Brett Radin Is The Ironman Of Poker

Brett Radin has won the Ironman event at the Commerce Casino beating a field of 64 players and earning $51,560 for his efforts. The $1,600 buy-in tournament lasted 19 hours and 21 minutes, had no breaks, meals were served up to the players at the poker tables and any comfort breaks taken by the players meant missed hands.
The Ironman tournament was event 15 of the Hold’em Series taking place at the Commerce Casino in  Los Angeles, and the invention of tournament director Matt Savage. He came up with the idea after constantly being badgered during tournaments by players asking ‘When is the break?’ and others asking ‘why is the break so long?’
“When you signed up for the Ironman, there was no guesswork,” Matt Savage explained. “Players should know that missing a hand in a tournament is not the end of the world and that many successful tournament players take unscheduled breaks away from the table. It was a test of a player’s skill and willpower, as the structure was very good.”
The Ironman event drew in some of the big names of the game including the 2009 WSOP $1,500 No Limit Hold’Em winner Eric ‘basebaldy’ Baldwin who finished in 6th place for $4,125 and the 2009 WPT L.A. Poker Classic Champion Andrew Cimpan.
Each player started with 10,000 chips with the blinds increasing every hour. Incredibley 8 players were knocked out during the first blind level and as the tournament progressed players had to contend with drooping eyelids as well as bladder control.
“I watched grown men run to the bathroom so they didn’t miss a hand,” Savage said. “We had a guard posted at the bathroom to make sure hands were washed.”
Finally after a gruelling 19 hours and 21 minutes of play Brett “Ghostdog” Radin and Chris Tyrba faced each other heads-up with Radin the eventual winner. 
Brett Radin said of his win, “It was the truest poker tournament I have ever seen or played in. I love the fact that it played all the way down and no deals were allowed!”