Jay Lee Triumphs at WPT Choctaw Main Event for $593,173

The WPT Choctaw $3,700 Main Event was held at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, with 924 players entering the tournament to create a prize pool of $3,121,980. After an intense and exciting few days, its was Jay Lee, a chinese food delivery driver from Texas, who would eventually triumph over the competition to capture a prestigious title, as well as a huge first place prize of $593,173.
Prior to his victory, Lee had just $10,000 in poker earnings, and commenting after having won the life-changing sum of money, the 27 year-old said:
“It’s amazing. Cooler hands after cooler hands, but you know, it’s a great feeling. A lot of ups and downs, and a lot of happy at the end.”
The WPT Choctaw Main Event attracted a number of recognizable pros, and amongst those cashing in at one of its 99 money places was Joe Kuether, Aaron Mermelstein, David Peters, Darren Elias, and Blair Hinkle.
By the time the final table got underway, Jay Lee was lying in mid position out of the six finalists. Eric Bunch then exited in 6th ($117,761) and Paul Fisher in 5th ($153,508), after which Lee managed a double-up against Michael Stashin, before finishing him off in a pocket queens versus pocket eights showdown. Next, Lee (A-Q) got lucky against Josh Kay (A-K) in a preflop all-in after the dealer laid out a Q-8-6-2-J board, thus leaving Jay Lee and Jeb Hutton to battle it out for the title.
At this stage, Lee held a 3-to-2 chip lead over his remaining opponent, and after having subsequently extended his advantage to 2-to-1, the deciding hand was played with Hutton (Qd-2d) calling Lee’s (Jh-4h) re-raise all-in on a Jd-4d-4c-7s-9d board. Unfortunately for Hutton, his flush was second best to Lee’s full-house and so he had to be satisfied with a runner-up finish worth $366,895, while Lee walked way with top honors and the WPT title.
Final Table Results:
1: Jay Lee $593,173
2: Jeb Hutton $366,895
3: Josh Kay $270,801
4: Michael Stashin $202,617
5: Paul Fisher $153,508
6: Eric Bunch $117,761