Gregg Merkow Wins WSOP Circuit Championship – Tunica

It looks like Red Bull really does give you wings. In Gregg Merkow’s case, it also may have given him $561,175 and the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship in Tunica, Mississippi on Thursday.

When Merkow and the other remaining three players came back from a break around 8:00pm, Merkow was a severe short stack, with only $250,000 in chips, compared to $656,000 for the chip leader, Bobby Law. Before play resumed, Merkow gulped down a Red Bull energy drink to amp himself up for the rest of the competition.

And the drink sure woke him up. Merkow took down five of the next eight pots for a total of $358,000 in chips (some of which were his own, of course) and jumped into second place in half an hour.

He slowed down for bit, but around 9:00pm, he eliminated Jeff Wood, solidifying his hold on second place with $765,000 in chips. Sonny Perry was a distant third with $166,000, and Law had $871,000.

That hour, however, Merkow gave back many of his chips, doubling up Perry a couple times, and eventually found himself back at the bottom of the heap. Fortunately, he was not in as bad shape as he was before the Red Bull, as he was still only $200,000 out of first.

Once the blinds moved up to $8,000/$16,000, Merkow got ultra-aggressive and never looked back. Moving all-in frequently, he forced his opponents to give up big pots and regained the chip lead in a hurry. He proceeded to eliminate Perry shortly before 11:00pm and had a substantial $1 million chip lead over Law going into heads-up play.

It took about an hour and a half for Merkow to finish off Bobby Law. After Merkow raised to open the betting on the final hand, Law moved all-in pre-flop with pocket 5’s, getting an insta-call from Merkow. Merkow revealed A-7 and was a slight underdog, with a 44% chance to win. Those odds turned around in a hurry when A-8-3 hit on the flop. The turn 4 gave Law a gut-shot straight draw, but his tournament was over when another 8 fell on the river.

Complete Final Table Standings

(Place/Player/Prize Money)

1. Gregg Merkow - $561,175
2. Bobby Law - $309,490
3. Sonny Perry - $170,050
4. Jeff Wood - $136,040
5. Steve Rassi - $102,030
6. Bryant King - $85,025
7. Johnny Clements - $68,020
8. John Juanda - $51,015
9. Darrell Struck - $34,010

Originally published August 26, 2005