World Series of Poker Event 45: John Kabbaj Wins

After finishing as runner-up five years ago and 8th in this event last year, John Kabbaj has finally earned his first bracelet in Pot Limit Hold'em, the game he considers his specialty. On Day 3 of the PLH Championship, 14 hopefuls returned to play to a winner. Vanessa Rousso, who finished 15th, just missed the cut. Once they played down to the impressive final nine, it was clear it would be a long and difficult fight for the bracelet. Short-stacked Daryll Fish was eliminated in 9th place, earning his 7th cash of the 2009 Series. Isaac Haxton, who earned over $1 million for his 2nd place finish in the $40,000 40th Anniversary WSOP event, busted in 8th place. Eugene Todd left his 3rd WSOP final table in 7th place, followed by Jason Lester in 6th. Lester's elimination gave him is 9th cash of the Series, the most of any player so far this year. Mexican PokerStars Pro J.C. Alvarado went out in 5th.

The final table also featured two bracelet winners. Davidi Kitai won a bracelet in a Pot Limit Hold'em event last year, but fell short of number two, finishing in 4th place. He was immediately followed by Eric 'basebaldy' Baldwin, who won his first WSOP gold two weeks ago. He busted in 3rd place, just missing the chance to repeat. After Baldwin's elimination, Kirill Gerasimov was left to battle John Kabbaj heads up. Both competitors have been at Pot Limit Hold'em final tables before. Kababj finished 10th in this event last year, and Gerasimov finished 9th in a PLH event in 2006.

Gerasimov began with a better than 2:1 chip lead, but quickly doubled Kabbaj when he flopped a full house. On the evening of Day 2, Kabbaj won a huge pot when his Aces held against the chip leader's Kings. He was happy to repeat the hand heads up when Gerasimov ran Kings into his Aces to end the tournament and give Kabbaj the victory. After getting close to the gold several times in his career, Kabbaj was able to finish the job this time, taking home $633,335 and his first bracelet. Gerasimov earns $391,369, but he will have to wait for another chance to win his first title. He's now finished 2nd in three WSOP events and 3rd in one.

For final table coverage click here.

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