Poker pros Jason DeWitt and Garrett Greer finished first and second in the WSOP Millionaire Maker, both pocketing seven-figure prizes.
Kindergarten teacher Lisa Meredith finished third for $500,000.
Finishing sixth was backgammon champion and WSOP bracelet winner Arkadiy "Kamsky" Tsinis who earned $210,112.
7,190 players entered the event and the final table included a mix of amateurs and professionals.
DeWitt was one of the most accomplished poker players at the table with a WSOP bracelet already and over $1.8 million in lifetime earnings.
“I got a lot of cards,” said DeWitt following his win.
“I think I had the best cards at the table so it makes it a lot easier.”
Garrett Greer = Mr. Runner-Up
Second-place finisher Garrett Greer has been crushing the live tournament circuit for the last few years, racking up over $2.5 million in winnings before tonight.
Greer has had two runner-up finishes on the World Poker Tour and his first-ever cash in 2011 was also a second-place.
“It further solidifies me as poker's Mr. Runner-Up,” said Greer.
“I've made a career out of coming second and I just came second in the best tournament to come second in.”
This is Greer's second seven-figure score and he said he'll be fine with more runner-up finishes like this.
“If I rewind five years, I'm sitting in my aunt's house in a wheelchair, I've got $200 in the bank, no prospects, no job and she's telling me they're getting divorced and selling the house and I've got to move out in four months,” he said.
“Somehow I was able to keep my head straight and see a light at the end of the tunnel and follow my dream.
“I just think that if you keep yourself straight and you don't let the negativity in the world bog you down, it's the only way you'll have a chance.
He also credits his success to his strong network of friends and family.
“When I got injured and put in the hospital with a broken neck, I literally never spent a minute alone.
“I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have such a strong support network.
“Maybe I would have given up.”
Kindergarten Teacher Takes $500,000
The payout structure in this event was unique with $1,065,403 for first, $1 million for second and a huge $500,000 drop to half-a-million for third.
Exiting in third place was kindergarten teacher Lisa Meredith from Vancouver, Washington.
“I'm on cloud nine but it hasn't even begun to sink in,” Meredith told PokerListings.com.
“It's unbelievable.”
Meredith has been playing poker for six years and said she's dreamed of playing at the WSOP for a long time.
In April she won a $100 tournament with 529 players for $10,733 and used the money to come to Vegas with her husband to both play the Millionaire Maker.
This was her very first WSOP event and she outlasted over 7,000 players.
“During some of the biggest hands I kept thinking about when my daughter came up to my mom and said, 'My mommy's going to win the tournament!'” said Meredith.
“I want to use the money wisely, pay off my house, take a nice vacation,” she said, looking at her husband.
“We're savers.”
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