Instead underrated online grinder Anthony Gregg seized the opportunity and, after outlasting Esfandiari and businessman Bill Perkins, beat Chris Klodnicki heads-up to win his first WSOP bracelet for $4.8 million.
“This is amazing,” Gregg said. “I couldn’t ask for a better tournament to win a bracelet in.”
Gregg is a well-known online player who has numerous high-profile final tables at the PCA, WSOP and EPT but had never won a WSOP bracelet before today.
The abbreviated four-player final table had to play out on Saturday because the original eight-player final table, which included Martin Jacobson and Nick Schulman went until the 2 a.m. cutoff.
Gregg Dominates One Drop While Multi-Tabling $25k 6-Max
Gregg outlasted 166 runners, including some of the best poker players in the world to win the massive first-place prize. There were also wealthy businessmen playing in the event and Gregg said it created a unique dynamic in the tournament.
“You just need to pick your spots,” he said. “You shouldn’t go out of your way to gun for the tougher players at your table because there are other players who are going to be making mistakes.”
Incredibly just minutes after the One Drop final table ended, Gregg rushed over to Day 2 of the $25k No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max event, where he started with a 50,000 stack.
Gregg explained that he loves No-Limit Hold’em and didn’t want to miss out on one of his favorite events of the summer. He registered yesterday, despite being deep in One Drop.
“Everyone was pretty short in One Drop so you could have been out in a matter of minutes,” he said. “I wanted to have a Plan B if I busted this.”
Esfandiari Finishes Fourth for $1.4 Million
Meanwhile Esfandiari earned $1.4 million for coming in fourth place. It’s a nice consolation prize but Esfandiari no doubt had eyes on first.
“One more time!” became a rallying cry for Esfandiari as he drew closer to the ultimate prize.
Esfandiari officially took down $18 million for winning the $1 million buy-in One Drop event last year but later admitted he only had a percentage of himself. He now has nearly $20 million in winnings from One Drop alone.
The real winner of this year’s One Drop event, however, was the One Drop Foundation, which helps people in impoverished nations gain access to drinking water.
For every $111,111 buy-in in this year’s One Drop, a total of $3,333 went to the Foundation. That meant a total of $533,278 was raised for the organization.
Here’s a look at the complete payouts for the 2013 One Drop High Roller Event final table:
1. Anthony Gregg - $4,830,619 2. Chris Klodnicki - $2,985,495 3. Bill Perkins - $1,965,163 4. Antonio Esfandiari - $1,433,438 5. Richard Fullerton - $1,066,491 6. Martin Jacobson - $807,427 7. Brandon Steven - $621,180 8. Nick Schulman - $485,029Visit www.pokerlistings.com