Thursday night finally saw a change in luck for poker ace, Phil Ivey when he won Commerce Casino’s Los Angeles Poker Classic.

Ivey holds the dubious record of being the player with the most number of appearances at a World Poker Tour final event, without actually winning.

However, Thursday’s performance saw Ivey make up for all those frustrating moments in the past and take home more than $1,500,000. 

Ivey gave a dazzling performance at the Californian poker room, coming back from a poor beginning that left him with a series of bad losses, despite the fact that he entered the tournament as chip leader. However, not one to give up easily, Ivey fought his way up throughout the six-hour event and finally found himself in the lead once more. Spectators were given a fantastic display of true poker genius, ending in Ivey’s grand finale and massive win. 
 

Said Ivey of his victory after the event: “It's an unbelievable feeling to finally win one of these World Poker Tour tournaments. I felt unbeatable all evening, and the monkey is finally off my back.” 
 

Phil Ivey, a New Jersey native, won his first World Series of Poker title when he was just 23 years old and has since added another three to this resume. He was named Player of the Year by All In Magazine and Bluff Magazine, and at the UK Gambling Awards all in 2006 – a rare honor in the poker industry. Ivey plays online exclusively for Full Tilt Poker and has since settled in Las Vegas to be closer to the action. 
 

Quinn Do, a Californian player, finished a close second place to Ivey on Thursday evening at the LAPC, walking away with $909,400. Do consoled himself with the fact that he had “lost to the best poker player in the world”, mentioning once again Ivey’s fighting spirit throughout the event. “He was playing really well all night." 
 

A particularly satisfied player at the final table event was fifth-place Scott Montgomery, a Canadian player, who was playing his first-ever grand poker event and took home close to $300,000 for his efforts. “I did a lot better than I possibly ever could have hoped for,” he proclaimed after the tournament. 
 

The final results were as follows: 
 

1st Place: Phil Ivey - $1,596,100

2nd Place: Quinn Do - $909,400

3rd Place: Charles Moore - $625,630

4th Place: Nam Le - $411,770

5th Place: Scott Montgomery - $296,860

6th Place: Phil Hellmuth, Jr. - $229,820