Bin Weng will be the answer to a World Poker Tour trivia question in the future.
After bagging the massive chip lead at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Weng showed up here at WPT Choctaw at the Choctaw Resort and Casino and did it all over again. He, along with five other players, heads to Vegas for the final table on May 26th. The only difference is Weng will also play the WPT Seminole final table on May 25th first.
"It's crazy, right?" said Weng. "I didn't even think about that. Back-to-back tables has been done before, but chip leading at the same time is crazy. I played even more aggressively today, I think."
WPT Choctaw final table chip counts
Place | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
1 | Bin Weng | 8,800,000 | 88 |
2 | Jared Jaffee | 7,225,000 | 72 |
3 | Mike Vanier | 5,300,000 | 53 |
4 | Dojie Ignacio | 4,225,000 | 42 |
5 | Erkut Yilmaz | 3,150,000 | 32 |
6 | Rusty Farrin | 1,900,000 | 19 |
He certainly didn't make it easy on his opponents. However, sitting on his right, at least one man is not afraid to get involved with Weng.
Jared Jaffee sits in second place with 72 big blinds with which to go to battle. Jaffee has a WPT title to his name, so he knows what it takes and what it means to earn a spot on the Mike Sexton Cup. Now, he heads to his current hometown of Vegas to try to do it again.
"It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed instead of a hotel," said Jaffee. "When I first started I made four or five final tables pretty quick and then got seventh thru tenth the next few times I got close. It's nice to be back in position. I like coming to Choctaw, I had a feeling about this one."
When I asked him what it's like to have Bin Weng on his left, Jaffee seemed up for the challenge. "The guy doesn't ever lose a hand, so that's fun," he laughed. "He had a lot of chips and I didn't have many, so I was trying to stay out of his way. But, now that we're at the final six, I'm gonna play. If we play a big pot, we play a big pot. I'm not going to back down from other aggressive players."
Speaking of Champions Club members, Erkut Yilmaz also has a spot on the trophy. He's coming into the final table with 32 big blinds. Sure, not as many as Jaffee or Weng, but plenty of room to work with to go for his second title as well.
A date for the title in Vegas
The six remaining players will battle it out for the title on May 26th at the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas. They've each been paid out sixth place money already, but have plenty more to play for in just over two weeks.
Final table remaining payouts
Place | Prize |
1 | $400,740* |
2 | $261,000 |
3 | $192,000 |
4 | $143,000 |
5 | $107,000 |
6 | $81,700 |
Jaffee and Yilmaz already have one title to each of their names. The question is: will Bin Weng also have a WPT title by the time the three meet again on May 26th? That answer will be given soon enough. Once you get your name on the Mixe Sexton Cup, the privileged few to get a second title earn a star on their existing plaque.
Will Jaffee, Yilmaz, or Weng earn that rare star on the Cup? Or will one of the other challengers step up and claim a title for themselves? The story has been great so far, we just can't wait to read the ending.
We send a big thank you to the Choctaw Casino and Resort and the World Poker Tour for hosting us this past week.
Until vegas.