Card Player Poker Tour: Austin Lewis Wins Choctaw Main Event

It all came down to a wheel. Austin Lewis picked up $183,205 and the title of Card Player Poker Tour champion when he flopped 543 holding A2 to eliminate Gary Luther.

The final two players in the Choctaw $1,500 no-limit hold’em $500,000 guarantee main event battled through a fast final table lasting just over three hours before all was said and done.

After losing a massive portion of his stack just a few hands earlier when he ran his pocket nines into Lewis’s pocket aces, Luther made his final move of the tournament holding pocket queens. An unfortunate flop left the runner-up drawing extremely thin and he never found the needed cards to either chop or take the pot when the board completed 24. Luther left with $113,205 for his deep run.

“It’s definitely different,” Lewis said of his win. “It’s my first big live title. When I won my first one online back in 2006, I closed the computer and went to bed. That was kind of it, so this one was more enjoyable overall with my fiancé here and our baby on the way.”

Lewis also picked up 840 Card Player Player of the Year Points for his win.

Jason Fitzpatrick was the first to go from the six-handed final table when he opened the action with an all-in raise for his last 385,000 and it folded around to Tyler Morris, who called from the big blind.

Fitzpatrick held AJ against Morris’s A10and was in a dominating position heading to the flop, but that all changed after the dealer fanned 1029. Morris paired his ten and jumped into the lead and Fitzpatrick was in need of improvement to stay alive. Unfortunately for Fitzpatrick, no help was found on the 6 turn or the 6 river and he was eliminated in 6th place for $35,254.

Next to go was Morris, when he raised to 150,000 from the button and Lewis made it 425,000 to go from the small blind. Action came back to Morris and he called all-in for his tournament life. The hands were turned over to reveal that Lewis had a slight edge heading to the community cards. Lewis held A2 and Morris had been dealt QT. The board fell down 5K864, allowing Lewis to score the knockout with his ace high. Morris was eliminated from play in fifth place for $46,218.

After jokingly using his “one time about 15 times,” Zia Khosravi was eliminated as the fourth place finisher for $61,426. Khosravi moved all-in from the cutoff for his last 335,000 and Lewis called from the small blind. Khosravi tabled A8 only to see Lewis flip over QQ. The board ran out J42K3 and Khosravi made his exit. Having started the final table with a mere 115,000 in chips and doubling up several times, Khosravi said as he left he had had a great time throughout the tournament.

Omar Zazay was knocked out in third for $82,779 when action folded around to him in the small blind and he moved all in for his last 640,000. Luther called from the big blind and the two hands were turned over. Zazay showed A9 and was in a race for his tournament life when Luther turned over 44.

The dealer fanned K10J, keeping Luther’s fours in the lead while giving Zazay additional outs with a queen to make a Broadway straight. The turn was the 4, giving Luther a set of fours and a strong grip on the hand. The river was the K, filling up Luther and eliminating Zazay.

Official Final Table Results

1. Austin Lewis – $183,025
2. Gary Luther – $113,205
3. Omar Zazay – $82,779
4. Zia Khosravi – $61,426
5. Tyler Morris – $46,218
6. Jason Fitzpatrick – $35,254
7. Mario Silvestri – $27,262
8. Charlie Nguyen – $21,370
9. Allen Carter – $16,978