Bellagio Five-Diamond World Poker Classic Continues

The Five-Diamond World Poker Classic preliminary events at the Bellagio have been successful in attracting large starting fields, making for huge payouts. In just the first eight events, nearly $5.5 million in prize-pool money has been generated by more than 2,500 entrants. The fields have been comprised of a variety of players, including well-known pros, Card Player Player of the Year (POY) point-chasers, amateurs looking to score big, and repeat cashers.

One of those repeat cashers is Roy Winston, newly represented by Card Player Media Representation. He just took down event No. 7, a $2,100 buy-in tournament that boasted a field of 362 entrants. He defeated a final table that featured Michael Mizrachi, Jared Hamby, Dan Alspach, and Thayer Rasmussen. This was his third cash during the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic prelims. He also finished 10th in event No. 5, a $5,180 buy-in no-limit hold'em event, and 25th in event No. 6, a $1,590 buy-in no-limit hold'em event. Winston has racked up nearly a quarter million dollars in winnings from these three events.

Also having an impressive showing at the prelims is Dutch Boyd, who busted out of event No. 6 shortly after Winston was eliminated. Boyd finished 23rd in that event, which was his third cash of the tournament series. He started off by finishing 18th in event No. 1, a $1,590 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament. Then, he won event No. 3, a $1,620 buy-in no-limit hold'em event. Boyd took home almost $238,000 for finishing first out of the 247 who started.

The top contenders in the POY race have been spotted making numerous appearances at Bellagio, trying for a few high finishes to bump them up the list. Although top-ranked players Jonathan Little, Bill Edler, Danny Wong, and James Van Alstyne have all cashed in Five-Diamond World Poker Classic prelims, none of them have finished high enough to receive points. Tom Schneider has had more success gaining points and followed a third-place finish in a $2,350 buy-in no-limit hold'em prelim during the Vegas Open at the Venetian with a fourth-place finish in event No. 3 here. Schneider moved up the list into fifth place.

No. 1 ranked POY player David Pham has also been competing in the events, attempting to protect his position. He has already won the prestigious award in 2000 but is determined to become a two-time Player of the Year. Pham made it to the final table of event No. 8, a $2,620 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament, second in chips behind Cory Carroll. Final-table play began today at 3 p.m., and no matter what transpires, he is already guaranteed POY points. Pham is doing his best to try to distance himself from the other contenders.

There are still plenty more events for players to compete in. Event No. 9, a $3,120 buy-in no-limit hold'em event, started today at noon. For a complete schedule of events and for more results on the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, click here. Card Player TV has also been providing video coverage. Find those videos by clicking here.

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