October 31 2012, PokerNews Staff

As a former drug addict, Greg Merson says his passion for poker saved his life.

That same passion has empowered him to become the game’s world champion.

On Wednesday morning, Merson won the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The 24-year-old from Laurel, Md., bested a field of 6,598 players to collect the top prize of $8,531,853 and the coveted WSOP Main Event bracelet.

Merson won an epic marathon final table that lasted 398 hands, the longest all-time at the World Series of Poker. Three-handed play alone lasted 197 hands and more than 11 hours.

Merson defeated Jesse Sylvia heads-up to win the title. Sylvia, 26, took home $5,295,149 for his runner-up result.

With the win, Merson became the first player since Chris Ferguson (2000) to win a preliminary WSOP bracelet and the Main Event in the same year. His two bracelets in 2012 also pushed him past Phil Hellmuth as the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year.

After the elimination of six players at the final table Monday night, Merson returned to the Penn & Teller Theater Tuesday evening to compete for the title against Sylvia and Jake Balsiger. Here’s a look at the chip counts when the action resumed:

Greg Merson

Merson took control of the three-handed table right out of the gate, winning eight of the first nine pots. Then, in a hand against Balsiger, he became the first player to hit the 100 million-chip mark. With the blinds at 300,000/600,000 and a 75,000 ante, Merson raised to 1.2 million from the button. Balsiger three-bet to 3.5 million from the big blind and Merson called to see a flop. Balsiger led out for 3 million, and Merson put in a raise to 7 million. Balsiger opted to let it ago after a short time in the tank, and Merson suddenly owned more than half of the 197,970,000 chips in play.

Merson sat back and watched Balsiger and Sylvia battle moments later, and it was the 21-year-old Balsiger who was able to double his stack. On Hand #157 of the final table, Sylvia had the button and opened to 1.2 million. Jake Balsiger three-bet to 3.5 million from the small blind, Merson folded, and Sylvia four-bet to 7.2 million Balsiger moved all in for 28.3 million, and Sylvia quickly called.

Sylvia:
Balsiger:

Balsiger’s tournament life was at risk, but the board ran out a rather uneventful . Balsiger let out a huge sigh of relief as he raked in a pot worth around 57 million. Sylvia was left with just over 37 million.

Sylvia managed to fight back, though, and recovered many of his chips from Balsiger on Hand #185. Balsiger min-raised to 1.6 million on the button and Sylvia defended his big blind. On a flop of , Sylvia checked and Balsiger fired 2 million. Sylvia thought for a minute before check-raising to 5.6 million. Balsiger tank-called. The turn was the and Sylvia checked again. Balsiger bet 6 million and Sylvia called. The fell on the river and this time, Sylvia led out for 10.2 million. Balsiger sat motionless for a minute before opting to fold, and Sylvia climbed to around 68 million in chips, while Balsiger slid back to around 51 million.

Balsiger lost another key pot on hand #216. This time, Merson limped the button and Sylvia called from the small blind. Balsiger raised to 3.7 million from the big blind, and action made its way back to Merson. He called, and Sylvia folded. On the , Balsiger bet 4.5 million and Merson called. The hit the turn and Balsiger fired 7.5 million. Merson called again, and there was 32.5 million in the pot. The river brought the and Balsiger took his time before betting 13 million. Merson responded by moving all-in, having Balsiger’s remaining 41 million chips covered, and Balsiger folded immediately. Merson flipped over for a well-timed bluff, and shouts of “POY, POY” rang from his rail. Merson couldn’t hold back a grin as his stack climbed to 110.2 million.

Jesse Sylvia

Things slowed down a bit until the 252nd and 253rd hands. It was during that 15-minute stretch that the game completely changed. First, Balsiger moved all-in for 18,1750,000 from the button with and Sylvia called from the big blind with . Sylvia was five cards away from securing a heads-up duel with Merson, and those chances improved when the dealer rolled out a flop. However, the smacked on the turn to give Balsiger the lead, and the on the river gave Balsiger his much-needed double.

On the very next hand, Sylvia had the button and raised to two million. Merson three-bet to 4.8 million from the big blind, and Sylvia responded with a four-bet to 10.2 million. Merson decided to move all-in, and Sylvia called immediately for his remaining 42.3 million.

Merson:
Sylvia:

Once again, it looked as if a heads-up match was imminent as Merson’s pair was way out in front. The flop gave Sylvia some hope with a wheel draw, and his huge rail of supporters began calling for an ace or a four. The on the turn left him one card away from a third-place finish, but the gave him the wheel and a pot worth 85,000,000. Merson stared at the board, stunned by the developments, as Sylvia was the chip leader for the first time since Monday evening.

Merson rebounded nicely in a hand against Sylvia that pushed him back above the 100 million mark. Sylvia then took another hit against Balsiger that dragged the seemingly endless three-handed play on event further.

Sylvia raised to 2.4 million from the button and Balsiger three-bet shoved for around 17 million. Sylvia asked for a count, crunched the numbers in his head, and made the call.

Balsiger:
Sylvia:

The rails of both players erupted before the dealer rolled out a flop, giving Balsiger the lead. Sylvia needed an ace or running cards to finally put the 21-year-old away, but the on the turn sealed the deal, doubling Balsiger to 35.4 million. Sylvia was left with 56.6 million, and the trio marched on.

The three players traded the chip lead numerous times over the next hundred hands. First, Balsiger doubled through Sylvia with against on a flop. That gave Balsiger 92 million chips and the lead, but Sylvia exacted revenge less than 10 minutes later.

Balsiger limped from the button and Sylvia checked his option in the big blind. The flop came down and Sylvia checked to Balsiger, who bet 2.2 million. Sylvia check-raised to 7.6 million, which prompted Balsiger to move all in. Sylvia called and tabled for a flopped two pair, which was out in front of Balsiger’s for top pair. The turn gave Sylvia a full house, which held up through the river to secure his double.

Jake Balsiger

As the blinds increased, Balsiger found himself short, and on Hand #382 his dream of becoming the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever came to an end. After Sylvia raised to 4 million on the button, Sylvia moved all-in for 20.3 million from the small blind. Merson asked for a count before calling from the big blind, and Sylvia got out of the way.

Merson showed , which dominated the of Balsiger. The got a rise out of the crowd and it gave Balsiger some chop outs. The on the river brought no help, and the on the river finally ended the tournament for one of the final three players. For his third place finish, Balsiger collected $3,799,073 along with many memories he will carry with him the rest of his life.

That left only Merson (117.6 million) and Sylvia (80.6 million) playing for World Series of Poker glory. Merson leaned on Sylvia during the first 16 hands of heads up play by winning several small pots, increasing his stack to around 130 million. And on hand #398 of the final table, it finally came to an end.

Merson min-raised to 4 million on the button, Sylvia three-bet to 9.5 million and Merson moved all-in, having Sylvia’s remaining stack of 69.3 million covered. Sylvia was left with a tough decision, swerving back and forth in his chair while riffling a stack of chips with his left hand.

“Wow,” Sylvia said to himself. He examined the pot, then stared down Merson, who sat motionless in his seat. Finally, Sylvia called, and the hands were revealed.

Merson:
Sylvia:

Merson was out in front, but Sylvia had plenty of ways to win the massive 139.2 million-chip pot and reclaim the lead.

The flop came out , which provided no help to Sylvia.

The turn – the . Merson was one card away from victory.

Everyone in the Penn & Teller Theater held their breath as the river brought the , and Greg Merson was offically crowned the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event champion.

Merson’s incredible story is one of perseverance and determination. Earlier this year, Merson was recovering from a drug relapse that occurred after his career was stripped away from him on Black Friday. Months later, after refocusing his efforts on poker, he won his first bracelet in WSOP Event #57, the $10,000 six-handed no-limit hold’em event for $1.1 million.

Now nearly 11 months clean, Merson has joined the likes of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Stu Ungar, and Hellmuth himself in the elite class of World Series of Poker Main Event champions.

Here’s a look at the final table results from the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event final table:

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October 18 2012, Brett Collson, Chad Holloway

It was a busy Thursday in the world of poker. If you missed the big news stories about the Poker Hall of Fame, the new Team PokerStars Pro, or the online license hearings in Nevada, you can find them right here in the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Three companies met with the Nevada Gaming Commission to receive online poker licenses on Thursday. Check out the stories here at PokerNews.com for the latest on Boyd Gaming, Fertitta Interactive and the Golden Nugget.

Two big names dropped out of the Global Poker Index Top 10 this week. Mickey Doft breaks down the biggest movers and shakers in this week’s GPI rankings.

It’s all about the Benjamins in 2012. Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky and Ben “Ben86” Tollerene are racing to become the top cash game money earner on PokerStars this year.

Kristy Arnett returned with her Strategy With Kristy strategy podcast on Thursday. This week, Kristy was joined by Las Vegas grinders Andrew Moreno and Lincoln Garner to talk about making the transition to live poker

Drache, Roberts Join Elite Poker Group

The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council has revealed two new inductees into its prestigious Poker Hall of Fame. Eric Drache (pictured above) and Brian “Sailor” Roberts were voted in by a 36-person panel of existing Hall of Famers and media members, becoming the 43rd and 44th members of the elite group of poker icons.

They will be officially inducted on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino as part of the October Nine festivities.

Roberts passed away in 1995 but will forever be recognized for his accomplishments during the game’s “early” years. Roberts was part of poker’s Old Guard with Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim. The trio traveled together playing cash games during a time when poker players were viewed as bandits.

Drache originally came up with the idea to create Poker Hall of Fame, so it’s only fitting that he sit alongside poker’s greatest icons. Drache’s biggest contribution to the game could be his invention of “satellite” tournaments, which have greatly expanded the game’s growth in around the world.

“I’m not only surprised and honored to have been selected, I’m also a bit embarrassed considering the other nominees,” Drache said after learning of his induction. Among the other nominees for the 2012 class were Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Thor Hansen, George Hardie, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, John Juanda, Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen.

For more, read the story here at PokerNews.com.

DeepStacks Heads to Florida

On Thursday, DeepStacks and the Players Poker Championship announced that the first stop on the 2013 DeepStacks Poker Tour will be at the Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park in Pompano Beach, Fla. The event, which features a $1,500 buy-in with a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, will run Jan. 28 through 29.

The DeepStacks Poker Tour-Players Poker Championship has already drawn commitments from Florida natives and World Series of Poker bracelet winners Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade. Event organizers believe the tournament will be a huge draw in South Florida’ booming poker market.

“We’re excited to bring a fun and unique experience to our customers that is not offered anywhere else in South Florida once again,” said Mike Smith, director of poker operations at Isle. “As happens with many of our tournaments, we expect our fair share of novices and pros to turn-up for this tournament to make it an event not to miss.”

Before the next season of the Deepstacks Poker Tour kicks off, the 2012 version will wrap up with the DeepStacks Poker Tour Mohegan Sun National Championship from Dec. 1 through 4. PokerNews will be there providing live updates for the Main Event, which offers a $2,500 buy-in with a $500,000 guarantee.

For more on the DeepStacks Poker Tour schedule, visit DeepStacks.com.

Macau Approves MGM Resorts’ $2.5 billion Hotel-Casino

The Macau government has given the go-ahead for MGM Resorts to build a $2.5 billion hotel-casino on the Coati Strip region. The approval comes after MGM Resorts, through its 51 percent-owned MGM China subsidiary, made an initial payment of $56 million for the land. Construction will begin as soon as the land concession contract is published, which could take six to nine months.

“This destination resort represents a significant growth opportunity for MGM China,” MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said in a statement. “The project will fully demonstrate our strengths in terms of design and branding, quality of service, and thoughtful diversification of product offerings.”

The unnamed project will take 36 months to construct and will include a hotel with1,600 rooms and a casino hosting 500 gaming tables and 2,500 slot machines. Numerous restaurants, retail outlets, and entertainment options are also included in the plans.

“(MGM Resorts) has been discussing this catalyst for some time; however, given the lack of an announcement, we don’t believe that the market has been ascribing any value to the project,” Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said, referencing what the approval means to investors of MGM China.

For more on the MGM Resorts’ expansion into the Cotai Strip, visit the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

If I Could Be Like Ike

On Thursday, PokerStars revealed Isaac “Ike” Haxton as the newest member of Team PokerStars Online. Haxton joins the likes of Shane “shaniac” Schleger, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Adrienne “talonchick” Rowsome, and Mickey “mement_mori” Peterson as members of the Team Online roster.

Haxton played high-stakes cash games and tournaments on PokerStars under the moniker “philivey2694″ for several years, but he’ll play as “Ike Haxton” as a member of the PokerStars team.

“I’m excited for the new opportunities this partnership brings,” Haxton said of the deal. “I’m not just playing for myself now – I’m representing a team and a brand. That brings new opportunities and new responsibilities.”

Haxton introduced himself to the PokerStars family in a video blog on Thursday. Check it out:

For more on the deal, plus an exclusive interview with Haxton, check out the article here at PokerNews.com.

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