Anthony Marsico Wins 2012 Chicago Poker Classic For $265,825

Anthony Marsico has won the 2012 Chicago Poker Classic Main Event, after defeating a field of 360 players over four days to lift the title, and collect the $265,825 first place prize.
The 26 year old pro from Illinois is a PLO cash game specialist, who had previously only cashed in at two live tournaments for $19,141. Now Anthony Marsico can add a title and over a quarter of a million dollars to his tally, and commenting after on his remarkable victory, said:
“This feels good, I’m a little bit tired, but it feels good. I was pretty confident. I told someone before today that if I didn’t get to the top three I’d be pretty disappointed.”
The $3,125 Main Event at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana drew a top field, which included such pros as Chad Brown, Robert Chow, Kurt Jewell, Aaron Steury, Kevin Saul, and Thomas Koral.
However, it was Anthony Marsico who held the chip lead at the end of Day 2 and 3, before starting the nine man final table as the chip leader (2.154m) with clear daylight between himself and closest rival Edward Ochana (1.52m), and Matthew Rosen in 6th spot (1.07m).
Edward Ochana impressively finished 34th in the 2010 WSOP Main Event for $255,000, and this time around added a further $108,268 to his winnings after eventually being eliminated in 3rd place.
The heads-up phase of the competition then got underway between chip leader Anthony Marsico and Matthew Rosen, with Rosen subsequently falling to a 9.5m to 1.5m disadvantage after losing a big pot to Marsico’s rivered set of sevens.
A little while later, Marsico flopped another set, this time of eights, to dispatch Rosen to a runner-up finish worth $164,279, while full honours went to Anthony Marsico after the eight-hour final table. Commenting after his lucrative win, a jubilant Marsico said:
“I’m definitely going to go blow some money for sure. First on my buddies and then back at the poker table.”