Poker News

Mike Leah Wins First-Career World Poker Tour Main Event Title at Fallsview Casino Resort

Canadians are quite fond of the well-known game of poker. Even though poker has become extremely popular over the last decade in the United States, the enticing card game is a hot game in the casinos and poker rooms in Canada, as well. Canadian poker players worked hard to win their reputation as one of the best poker players in the world. You cannot have a list of top players without including at least one Canadian player.

Canada is a wonderful place to travel and play poker. The country has turned into a dear spot to the elite poker rooms. Fallsview Casino Resort appeared under the spotlight once again. Being one of the most popular gambling facility in Niagara Falls, Fallsview Casino Resort often plays host to prestigious poker tournaments. Mere hours ago, the gambling complex was bursting at the seams with excitement as Season XVI World Poker Tour Fallsview Poker Classic C$5,000 Main Event came to a close.

Mike Leah climbed a big poker hill to win his first WPT title. The player walked away with a staggering first-place prize of C$451,821 and a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. The recently-crowned champion is not a stranger to the poker felt and he has a long poker résumé. His bankroll currently amounts to $6,975,000 with a best live cash of $1,047,638. Despite his hefty nest egg, the player could not navigate his way to the WPT trophy for quite some time.

Mike Leah Eliminates Ryan Yu to Win the Grand Prize

Winning WPT trophy is a dream for many poker players, but not for Mike Leah anymore. Yesterday, the player finally managed to lift the long-coveted WPT trophy after battling his way through a record-crushing field of 517 entries. The event that kicked off on 10th February generated a lucrative prize pool of C$2.337 million. The event attracted many poker heavyweights, but just 65 players managed to make the money.

Only 20 players entered the final day of the event. Mike Leah entered the final day of the event as the third-biggest stack, just after Joe Ferrier and David Eldridge. Just before the dinner break, there were just 6 survivors, who were about to compete for the grand prize. Leah entered the six-handed battle second in chips. Ferrier, who bagged the chip lead for two days in a row, succumbed in 6th place for C$95,355. The elimination of the American player Daniel Wagner in 5th place and his fellow player Carlos Chadha in 4th place left only Canadian poker players on the field.

Ryan Yu was able to send Tim Rutherford out the door in 3rd place and set himself for the heads-up battle with Leah. At that time, Yu had already assumed a commanding chip lead. The player brought 10.8 million in chips against Leah’s 4.715 million. Locked in an all-in confrontation, Leah saw the cards running his way to add yet another notch to his belt. Yu headed to the pay-out desk to collect C$301,217 for his runner-up finish.