World Series of Poker -- Sean Drake Wins Event No. 1

The first gold bracelet of the 42nd annual World Series of Poker was awarded to Sean Drake on Thursday for his victory in event No. 1 ($500 casino employees no-limit hold’em). The win was no easy task for Drake considering that attendance was up 18 percent over last year in the event, with 850 players taking part in the three-day tournament.

“I did not think it would mean anything at first. But now, it’s like ‘wow.’ I wanted that gold bracelet as soon as they put it on the final table. At that point, it was the only thing I was gunning for. I told my friends, I’m going to win this. I want to be one of the guys who said he would win, and then do it,” said Drake after the win. He took home his first gold bracelet and $82,292 in prize money for the victory.

The final day welcomed back the final four players in the tournament. Here is a look at their chip counts when cards got into the air:

Sean Drake: 1,058,000
Jason Baker: 727,000
Claudio Falcaro: 420,000
Christopher Perez: 347,000

On the first hand of the final day Christopher Perez raised to 59,000 from the cutoff and Jason Baker reraised to 145,000 from the button. Perez made the call and the flop was dealt 8 5 4. Both players checked and the A fell on the turn. Perez moved all in for 178,000 and Baker made the call. Perez revealed A J but Baker flipped over pocket aces. The river fell J and Perez was eliminated in fourth place ($23,994). Baker grew his stack to 1,098,000 after the hand to take the chip lead.

Baker grew his chip stack to 1.5 million at one point but then both Drake and Claudio Falcaro took turns doubling up thanks to Baker and his chip stack was brought down to the rest of the pack. Baker climbed back on top though when he busted Falcaro in third place ($32,753).

On his final hand Falcaro moved all in for 257,000 preflop and Baker made the call. Their cards:

Baker: A 6
Falcaro: J 10

Board: 9 8 4 5 K

With the elimination of Falcaro in the rear-view mirror, the heads-up match was ready to begin. Here were the chips counts when cards got into the air between the final two:

Jason Baker: 1,600,000
Sean Drake: 962,000

Drake closed the gap between the two to start the final and he eventually took the chip lead for himself. Baker then doubled up to survive and doubled up a second time to climb back into the lead thanks to a full house. It was then Drake’s turn to double up twice. His second double up also came thanks to a full house and it gave him a huge lead with 2,270,000.

The very next hand after he re-secured the chip lead saw Drake win the tournament. He moved all in from the button preflop and Baker made the all-in call. Their cards:

Baker: J 8
Drake: Q 6

Board: A 4 4 2 K

Baker was eliminated as the runner up and he took home $50,807 in prize money. That made Drake the champion and he had this to say after the seesaw battle that took place during the heads-up final. “I really used to be crazy, emotionally. But [bad] things do not bother me anymore. Maybe you just have to get cold-hearted about it. You have to have a ‘I don’t give a [expletive deleted]’ attitude about the game. A few years ago when I took a beat, it would affect me. But I do not let it bother me anymore…He [Baker] had me sweating the whole time. He was very good. For someone who did not play a lot heads-up, he played very well.”

Be sure to check out the WSOP landing page on CardPlayer.com for all final-table recaps, news stories, and live coverage from the Rio in Las Vegas this summer.

Related Articles

Player Skips Main Event Day 5 For Religious Reason

Ben Lamb Wins Card Player POY Award

Tournament Poker Year in Review: January To June

Most Viewed Articles