James Duke Achieves Gold in Event #7: $400 NLH Double Stack
While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the Main Event and High Roller, we��d be remiss if we didn��t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant.
In Event #7: $400 NLH Double Stack, 353 runners created a $116,490 prize pool that was paid out to the top 54 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Michael Lech (10th - $1,753), Justin Kruger (14th- $1,438), Lauren Bunch (26th - $780), Will Berry (29th - $701), and Bart Bogard (35th - $602).
In the end, it was Texas native James Duke securing a $25,400 victory along with his first ring.
��It��s just so exciting. I��ve been trying for 14 years to win a damn ring,�� Duke said with a laugh following his triumph. ��It means a lot to me to win here at Choctaw because the players are so tough here. They��re great players and they��re friendly and the dealers are all great; The floor crew��s great. So, I��m pretty excited about it.��
The win brings Duke's WSOP cashes to a total of 40 with $750,000 in earnings. A vast majority of that sum ($614,368) was earned by Duke in 2014 when he took third place in the Millionaire Maker, a tournament that encompassed nearly 8,000 players.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Duke | Houston, Texas | $25,400 |
| 2 | Benjamin Thomas | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | $15,698 |
| 3 | Andrew Robinson | Georgetown, Texas | $11,282 |
| 4 | Maurice Hawkins | West Palm Beach, Florida | $8,235 |
| 5 | Gerald Cunniff | Saint Paul, Minnesota | $6,107 |
| 6 | Jeremy Ross | The Colony, Texas | $4,603 |
| 7 | Cody Pettit | Yukon, Oklahoma | $3,526 |
| 8 | Pedro Arroyos | Lubbock, Texas | $2,746 |
| 9 | Sidney Savitt | South Euclid, Ohio | $2,175 |