First WSOP victory for Jean-Luc Adam

On the third and final day of the 2021 World Series of Poker Event #58: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em, a champion was crowned as Jean-Luc Adam defeated Eugene Salomon in heads-up play for $255,623. The event attracted 1,893 super seniors to create a prize pool of $1,685,660, with the majority of that money awarded to the remaining players today. There were 283 players who cashed and 65 of them returned today looking for gold, but only Adam was able to bring the bracelet home.

The 69-year-old Adam is from France and currently lives and works in Saint Martin, an island in the Caribbean. In 2019, he won his first WSOP Circuit ring from an event in Saint Martin where he took home the first-place prize of $10,500, although that pales in comparison to what he will be taking home today.

"I'm dreaming. It's very strange, a strange sensation," said Adam. "I felt good for all of the tournament and I felt very relaxed… I never think about first place, but only play every hand. It's a very nice moment… I like to play for pleasure. I like to have emotion. It's a very strange sensation for me because I don't realize that it's a world championship. It's very unbelievable, I don't understand now. It's too soon, I just finished the tournament. I can't realize exactly everything now."

"I am thinking first to my family. The most important thing to me is my family. My wife, my daughter, and my son… My son plays poker well. Very well. He taught me."

His son, Cedric Adam, won his own WSOP circuit ring in Saint Martin less than one week after his father did back in March 2019.

"My family is the most important in my life. I have a very nice family and of course, I am thinking first of them. It's very, very nice. A very nice sensation… I am so happy!"

There were 65 players who returned to the felt today and that number started to drop at a brisk pace. About five hours into the day, only 27 players remained on three tables and from there, it was only an hour or so until 18 players remained on two tables.

Fourteen players made it to dinner break, although they still returned hungry for the bracelet. About an hour after dinner, ten players converged on a single final table, all looking to satiate their appetite for gold.

At the unofficial final table of ten, Day 2 chip leader David Slaughter was the first to go after getting pocket fives in against the pocket deuces of Adam. A deuce appeared on the flop to send him home. It was Gary Pagel who followed that exit when he lost a flip to Solomon.

After a short break, Scott Sukstorf made "the hardest call he made in the whole tournament", and doubled through Reginald Powell. That left Powell short and he was the next one to go in eighth. Girish Apte hit the rail next when running ace-jack into ace-king, and that left six players with a stack.

Joseph Richards found his way to the payout desk next after getting sevens in against Adam's ladies, and Alex Katsman, who started the day with a short stack and spun it up, saw his run come to an end when flipping against Solomon and getting beat on the river.

Bill Stabler was the next player to wave goodbye in fourth, and Scott Sukstorf got his chips in against Adam's cowboys and couldn't find the ace he was looking for. That set up a heads-up showdown between Adam and Solomon, with Adam holding a chip lead of about two times that of Solomon.

Both players had a decent amount of blinds, but it didn't take long for all the chips to get in. Adam called Solomon's shove on the turn after Adam flopped two pair, and Solomon was only live to a gutshot straight draw. The river was a blank, and Adam was officially a World Series of Poker bracelet winner.

Final Table Results
1 Jean-Luc Adam France $255,623
2 Eugene Salomon United States $157,986
3 Scott Sukstorf United States $117,181
4 Bill Stabler United States $87,722
5 Alex Katsman United States $66,284
6 Joseph Richards United States $50,559
7 Girish Apte United States $38,932
8 Reginald Powell United States $30,269
9 Gary Pagel United States $23,762

(Article courtesy of World Series of Poker)