French poker pro, David Benyamine, has taken down Party Poker’s Premier League IV tournament held at the M Resort and Casino in Las Vegas after outlasting a final table that featured fellow pros Daniel Negreanu, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, Roland De Wolfe, Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz and PartyPoker’s online qualifier Giovanni Safina.
After the the preliminary heads up heats between Daniel Negreanu, Team Party pro Ian Frazer and Roland De Wolfe, the final table action began with Phil Laak taking leading the chip count with 480.000 . But after more than three hours of play, Laak became the first eliminated player on the final table when tens were unable to hold against Benyamine’s A-K.
The next to go was British Pro Roland de Wolfe, who was sent to the rail in fifth by Daniel Negreanu. Unfortunatelly for Negreanu, he joined de Wolfe on the rail shortly afterwards. Schwartz and Benyamine entered the final heads up after after Schwartz eliminated online qualifier Giovanni Safina in third place with $120,000.
Schwartz took an early advantage in heads-up play with 1,320,000 chips againts Benyamine’s 580,000. However, it didn’t take long for Benyamine to double his chips and level things up. In the final hand of the night, Schwartz raise with Q-2 spades and Benyamine make the call with Q-8.
The flop came 5-3-Q and Benyamine check-raised, with Schwartz moving all. After a few minutes contemplating the situation, Benyamine called. The turn card was a 7h, reducing Schwartz chances to win the hand and the title. The river came 6 hearts, sealing Benyamine’s victory and sending Schwartz home with $200,000 for his runner-up finish.
“It feels really good winning a title, I’m not used to it. The whole time I never thought about winning, I just wanted to do what I thought was right. I know people always say that when they win but it’s true. I haven’t really been around for a while and I hope this gives me momentum going forward! I really enjoyed the format and competition – I’m sure it will make great TV. Position in these final tables can help and I didn’t do anything special today, I just got hands at the right time and played my own game. Luke (Schwartz) is a very impulsive player but I just stuck to my own game heads-up and it was enough.” said Benyamine after taking the event.
“Congratulations to David - it has been a fantastic week and was such a spectacle at a fantastic location in the form of the M Resort. The story of Giovanni Safina is inspiring, what a dream ticket for 100 euros! Yes, you get an online poker qualifier who wins millions in a big tournament quite frequently but this was different. You had an online qualifier who was thrown in the lions den in a league over seven intense days with players at the top of their game and those who were masters of table intimidation. He did himself proud - he never once shirked and deserves all the acclaim he has already got back in his homeland.” commented a PartyPoker spokesman.
“Bringing the Party Poker Premier League to Las Vegas has taken the world’s best distributed poker show to a whole new level – this is simply must see TV, it has been amazing. Everybody has also enjoyed the fantastic facilities and service of the M Resort. I would like to personally thank Richar Fitoussi and all the team there for being such wonderful hosts.” said Eddie Hearn, Director of Matchroom Sport.
Party Poker Premier League IV Final Table Results:
1st: David Benyamine ($400,000)
2nd: Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz ($200,000)
3rd: Giovanni Safina ($100,000)
4th: Daniel Negreanu ($80,000)
5th: Roland De Wolfe ($70,000)
6th: Phil Laak ($50,000)
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Well, it looks as though I might have overshot the 2010 Mastodon Weekend by about, oh, 675 miles or something. While others degen it up in G-ville, I am spending the weekend in West Palm Beach with Vera Valmore, attending with her a dressage competition. Will be, I imagine, a marginally less intense time these next couple of days here in southern Florida, although I have to say I’m very glad to be able to get away with Vera like this.
Meanwhile, since I have found myself in a state that actually has live poker, I have already taken the opportunity to play a bit. 
