Paul Phua Triumphs at 2016 Monte Carlo €100k ONE DROP for €753k

The final day of the 2016 Monte Carlo ONE DROP Extravaganza was supposed to feature a high-stakes cash game and a €100,000 freeze-out event, but at one stage it seemed like neither would take place. Three days of intense side game action in which there were several seven-figure winners seemed enough to satisfy the appetites of the wealthy businessmen who showed up at the Casino de Monte-Carlo in Monaco.
Similarly, the €100,000 Re-entry tournament was scheduled to kick-off at 11am, but at that time there was just three players interested in taking part in the event. By 1pm, however, that number had increased to seven players and so the week’s second biggest event subsequently got underway. Furthermore, which ever professional players happened to be in town were also allowed to compete, resulting in a small field which included such pros as Tom Marchese, Mustapha Kanit, Andrew Robl and Mikita Badziakouski.
Subsequent entries meant that a total of 12 players helped create a prize pool worth €1,254,500, meaning just a first and second prize would be awarded. After three-handed play had been reached, Talal Shakerchi eventually ended up with just a solitary big blind, and following his exit it was left to Malaysia’s Paul Phua and Russia’s Mikita Badziakouski to decide the champion.
At this stage, Phua held a commanding lead over his remaining opponent, and not long after Badziakouski was fighting for his tournament life holding K-6 to Phua’s pocket threes. The dealer then laid out an A-8-4-A-Q, and so Badziakouski finished the runner-up for €501,800, while Phua captured the title. Following his victory, Phua now boasts more than $4 million in live earnings.
Some may remember Paul Phua from the news of his 2014 arrest by the FBI at Cesar Palace in Las Vegas. At the time, Phua was accused of being a high-ranking member of the Chinese Triad crime syndicate, and was charged with running a billion dollar internet sports book from his villas. The case was later dismissed, and later commenting on the incident Phua explained:
“The truth is that I have not been involved in the sports betting industry for a long time. “I’m just an investor, I’m a gambler, and I’m a risk taker, but I’m not an operator. I have invested in a lot of businesses, including online gambling businesses, in the past. But for the past seven or eight years, for me, it has been all about poker, family, and lot of real estate property investments.”