NEWS FLASH: Ryan Welch Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event 51
Las Vegas Poker Pro Wins Triple Chance Championship Thomas Welch may have been drafted by the NFL’s New England Patriots. He might have set NCAA records in college as a tight end who played at Vanderbilt. But at least for the time being, Thomas Welch will have to look up to his brother Ryan Welch as a true champion.Indeed, Ryan Welch was the winner of the $3,000 buy-in Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. This marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory. Welch collected $559,371 in prize money in what was his third time to cash at the WSOP. Welch’s most notable previous achievement was a second-place finish at a major tournament held last year at Foxwoods, in Connecticut. Welch is a 27-year-old professional poker player from Henderson, NV. He is originally from Portland, ME. He formally worked as an account executive before deciding to pursue poker as a full-time vocation. His brother is Thomas Welch, who plays for the Patriots.Settling for the tournament field goal of sorts was the runner up -- Jon Eaton, from Las Vegas, NV. He is a 26-year-old poker pro. Eaton collected a nice consolation prize amounting to $344,830.The top 90 finishers collected prize money. Aside from those who made the final table, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Gavin Griffin (27th), Vitaly Lunkin (31st), Peter Traply (36th), “Captain” Tom Franklin (39th), David Singer (46th), Ken Aldridge (52nd), William Haydon (55th), and Alexander Kravchenko (59th).There were 965 entries. The total prize pool amounted to $2,663,400. The top 90 finishers collected prize money. Attendance increased over last year when there were 854 entries. Hence, attendance this year increased by 12.9 percent. Most tournaments are up this year in attendance over last.A full report of this event will be posted shortly.For official tournament results and additional details, please CLICK HERE.