James "Danfriel" Gilbert has become the latest player to collect World Series of Poker gold, winning Event #18 of the WSOP Online series on Sunday. Gilbert topped a 756-entry field to win $137,570 in the $1,000 "NLH North American Open" event.
Gilbert moved his career tourney earnings to more than $2.2 million with the win, dominating the final table in this event and eliminating his final six foes. Those players included eventual runner-up Landon Tice and World Poker Tour commentator Tony Dunst in fifth.
GIlbert's knockout run gave him a near 5:1 edge in chips as heads-up action began. Tice chipped up a bit early in the duel before faltering, and in the last hand, he was all in with K-8 against Gilbert's K-10, but couldn't improve. Tice posted about his near miss on Twitter:
Tice's runner-up showing was worth $85,040. Though not a win, it was a nice rebound from the heavy six-figure hit he took against Bill Perkins in their short-lived, high-profile heads-up duel.
Gilbert's bracelet win also marked his fourth cash in the ongoing WSOP Online series. It's the latest in the player's long string of major poker accomplishments, including a WSOP Circuit ring win in Atlantic City. Gilbert's six-figure score here isn't close to his largest recorded cash. His largest payday remains $434,598, for a runner-up showing in the 2015 WPT Borgata Championship.
'Road Warrior' win for native Pennsylvanian
Gilbert lives in suburban Philadelphia, in neighboring Pennsylvania, and that's a side story to his win. He's had to travel across the Delaware River to play in these WSOP Online events or play in them, when they're running, during his occasional poker trips to Las Vegas. However, it's likely the last year he'll have to hit the road to play in the WSOP Online series.
As reported previously, Pennsylvanians can finally play on WSOP.com's domestic platform. However, as in Michigan, Pennsylvania's gaming authority has yet to sign player-pooling agreements with other U.S.-regulated online-poker states. Those include New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware, where WSOP.com is available to residents.
WSOP Twitter czar Kevin "KevMath" Mathers recently predicted such a player-pooling deal involving Pennsylvania will be in place by year's end. When it does, Keystone State pros such as Gilbert will find it easier to chase more WSOP bracelet gold.
Featured image source: Twitter/WPT
