Victor Ramdin Rules The Big Event

The Big Event Main Event – formerly known as the NAPT LA Event – drew to an exciting close this week with a heads-up match between two big guns. The players in question were none other than 2005 WSOP Champion Joe Hachem and 2006 WPT Foxwoods Champion Victor Ramdin. Both Hachem and Ramdin have had a hard time living up to their big previous wins. For example, more than $10 million of Hachem’s lifetime earnings can be credited to his WSOP win in 2005 and his Five Diamond World Poker Classic Championship in 2006.

Ramdin’s live tournament results tell a very similar story. Though the genial pro has posted dozens of cashes, nothing comes close to his big Foxwoods win…Until now of course. Ramdin’s Big Event victory was worth a cool half a million, making it the second largest cash of his career. Ramdin’s a man that the fans like to see win, too. That’s because he’s known as much for his poker deeds as he is for his charitable deeds. As with his previous cashes, he’s expected to donate a significant portion of this recent win to non-profit organizations in his home country of Guyana.

The final table was largely dominated by Bike regulars and other semi-serious amateurs, and yet talent prevailed this week, putting the two most recognizable players at the top of the chip counts throughout the tournament. Ramdin especially dominated on the final day of play, leaving little doubt about who would ultimately take the Big Event Main Event title. Hachem fans needn’t feel bad for his near miss, either, because the charismatic pro pocketed $300,000 for his second place finish. Here’s how the rest of the final table fared:

Victor Ramdin – $500,000

Joe Hachem – $300,000

Jeremy Ausmus – $190,000

Taylor von Kriegenbergh – $140,000

Bryan Leskowitz – $100,000

Govert Metaal – $75,000

Jose De Noronha – $55,000

Santiago Nadal – $35,327

While the Bike’s $10,000 buy-in Big Event Championship may be over, the tournament will continue on through April 4. Online poker channel Poker Netcast has been covering the tournament for days; curious card fans can still watch some of the action live on the Poker Netcast site and can also watch replays of key action – including Ramdin and Hachem’s Main Event faceoff.

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