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Saturday, July 19, 2008

Mike Watson wins WPT Bellagio Cup IV

By Sarah Polson

Most of the poker players who headed to Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event have hit the trail again, but the diehards stuck it out for a few more days to play in the World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup IV. Mike Watson made that pay off with his first major tournament win.

With 336 players taking to the felt at the Bellagio last Friday, it came down to a final table of six players on Thursday. World Series of Poker bracelet winners David Benyamine and John Phan were there, along with Ralph Perry, Gabe Thaler, Luke Staudenmeier and Watson.

Phan has been on a good run this year, finishing at a WPT final table in March and winning two WSOP bracelets this year. Benyamine also won a WSOP bracelet this year as well as making two other final tables and a 10th-place finish in an event.

Staudenmaier is a well-known online player who goes by IWearGoggles. Watson is also a prominent online player known as SirWatts.

The final table played out as follows:

Michael Watson - $1,673,770
David Benyamine - $840,295
Luke Staudenmaier - $452,465
Ralph Perry - $290,900
John Phan - $193,915
Gabriel Thaler - $129,275

On the final hand, Benyamine got all-in with K 9 against Watson's Q 9. The flop couldn't have been any better for Watson, bringing A Q 6. The turn brought a nine and the river was the 7, giving Watson the win.

To read more about the event and how Watson made it to his win, visit the WPT Live Tournaments section.

The next stop on the WPT is at the Bicycle Casino in California in August. You better believe that PokerListings' top tournament reporting staff will be there as well to bring you the best coverage to be found anywhere online.