After 10 days and in excess of 80 complete hours of play, Hossein Ensan was left remaining as the victor of the 50th World Series of Poker main event in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Ensan, 55, brings home a $10 million grand prize to oblige the most prestigious bracelet in poker after he outlasted Dario Sammartino with a triumphant hand that completed at around 1:30 a.m. local time at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas.
On the final hand, Ensan held a pair of kings in his hand when Sammartino pushed his chips all-in with nothing more than a flush draw and a straight draw. Ensan’s kings won.
His disorderly group of supporters in participation ejected in festivity. Ensan is Iranian-German, and a significant number of his companions flew out from abroad to watch the action.
“Unbelievable,” Ensan told the ESPN broadcast after his win. “I can not understand this moment. After 10 days I am excited. This is a big prize in my career. I’m so happy. I thank my fans at home in Germany, also in Iran. And my buddies here.”
The day started eight hours sooner with only three players staying from a huge 8,569-player beginning field. Without any Americans in the last three, the climate for the majority of Tuesday night’s action looked like a high-stakes European soccer match as fans of every player recited and sang continually.
Sammartino, a professional poker player from Italy, had the most intense fans of all. Most likely they can at present celebrate his runner up prize of $6 million.
Both the field size and the grand-prize payout were the second greatest in the event’s history, trailing only the 2006 sum of $12 million.
