Bill Wilson of Shelton, WA, complete with a cheering section, defeated Tim Weekley of Spokane, WA, heads up to finish the nine-hour tournament. Weekley was rewarded the second-place prize of $45,000 for his day’s work. The $100,000 to first place was the largest ever awarded in Northwest poker history.  Click the  photos icons at right or below to see more of this event.

With a prize fund totaling $445,500 (also the largest prize pool for a single poker event for the Northwest), all 200 entrants were guaranteed at least a $500 payout. Remaining final table finishers and their winnings were: 3. Richard Edwards, Olympia, WA, $25,000; 4. Mary Camille Emerson, Anaheim, CA, $18,000; 5. Jacob Hunt, Longview, WA, $12,000; 6. Fitzgerald McClellan, Tacoma, WA, $10,000; 7. Andrea Laggart, Bremerton, WA, $8,000; 8. Martin Crabtree, Aberdeen, WA, $6,000; 9. Darrin Dietrich, Lake Chelan, WA, $5,000, and 10. KZOK Seattle’s own Downtown Joe Bryant, Bellevue, WA, $4,000. Eleventh through 25th place earned $2,500, 26th-50th $2,000, 51st-75th $1,500, 76th-100th $1,000, 101st-149th $750 and 150th-200th $500.

Bryant was joined by poker Professional Poker Players Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari plus Major League Baseball player Jay Buhner who all provided “comentary” and entertainment until the final hand. Laak, Esfandiari and Buhner were eliminated earlier in the tournament, but gave Bryant “advice” until the end.

All final table players except Wilson qualified for the tournament through a second chance drawing offered by the Washington Lottery’s popular game Tournament Poker Scratch. Non-winning tickets were entered into a second chance drawing awarding 170 seats to this event. Wilson earned his seat through a free-roll tournament at Little Creek Casino for its top live game players who had a minimum of 200 hours.

Fourth-place finisher and Californian Emerson had never played live poker prior to the tournament. She was notified by the lottery that she had won the drawing after buying a Scratch ticket when visiting Washington last summer. She read books and started learning the game by playing on her computer. The result – an $18,000 payday!

Wilson plays at Little Creek “almost every day” and learned the game when he was about 16 playing in neighborhood quarter games. He honed his skills in the service and loves the game. When asked if he had any plans for his winnings, he said, “I’m getting Momma a new car.” “Momma” is Wilson’s wife, Vicky, who was part of the vocal group of locals who cheered him to victory. He enjoys watching poker on TV and said he felt like he already knew the celebrities, Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari.

For more information visit Washington State Lottery Website