3-times WSOP Champ Jeff Madsen Wins HPT California

3-times WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Madsen has given his poker career an extra boost ahead of the 2014 World Series of Poker by taking down the $1,650 Heartland Poker Tour California State Poker Championship for $157,060.
Following the victory which now takes his live tournament earnings to $4,389,354, the Las Vegas resident commented on his twitter page that “this year is basically a culmination of a lot of hard work and things have come together. Great momentum going into the WSOP. I # poker.”
The Main Event was held at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles and created a prize pool worth $846,800. Amongst the notable names cashing in at the event was Matt Salsberg in 67th ($2,630), Dan Heimiller in 61st ($3,050), and Melanie Weisner in 38th ($4,230).
By the time the final table of nine had been reached Jeff Madsen was the shortest-stack in play, but was soon able to chip up before being dealt A-K and eliminating Steve Ayoub (Q-Q) in 9th for $16,000. Madsen (A-A) then followed up by doing likewise to Wes Nally (Q-4) in 8th ($21,340).
When just four players remained, Jeff Madsen (A-10) won a preflop all-in against Doug Lee (K-K) after the board ran out 9-7-6-8-x to send him to the rail in 4th for  $53,430, and following Amit Makhija’s exit in 3rd ($72,150) the heads-up phase of the competition got underway between Jeff Madsen and Alex Greenblatt.
As the final battle commenced, Madsen held more than a 3-to-1 chip advantage over Greenblatt, who was soon able to recover to be almost even in chips before finding himself all-in preflop holding pocket tens after Madsen six-bet jammed all in holding just Qh-5h. Despite Greenblatt being a massive favorite to win the crucial hand, fate had other plans in store and so after the board ran out Ah-9d-8h-As-6h, Alex Greenblatt had to be satisfied with a runner-up finish worth $112,200, while Jeff Madsen was crowned the 2014 HPT California State Poker Championship winner.
Final Table Results:
1st Jeff Madsen        $160,060
2nd Alex Greenblatt $112,200
3rd Amit Makhija     $72,150
4th Doug Lee         $53,430
5th Luther Quach     $40,050
6th Brett Murray     $32,090
7th Jasmin Oh         $26,760
8th Wes Nally         $21,340
9th Steve Ayoub      $16,000