Melbourne player wins $2 million poker prize
The new king of poker was crowned this morning, when David Gorr, a 68-year-old grandfather from Melbourne collected a whopping AUD$2,000,000 in prize money…the second year in a row the top prize has gone to a Jewish player.
Big Winner - David Gorr Pic: Shannon Morris
The triumph was both a mental and physical marathon. Grandfather of five, Gorr, overcame a huge field of 721 entrants who participated in what was one of the largest Aussie Millions ‘Main Events’ since its inception at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.
The No-Limit Hold’em tournament began on Sunday 23 January, and took seven days to complete. Gorr’s route to victory was a determined one, albeit peppered with a few unwanted detours.
He arrived at the Final Table, which began on Saturday 29 January at 12:30pm, low in chips when the customary “Shuffle Up and Deal” announcement was made. Gorr lost some of his momentum during stage one of the finale which included the elimination of six players playing down to the final two, Gorr and British player James Keys.
The Final Table was played within ‘Studio 3′, a purpose built film set, at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. The final duel was played in front of a packed house of nearly 500 spectators and a worldwide audience following the action over the internet. Millions more will watch the final crescendo of the 2011 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ‘Main Event’ later in the year, when television programming is confirmed.
The runner up was James Keys, from England. Despite the disappointment of defeat, he could take great pride in a noble effort that resulted in overcoming all but one of the 721 players who began the pursuit of every poker player’s greatest dream. Keys collected a supreme consolation prize of AUD$1,035,000 in prize money.
Crown Casino congratulated Gorr on his tremendous accomplishment after playing superb poker over a prolonged period against a record field that included virtually every single top poker professional and hundreds of talented amateurs from Australia and around the globe.
Gorr told J-Wire: “The money is earmarked for my five grandchildren’s future. I may consider going on the world poker tour but I have been told by Crown that I have been automatically entered for next year’s tournament…so expect to see me here again!”
He was also presented with the widely-cherished and universally-revered diamond-encrusted gold bracelet, representing the game’s ultimate achievement.
Today it will be at work as usual for the IT mainframe technician at CGU insurance…with an extra holiday on the cards.
Last year’s tournament was won by Tyron Krost from Sydney.
