Eric Hershler - Winner LAPC 2007

We have a winner! With one hand, the 2007 L.A. Poker Classic has been decided!

Hand 105: Eric Hershler calls the BB, JC Tran raises 700k, Hershler calls. The flop comes A J 6 . Tran bets 1,200,000, and Hershler goes into the tank before moving all in. Tran calls. Hershler shows the J 6 , and Tran shows A 7 . The turn comes a 4 , and the river a 9 to give Hershler the win with his two pair of J's and 6's.

	JC Tran

Eric Hershler, in his first poker tournament ever, has won the L.A. Poker Classic and $2,429,970!

JC Tran's second place finish is good for $1,177,010.

The following are chip counts for heads-up action, and Hershler starts with the button.

First prize will pay $2,429,970, and second prize will be $1,177,010. Serious dough.

Heads-up action is coming up between JC Tran and Eric Hershler. The WPT staff is preparing for the money presentation, and it will be a few minutes before chip counts are official.

Both players have huge fan support here in the audience, and while Hershler is trying to turn his first tournament experience into a huge payday, JC Tran is quite intent upon winning this title. It will be a battle to the very end!

Hand 104: Jacobo Fernandez moves all in, and Eric Hershler calls. Fernandez shows J 2 , and Hershler happily turns up A A . The board comes A 8 2 5 2 , and Hershler wins the hand.

	Jacobo Fernandez

Jacobo Fernandez is the 3rd place finisher tonight and takes home $607,490 for his spectacular efforts.

Hand 102: Fernandez raises to 1 million, Tran folds, and Hershler calls the 600k raise. The flop is AhKd2h, Fernandez bets 1 million, and Hershler moves all in. Fernandez thinks and folds.

Hand 98: Hershler calls all in, Fernandez folds, and Tran calls. Hershler turns over Q 10 , and Tran shows the J 10 . The flop comes A K 4 5 J to give Hershler the nut straight and another double-up.

Hand 96: Fernandez folds, Tran moves all in, and Hershler calls for 980k. Hershler shows K Q , Tran has 10 7 . The board comes J J 6 Q 5 , and Hershler doubles up.

Hand 90: Fernandez raises to 1 million, Tran moves all in, Hershler folds, and Fernandez calls. The crowd erupts! Fernandez turns over 3 3 , and Tran shows Q J . The board comes 8 8 7 K 7 . The players split the pot, and the tension is so high in here that Chris Ferguson could cut it with a card.

The ante is now 50k, and the blinds are 200k-400k.

Hand 88: JC Tran raises to 600k, Paul Wasicka moves all in for 1.22 million in chips, and Tran calls. Wasicka turns over A 7 , and Tran shows a 3 3 . The flop comes K K 3 , and Tran flops the full house. The turn is a 6 , and the turn is a 10 .

	Paul Wasicka

Paul Wasicka is eliminated from the tournament in 4th place for a nice $455,615 cash.

Hand 82: Chau Giang moves ALL IN, and JC Tran moves ALL IN to guarantee a heads-up battle, and it is successful. Giang shows 8 4 , and Tran shows A J . As the two players and friends stand next to each other, the board comes Q 9 4 3 A .

	Chau Giang

Giang is eliminated from the tournament in 5th place for $341,710.

Here's a joke courtesy of Linda Johnson...

The Energizer bunny was recently arrested. He was charged with battery.

(Groans around the room. I laughed.)

Hand 75: Hershler calls the BB, and Wasicka checks in BB. The f lop comes Q 3 3 , and both players check. The turn is a 10 , Wasicka bets 300k, and Hershler calls. The r iver is a J , and both check. Wasicka shows the 3 for trips and takes the pot.

Hand 71: Giang moves all in, and everyone folds to him.

Hand 72: Giang moves all in for 1.47 million, Hershler thinks about it for a long time, then mucks. Giang is now up around the 2 million mark in chips.

Also, the ante is now 30k, and the blinds are 120k and 240k.  Yikes!

Hand 69: David Bach, the short stack at the table, moves all in, Hershler calls, Fernandez calls, and Giang calls. The flop comes A 10 4 . Everyone checks around. The turn is a 2 , and Hershler moves all in. Fernandez and Giang fold. Bach turns over the A 2 , and Hershler shows 2 2 . The river is a 3 , and Hershler wins the hand.

Bach leaves the tournament in 6th place with a prize of $257,425.

	David Bach

Hand 58: Tran raises to 400k, and Hershler calls. The flop comes 10 9 4 , and both players check. The turn is a 4 , Tran bets 400k, and Hershler folds. Tran takes down another pot.

58. Tran raises to 400k, Hershler calls. Flop – 10s9c4d, Tran checks, Hershler checks. Turn – 4h, Tran bets 400k, Hershler folds.

Hand 54: Hershler calls the BB, Tran calls from the SB, and Bach checks from the BB. The flop comes Q 5 4 . Tran bets 300k, Bach folds, and Hershler raises to a cool 1 million. Tran folds, and Hershler takes down the pot.

54. Hershler calls the BB, Tran calls from the SB, Bach checks from the BB. Flop – 5c4sQc, Tran bets 300k, Bach folds, Hershler raises to 1 million, Tran folds. Hershler wins.

Hand 52: Bach raises to 480k, Giang moves all-in for 760k, and Bach calls. Bach shows A 9 , and Giang shows A K . The board comes up with 6 6 6 Q 7 , and Giang doubles up to stay alive!

52. Bach raises 480k, Giang moves all in for 760k, Bach calls. Bach shows Ad9d, and Giang shows AhKc. Board – 6d6c6sQh7d. Giang doubles up.

Hand 51: Wasicka raises to 350k, Hershler takes a long time to fold on the button, and Giang thinks for awhile before calling. The flop hits 7 3 4 . Wasicka unhesitatingly moves all in, and Giang folds. Wasicka wins the pot.

With 50 hands completed, play moves to the next level with 15k antes and blinds of 80k-160k.

Hand 45: Tran limps into the pot, Fernandez calls from the small blind, and Giang checks in the big blind. The flop comes K 9 7 . Fernandez and Giang check, but Tran bets 200k. Fernandez calls, and Giang laughs about it while he folds. The turn comes a 5 , which has the audience filled with oohs and aahs. Fernandez checks, Tran bets 500k, and Fernandez folds. Tran takes down the pot.

Updated chip counts:

Hand 40: Giang moves all in, and everyone folds to him.

Hand 38: Wasicka raises to 280k, Bach asks for a chip count on Wasicka and thinks for awhile, then moves all in. Wasicka takes an equal amount of time to consider his options, then finally folds.

Updated chip counts are as follows:

Hand 26: Tran raises to 280k, Hershler reraises to 680k, and Tran folds. Hershler isn't going to take this raising action without hitting back.

Players are back from a quick 10-minute break, and the next level has begun with a 10k ante and blinds of 50k-100k.

Hand 24: When Wasicka bets 180k from button, Bach raises an additional 620k, and Wasicka folds. Evidently, Bach got tired of watching the action and took control...

Hand 15: Jacobo Fernandez raises to 240k, Giang moves ALL IN for 740k more, and Fernandez folds.

Hand 9: JC Tran raises to 180k, and Jacobo Fernandez calls. Fernandez checks in the dark before the flop of 4-7-A comes out, then Tran checks. The turn is a J, Fernandez bets 230k, and Tran calls. The river comes a 3, Fernandez checks, Tran bets 300k, and Fernandez calls. Tran shows an A-8 for top pair, and Fernandez shows Q-J. Tran wins the pot.

Hand 1: Chau Giang raises and gets no callers. First pot of the LAPC final table goes to Giang.

Linda Johnson announces, "Shuffle Up & Deal!" The payouts are listed below.

The audience is in place, and Linda Johnson is prepping the audience and giving instructions before the start of the tournament. Players should be making their entrances within the next 10 minutes.

Play is scheduled to begin at 5pm PST, if the television crew is ready and all of the filming preparations are in order. This is going to be a fascinating final table with seasoned pros and familiar faces, along with some incredible players whose names are just now beginning to float around the poker world due to their performances at the LAPC this year.

The final table chip counts are listed below... The original field of 791 is down to these final six...

	JC Tran Enters as Chip Leader

In 2004, J.C. Tran placed 7th in the $10,000 World Poker Tour at LAPC, 5th in the $10,000 WPT World Poker Finals at Foxwoods and 2 final tables at his first WSOP.

In 2005 Tran placed 7th in the $10,000 WPT at the Borgata and made another final table at the WSOP. He also won a $1500 WSOP circuit event at the RIO and place 2nd at the Bally's WSOP $10,000 event.

Born in Vietnam and now living in Sacramento, this young player has already proven his smarts with a degree in Business Administration. He's now a professional player to be reckoned with as he follows his dream to be respected in both tournaments & live games.

	Paul Wasicka Enters 2nd in Chips

Paul Wasicka is a 25-year-old poker player who used to work as a bartender and restaurant manager. He was born in Dallas, Texas -- and now lives in Westminster, Colorado. Paul started playing poker about two years ago and has already cashed six times at major poker tournaments, including 14th place in a previous No-Limit Hold'em event held at this years World Series.

His poker nickname is "Kwick Fish." When asked what he wants the rest of the world to know about him, Paul said, "I have the best friends and family anyone could ask for." Ranked #7 on Player of the Year in Bluff Magazine.

	Jacobo Fernandez Enters 3rd in Chips

In third place, but still in a close race with Wasicka and Tran, Jacobo Fernandez enters this final day of the exciting L.A. Poker Classic as third in chips.

Fernandez, while not an established pro, will experience his biggest payday yet, regardless of outcome, when he's finished playing today. Seeking that big win, Jacobo placed in two events in the Borgata Poker Classic earlier this year.

	Eric Hershler enters 4th in chips.

Eric Hershler is no famed professional, but his poker skills spoke volumes during the 2007 LAPC, which is actually his first poker tournament ever played. When the tournament was 10-handed and his stack was short, he came back with a vengeance and climbed toward the top of the leader board. At the final table, he exudes confidence and has a crowd of Europeans in support of him in the audience.

	David Bach enters 5th in chips.

David Bach, nicknamed the “Gunslinger” and usually sporting a black cowboy hat, has over $360k in winnings on his tournament resume. Though his favorite game is seven-card stud, he has shown that his strengths also include no-limit hold’em as he excelled during this LAPC event to make it to the final table.

	Chau Giang enters 6th in chips.

Chau Giang's is a success story wholly befitting of the American Dream. He came to the U.S. in the late 1970s, fleeing from Vietnam via boat and arriving in Florida where he worked for minimum wage. It wasn't long before he went to Colorado working as a chef and started to learn the game of poker. As he began to experience wins and realize he had a talent for the game, Chau moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career as a professional poker player. It turned out to be the right move - he made $100,000 his first year, alone.

After numerous tournament cashes and a very successful career as a cash game pro, he sits at the LA Poker Classic final table saying, “Game on!”

Jennifer Newell is a freelance writer (and now tournament reporter!), originally from St. Louis but now living in Los Angeles. She fell in love with poker while working at WPT and began writing about it in 2005.