Wednesday, Keith “DaMurdera3” Ferrera landed his biggest career win to date, bringing home this year’s Wynn Classic Main Event title. The win came after Ferrera took sixth and seventh in two earlier Wynn events, and it tops his previous best performance: a sixth-place finish at the 2008 Legends of Poker Main Event.
Ferrera entered the event’s final table short-stacked, but quickly rose in rank, doubling through Alex Melnikow out of the gate, then sending Evan McNiff packing with 10, 10 versus 8, 8.
Several hands later, Ferrera was propelled to chip leader when Melnikow failed to hit trips on pocket sixes. With over 30 percent of the chips in play, Ferrera began laying low while the field thinned itself out, only interrupting his sabbatical to show Ed Perry and Cory Zeidman the door.
In heads-up, Ferrera and Kyle Wilson agreed to split a $60,000 winner’s pile they and Zeidman had set aside in a previous deal. They then began a grueling slog to the finish with Ferrera’s 2-to-1 chip lead eventually wearing Wilson down. The final hand saw Wilson sitting strong on pocket jacks only to have them cracked when Ferrera drew trip aces.
After the tournament, Ferrera held to his deals, giving Zeidman a cut of the $348,036 grand prize and handing another portion, as well as half the agreed-upon $60,000 winner’s pile, to Wilson. Despite the monetary loss, Ferrera was more than content, having boosted a career that was at one time highlighted by a 121st-place finish at the WSOP Main Event.
2009 Wynn Classic Main Event Final Standings
Keith Ferrera – $255,000 Kyle Wilson – $249,000 Cory Zeidman – $210,000 Ed Perry – $80,704 Wayne Boich – $60,528 Justin Newton – $40,352 Alex Melnikow – $30,264 Praz Bansi – $25,220 Evan McNiff – $20,176
phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org
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