LA Poker Classic Final Table Set

Chris Karagulleyan led the pack and big name player, Chris Ferguson, wasn't far behind as the final table had been set for the 2009 LA Poker Classic.   The final round got under way Thursday at 7 pm EST. 

20 players of the original 696 remained in the LA Poker Classic final. 

Bluff Magazine reported that a minimum of $44,000 will be paid out to the early departures among the remaining 20 players while the prizes for the rest of the day scaled upward to $180,000 for seventh place, a consolation prize at best compared to the $1,686,760 awaiting the tournament's winner.

From Bluff:

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson came into the day with the chip lead but almost found his way to the exit on several occasions throughout the day. His lifeline came when he was able to call two smallish bets and hit a runner-runner flush against Binh Nguyen, who paid the Full Tilt pro off for over 700K on the river before mucking his hand.

While Ferguson was avoiding elimination, a familiar face from the early days of the WPT was chipping up. Local player Chris Karagulleyan, who won the 2002 Legends of Poker on the WPT's first season, got a timely double-up early in the proceedings courtesy of Sowers before he began building what would become the largest stack at the final table.

The final portion of Karagulleyan's winnings on the day came when he eliminated Blake Cahail in seventh place, making him the TV bubble boy. All the money went in preflop, and Karagulleyan's pocket kings held up against Cahail's A-K to send six players home for the night.

Karagulleya is a Beirut-born poker pro whose live poker tournament winnings to date total just over $700,000.  He currently resides in Glendale, California. 

He broke onto the poker scene by winning the World Poker Tour $5,000 No Limit Hold-Em tournament at the 2002 Legends of Poker, to earn a $258,000 first prize. Several notable finishes continued on from this, including winning the $62,700 first prize in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold-Em tournament at the 2003 LA Poker Classic. However, Karagulleyan took all the winnings and bet it at a blackjack table, losing all his winnings from the event.

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Ace King, Gambling911.com