Johnson wraps up a busy poker year with a victory in the WSOP Circuit Biloxi $1,700 Main Event for $127,319 and first gold ring
Kevin Johnson emerged as the final WSOP Circuit Main Event winner of this year just a few days ago. The player took down the 382-person field of the IP Biloxi $1,700 Main Event for his best poker run ever.
Johnson claimed his first-ever gold ring from the series that was accompanied by a first-place prize of $127,319. The player had six previous WSOP Circuit cashes but none came even close to his latest scoop from the popular live tournament series. It is also important to note that by winning the Main Event, Johnson secured a seat into the season-ending Global Casino Championship.
The Main Event at IP Biloxi was the final one to take place this year. As mentioned earlier, the tournament drew 382 participants from here and there. They generated a prize pool of $578,730. The top 45 finishers made it into the money, each claiming no less than $2,616 as a reward for running deep into the event.
The tournament took place on December 14-17. The official nine-handed final table was reached on Day 2, but by the end of that day there were just five players left to contend for the title. Johnson was in the middle of the temporary leaderboard at the time with a hefty stack of 2.295 million.
Former Gold Ring Winners Running for the Title
Johnson faced quite some heavy competition on his way to the Main Event title. The final five who returned for Day 3 of the tournament included two former gold ring winners – Luke Graham and Benjamin Thomas. The latter scooped his gold piece just a few days ago, when he topped the field of a $400 No-Limit Hold’em at IP Biloxi.
Commenting on reaching the Main Event final table at the host casino, Johnson said that he felt pretty good as it was already the most he has ever won. Each of the nine finalists was guaranteed a minimum cash of $12,038.
Johnson ended up with the top prize and the gold ring. The player entered into heads-up against Luke Graham with a stack of 8.18 million to his opponent’s 3 million. The match did not last that long.
On what turned out to be the final hand of the tournament, Johnson checked the [5c][4h][7h] flop to see Graham bet 325,000. The eventual winner then check-raised all in for 7.8 million with [10h][7c] and Graham snap-called for his last 2.8 million with [6h][5h]. The board delivered [9s] on the turn and [Ks] on the river to see Johnson lock up the title and the first-place prize. Graham earned $78,678 for his runner-up finish.
In his post-victory interview, Johnson said that he would spend $10,000 of his win to take part in next year’s WSOP Main Event in Vegas. The player has been traveling the WSOP Circuit over the course of the past year after a long hiatus from poker. His triumph at IP Biloxi has certainly boosted his motivation to keep playing.
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