Leron Washington Wins WPT Celebrity Invitational

Boxer Leron Washington turned a freeroll into $125,000 at Commerce Casino

The World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational is one of the year’s most interesting events, if not for the poker being played then definitely for the number of unique combinations of final table players it has hosted over the years. While at least one poker pro seems to make it every year, it’s the mix of actors, musicians, television stars and other celebrities that really make this event worth watching – and this year’s final table is no exception.

The final table of this year’s WPT Celebrity Invitational began last night with a reality TV star, a long-time poker pro, and a professional boxer facing off for $100,000 and a seat in the WPT Championship. In the end it was the boxer, Leron Washington, who came out ahead of the pack and locked up his seat at Bellagio.

All six stacks were within ten big blinds of each other when play began so it was always going to be the cards that decided the day’s winner. After some back-and-forth play Steve Elliott was the first to go (6th place, $5,000) when his K-Q fell to Neev Baram’s K-T, and then the table’s requisite poker pro, Norwegian veteran Thor Hansen, whose A-6 fell to Washington’s 8-6 to knock him out (5th, $10,000).

Feeling the momentum, Washington then tangled in a big pot with Baram and left him with just two big blinds. Baram then shoved with Q-T but couldn’t beat incoming chip leader Sean Urban’s A-K, bouncing him from the tournament (4th, $15,000). Urban and reality show queen Trishelle Cannatella both trailed Washington by a 3-1 margin at that point, but it was Cannatella who exited (3rd, $20,000) when her Q-Q was cracked by Washington’s 7-6.

Urban managed to grab the lead from Washington during heads-up play but things took a big turn when Urban moved all-in on the river, a massive bluff with busted flush and straight draws that Washington picked off when he reluctantly called with flopped top pair. Left with less than one big blind, Urban was eliminated on the next hand (2nd, $50,000).

Leron Washington, a qualifier who won his way into the event through an WPT online poker satellite, won the $100,000 for surviving the final table and will get the chance to show down the world’s best poker players at the WPT Championship next month.