LA POKER CLASSIC WON BY HERSHLER

9 March 2007

LA lawyer tackles some of the world's hardest players....and wins!

The LA Poker Classic held at the Commerce Casino near Los Angeles has been taken by an LA lawyer, along with the massive $2.4 million grand prize.

Eric Hershler, a lawyer who was playing in his first big tournament, emigrated to the USA from South Africa and now lives and works in Los Angeles.

He had to beat some of the toughest international players in the game to do it, catching up and finally beating the highly respected JC Tran in an epic final. In doing so, Hershler ensured his name went on the roll of previous winners of the event, alongside Gus Hansen (2003), Antonio Esfandiari (2004), Michael Mizrachi (2005), and Alan Goehring (2006).

With a starting field of 791 players, this year's LA Poker Classic set a new record for this exciting tournament's prizepools, built by the $10,000 buy-in for the event. It took Hershler six tough days of poker against some of the best in the business to make the final table, and the relatively tournament-inexperienced player was not the favourite to win.

He faced WSOP runner-up Paul Wasicka, veteran JC Tran and big money winner Chau Giang, together with Jacobo Fernandez and David Bach at the final table, yet played with confidence, skill and calm self-control even when facing major pressure and big money action.

American player David Bach was the first man to hit the rail from the final table, taking a well earned purse of $257 425 for 6th place. Then JC Tran took out Chau Giang, who won $341 710 for 5th place.

It was Tran again at hand 88 when he sent Paul Wasicka packing in 4th position for $455 615, leaving him the undisputed chip leader with well over 50 percent of the total chips in play - millions ahead of both Fernandez and Hershler. But all that changed at hand 96 and 98 when Hershler went on the attack, punishing Tran's chip stack heavily. By hand 102 it was Fernandez in trouble and the low man in terms of chips with 1.7 million in hand, and shortly thereafter a tussle with Hershler sent him to the exit in position 3 with $607 490.

The heads up between Tran and Hershler was then on - with Hershler holding the chip lead by over a million, and it was settled at the next hand - Hershler had taken the LA Poker Classic and the $2 429 970 grand prize, and a disappointed JC Tran was headed home with the runner-up prize of $1 177 010.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

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