one players began the day, with many of them falling short of the money, most notably bracelet winners Ben Keeline and Phillip Hui, who were eliminated very early in the day. And it was Jeremy Moore who became the bubble boy when he couldn't ride his short stack into the money.
After the bubble burst, players started falling left and right, with several notables cashing, but not going much further. Johnathan Hilton finished in 15th ($4,957), Nadya Magnus finished ($7,242) and last years main event winner from Harrah's New Orleans, David Hubbard, made it to the final table but finished in 5th ($25,165).
While White was able to put a stranglehold on the Casino Champion points race (looking to take his second of the Circuit season), it was Lech who walked away as Champion. For his victory, he takes down $106,377 and his second Circuit ring.
Final Table Payouts:
Michael Lech - $106,377
Marshall White - $65,723
Ray Qartomy - $46,866
Maurice Hawkins - $34,042
David Hubbard - $25,165
Steven Rash - $18,940
Jason Fitzpatrick - $14,507
Ryan Dunn - $11,312
A full list of prizes and payouts can be found under the prizepool tab.