2014 WSOP Event 51
Wednesday July 2,2014 : SWISS STUDENT AN INSTANT MILLIONAIRE AT POKER TOURNEY
World Series of Poker Monster Stack a huge success for Pingray.
Five days ago 22-year-old Swiss Hotel Management grad Hugo Pingray was just another face in a 7,862 entry field for the World Series of Poker event 51 – the inaugural Monster Stack – and one of the smaller stacks to boot.
By late Monday night Las Vegas time he was an instant millionaire and the holder of a WSOP winner's bracelet.
The young Swiss is on his first visit to Las Vegas, there specifically to gain experience playing in poker's biggest tournament after honing his poker skills whilst at hotel management school in Switzerland.
He is now $1,327,083 wealthier after taking down the $1,500 buy-in NLHE competition, second only to the WSOP Main Event in size, having won the lion's share of the $10,613,700 prize pool.
The response to the Monster Stack, which gives players more chips than usual to start with, was so massive that two starting flights had to be organised
The cash barrier broke for the 792 survivors who made it through Day 2, and by Monday the massive field was down to just 9 players:
Hugo Pingray
Joe McKeehen
Sean Drake
Claas Segebrecht
Thayer Rasmussen
Lynne Beaumont
Bobby Bryam
Zachary Gruneberg
Joshua Hillock
Within15 hands the first 3 eliminations had taken place, but a long grind followed as the survivors went after the main prize of over a million dollars. Pingray was in a commanding position by the time the four-handed stage was reached and he continued to dominate the game until he faced only US player Joe McKeehen in the heads up, holding a 2 to 1 chip lead.
McKeehen was not going to let go of his chance at the main prize so easily, however, and the two battled back and forth for over 80 hands and the next several hours.
The end came when Pingray took a huge 45 million plus pot which put him firmly in charge and resulted in McKeehen's elimination just 9 hands later for $820,863 in runner-up money.
The other final table survivors benefited handsomely from the major prize pool:
Sean Drake $619,521
Claas Segebrecht $468,594
Thayer Rasmussen $356,620
Lynne Beaumont $273,090
Bobby Bryam $210,469
Zachary Gruneberg $163,238
Joshua Hillock $127,364
