/ Matthew Pitt / 04 March 2011 / Leave a Comment 
It is not everyday that someone travels across the country to visit some friends and finishes up winning over $1,600,000 in a poker tournament but that is exactly what has just happened to Gregory Brooks. Just hours ago Mr Brooks beat a star-studded final table to become the 2011 WPT LA Poker Classic Champion, the first time he has ever entered a World Poker Tour event!
Brooks, who is known as "MYNAMEIZGREG" in online poker circles, is a cash game specialist by trade but has been taking some time from the game in order to reconnect with family and friends and take a break from the stresses of high stakes poker. The 23-year old from New Jersey was visiting friends in California when he decided to enter the $10,000 LA Poker Classic on a whim and it is a decision that has seen him add $1,654,120 to his bankroll.
The poker media and fans of the game were making a big fuss about the strength of the final table before the tournament resumed and rightly so as between the six players they had won more than $22,000,000 between them in live and online poker tournaments. The majority of the prying eyes were on Carlos Mortensen and his attempts to become the first-ever four-time WPT title winner and those who were not rooting for the Spaniard were wondering if Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar could match his 48-hand demolition of the final table that he managed when he won the 2010 Borgata Open. But nobody had really mentioned Brooks.
However that all changed on just the third hand of proceeding after a massive 5,225,000 pot was created and won by Brooks. Rajkumar opened the betting with a raise to 125,000 from under the gun, Brooks three-bet to 315,000 from the cutoff and Steve "gboro780" Gross put in a further raise to 655,000. With the action back on Rajkumar he quickly moved all in and after around 30 seconds Brooks called off his remaining chips. Despite having more than half of his stack in the middle of the table, Gross mucked his hand leaving Rajkumar's queens to try and out run the red aces of Brooks. They did not as the final board read Ts-9h-2d-5s-Jh and the tournament had a new chip leader.
Brooks stayed up there at the top of the chip counts all day long, I say all day but the final table only took six hours from start to finish. On hand #31 of the final table Darryll Fish was eliminated at the hands of Mortensen, the latter raising preflop from the cutoff and then calling Fish's all in three bet with queens. Fish needed plenty of help for his QsTs but it failed to arrive and he became the first casualty of the day.
A short stacked Gross was the next casualty, albeit 19 hands later. Down to less than seven big blinds, Gross moved all in from the button with JsTs and found a caller in the shape of Rajkumar in the big blind, who was holding Ac3s. The Kd-Ks-9h flop was no help to either player and when the turn and river were the 7s and 4c respectively, Rajkumar's ace-kicker came into play and resigned Gross to a fifth place finish, worth $304,000.
Gross' exit spark a flurry of eliminations and four hands later Amir Lehavot was heading for the rather rowdy rail. On a flop reading Jc-9s-6d, Lehavot decided that his KsQh for a gutshot straight draw and two overcards was strong enough to call Rajkumar's check-raise all in, though he was quite wrong as "Psyduck" was sat there with QcQd. No miracle turn or river and Lehavot exited stage left to pick up $421,680.
The on hand 61 Mortensen's dreams of making history were shattered. With blinds now 40,000/80,000/10,000a, the Spaniard raised from the button to 200,000 with KsJd and both Rajkumar in the small blind and Brooks in the big blind made the call. The Jc-5c-3d flop gave Mortensen top pair and when Rajkumar checked and Brooks bet 380,000, Mortensen raised to 800,000, forcing Rajkumar out of the pot. Brooks was going nowhere though and he announced he was all in, Mortensen wasted no time in calling and revelaed his hand, which was actually trailing to the 6c4c of Brooks, though the latter would need to hit one of his plethora of outs to win the pot. The 5d on the turn was not one of them but he Tc on the river was and Mortensen slid away wondering what could have been though I am sure the $640,680 for coming third will help soften the blow and help him sleep!
Brooks held a 14,450,000 to 5,980,000 chip lead over his talented opponent and five hands into the heads up section of the tournament Rajkumar doubled up to massively close the gap. His pocket eights somehow stayed ahead on a Qd-Js-7s-5d board against Brooks' KsTs but Brooks never looked flustered and continued to apply constant pressure to his opponent and he eventually broke him on the 96th hand of the final table.
The blinds were now 75,000/150,000 and Brooks got things under way with a raise to 325,000, a raise that Rajkumar decide to just flat-call. The dealer put out the 7d-3s-2h flop, Rajkumar checked and Brooks made a 400,000 continuation bet. Rajkumar then moved all-in for 3,500,000, a move he had continually pulled during the final table which is maybe why Brooks did not believe him and called with his 8s7c. Top pair was good enough as it was beating the JhTh of the man all in and when the 2d arrived on the turn and the As peeled off on the river it was game over for Rajkumar and celebration time for Brooks.
The World Poker Tour is staying in California, though moving to San Jose, for the upcoming Bay 101 Shooting Star event that starts on march 14. It then jets off to Vienna on March 25 before heading to Bratislava on the 30th of March.
Final table payouts
1.) Gregory Brooks - $1,654,120
2.) Vivek Rajkumar - $908,730
3.) Carlos Mortensen - $640,680
4.) Amir Lehavot - $421,680
5.) Steve Gross - $304,000
6.) Darryll Fish - $235,350
Use this link to sign up for a free Betfair Poker account today and you will be able to choose your own sign up bonus of between $50 and $2,500. Not quite $1.6m but it is a start!
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