Negreanu takes WSOPC Tunica Championship

By: Lianne Elias

Pro player Daniel Negreanu reaffirmed his status as one of the best players in the world on January 27 when he took home first place and its prize of over $750,000 at the 2006 World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Grand Casino Resort Tunica main event. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner beat 240 players in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em tournament, which offered a total prize pool of $2,289,500.

In a post tournament interview, Negreanu admitted: "I had a strategy designed for each individual player and pretty much followed it at the final table. The key to winning for me is that I stay out of marginal situations. I don't want to get into a race with 6-6 against A-K and hope to stay alive."

"I think what I am best at is playing after the flop, and I wanted to get as many situations as I could where I was up against (an opponent) and could take them on after the flop. My goal is to see the most flops I can. I like to set traps. I let (opponents) get involved, and then trap them. If I get them drawing dead (which happened twice at the final table in big pots) - that's always the plan."

The Canadian player further revealed: "Poker has changed so much since I first came into the game. I'm 31 now, and ten years ago there were just a few good young players - such as John Juanda, Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey, and myself. Now, the young guys in their 20s can really play. You see it all the time. They come in with years of experience playing on the Internet and they are super tough."

"I consider myself like a bridge between the old poker world and the new. I saw the way it used to be. But I also see where it is going, with computers and lots of new young players. So, I guess I'm not really a kid anymore."

Final table results are as follows:

Place	Name	Hometown	Prize
1st	Daniel Negreanu	Las Vegas, NV	$755,525
2nd	Bryant King	Spokane, WA	$416,690
3rd	Kia Mohajeri	Rockledge, FL	$228,950
4th	Lee Marholt	Eatonville, WA	$183,160
5th	Brian Lamkin	Austin, TX	$137,370
6th	Brandon Adams	Boston, MA	$114,475
7th	Wendell Barnes	Charcton, MA	$91,580
8th	Robert Schulz	Southaven, MS	$66,624
9th	Chad Brown	Los Angeles, CA	$45,790

Please see www.worldseriesofpoker.com for further details.