WSOPC Las Vegas Main Event Won By Andrew Lichtenberger
April 30, 2010 8:35 amAndrew Lichtenberger has won the 2010 WSOP Circuit Las Vegas Main Event, after defeating a field of 150 players to take down the title and the $190,137 first place prize.
The 22 year-old online pro has steadily been taking his game to the live arena and with his latest victory has now earned $1,171,902 from live tournament cashes, including a deep run at the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where he finished 18th for a pay-out of $500,557.
As the remaining 10 players took their seats at the final table, Lichtenberger was lying in sixth place and facing a tough battle against the top class finalists, which included Steve O’Dwyer, Brock Parker, Matt Stout, Dan Casetta, Thu Nguyen, James Carroll, Diego Sanchez, Aaron Been and Anthony Yeh.
However, known for his aggressive style, Lichtenberger steadily managed to increase his stack count and by the time just six players remained, he was second in chips only to Dan Casetta.
Lichtenberger then proceeded to systematically eliminate Steve O’Dwyer in 6th, James Carroll in 5th, Diego Sanchez in 4th and Brock Parker in 3rd, and by the time the heads-up phase of the competition had been reached, he held a 2 to 1 advantage over Casetta.
In what can only be described as an epic battle, Lichtenberger and Dan Casetta traded barbs for over 5 hours, with the lead swinging both ways before Lichtenberger finally triumphed over his steely opponent.
Casetta had to be content with picking up his biggest win to date of $114,800, while full honours belonged to Lichtenberger, who won the gold champion’s ring and the $190,137 top prize.
Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger dropped out of college after the game interferred with his studies, and after playing cash tables for a while he decided he would derive more enjoyment playing tournaments. Since then, he hasn’t looked back and his latest victory adds extra credence to his already successful poker career. As he explains:
“I didn’t really feel like a complete failure when I left college. But, I felt that I had somehow screwed that opportunity up, so I really couldn’t screw up poker. That was sort of my mental safety net that motivated me to succeed.”