The Brits won another World Series of Poker championship bracelet when 45-year old London financier Mike Ellis won the $1,500 No Limit Hold ‘em event #30. In addition to the bracelet, he also took home $581,851 in prize money. He is the fourth Brit to win this year, and joins Praz Bansi, James Dempsey, and Richard Ashby as a WSOP champion.
The event drew 2,394 players, many who play online poker on Everest Poker FR. This was Ellis’ first WSOP championship, though he has earned more than $500,000 in tournament prize money worldwide. The second place finisher was Christopher Gonzalez from Fremont, California. Two former bracelet winners also made it to cash places: Carlos Mortensen (23) and Howard Andrew (192). Andrew holds the record for playing the most consecutive WSOP events. His first WSOP participation was in 1976 and this was his 36th year as a contestant.
Ellis made a big comeback and doubled up his stack several times to make it to the final table. He only achieved chip lead when the play got down to heads-up, which lasted until 5am before finally drawing to an end.
Ellis graduated from Oxford and attributes his poker skill to playing the game while he was in college. He got hooked on the game again 2004 during a business visit to Las Vegas and began playing as a full-time professional. Since then, he has made it to the money in 40 major tournaments. This is his first WSOP win and he has finished in the money at six WSOP events for a total of $626,810 in WSOP prize money. His overall tournament winnings are more than $1.1 million.