Congratulations to Joe Tehan, NAPT Los Angeles Main Event Champion ($725,000)!
The 2010 PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour Los Angeles Main Event wrapped up tonight at the Crystal Casino in Compton, California. The venue had been changed for the final day in order to film the final table. Walking away with the title, the trophy and $725,000 in cold, hard cash was Joe Tehan after defeating Chris DeMaci in heads-up play.
The final table was stacked. DeMaci entered the day as the big chip leader, holding nearly 2.5 million chips more than his closest competitor. That competitor sitting in second place to start the day was none other than Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier. Mercier represents Team USA on his PokerStars patch, but he wasn’t the only team member at the final table. Canadian pro Anh Van Nguyen also found his way to the final eight. Throw in Michael Binger, Tehan, Ray Henson, Al Grimes and lead PokerNews Strategy instructor Jake Toole and you’re looking at an amazing lineup.
One by one, Tehan eliminated player after player. He busted every single player at the final table, including knocking out both Henson (5th) and Nguyen (4th) in the same hand. An amazing feat for someone coming into the final table fifth in chips.
After they got down to heads up, Tehan and DeMaci battled a bit before heading on a 15-minute break with DeMaci down to 2.54 million and Tehan holding 18.405 million in the lead. Shortly after they returned from break, the last hand went down.
Tehan raised from the button to 240,000 and DeMaci made the call. The flop came down 
and DeMaci checked. Tehan fired 375,000 and DeMaci moved all in. Tehan quickly called and tabled the best hand. He held the 
, out-kicking the 
for DeMaci. The turn paired the board with the 
and left DeMaci drawing to just a chop to stay alive. The river was the 
and that was it. DeMaci and Tehan got up to shake hands and congratulate each other on their respective finishes. DeMaci took home $440,000 for his runner-up finish and Tehan netted the first-place prize of $725,000.
Locking up this way put Tehan over the $3-million mark for live tournament earnings. Coming into this final table, Tehan boasted a career where he has won over $2.3 million. What’s amazing is that this $725,000 score isn’t even the largest of Tehan’s career. He scored $1,033,440 for winning the WPT Mandalay Bay Poker Championship back in 2006.
| Place | Player | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joe Tehan | USA | $725,000 |
| 2nd | Chris DeMaci | USA | $440,000 |
| 3rd | Al Grimes | USA | $250,000 |
| 4th | Anh Van Nguyen | Canada | $195,000 |
| 5th | Ray Henson | USA | $145,000 |
| 6th | Mike Binger | USA | $114,000 |
| 7th | Jason Mercier | USA | $84,857 |
| 8th | Jake Toole | USA | $60,000 |
For all of us on the PokerNews staff, thanks to following along and we'll see you at our next stop!