Haynes wins Casino Employees Event at WSOP

Name: Nicholas Haynes
Nationality: U.S.
Birthplace: Michigan
Current Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
Age: 39
Profession: Poker dealer
Number of WSOP Cashes: 1
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories (with this tournament): 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: First WSOP cash
Total WSOP Earnings: $62,248

Nicholas Haynes has captured the Casino Employees Event title and his first World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet. He defeated a field of 685 players to claim the $62,248 first prize. The 39-year-old Hanson is originally from Michigan and is currently working as a dealer in Las Vegas.

Haynes was set to start work this Saturday as a dealer in the World Series of Poker.

“I will not continue being a WSOP dealer at this point, but I am an Aria dealer and I will continue to deal there.”

Haynes has been dealing at the Aria for the last year-and-a-half. He’s originally from Michigan, but grew up in Florida. He now resides in Las Vegas and really seems to love dealing at the Aria.

“One of the things that really jumped out at me was that an Aria dealer has won two years in a row. There’s a lot of incredible players there and I watch them and just pick up little bits here and there and over time you just become better. I feel like they were very instrumental in my play today. That’s why I’m thankful for my job and the players there.”

Haynes played the event with a little blue dog bone necklace that says “Rudy.”

“He was one of the biggest things in my life, so I brought his tag with me for good luck.”

Rudy was Haynes’ dog for 13 years and Haynes lost him two-and-a-half years ago to a “fast-growing cancer.”

Haynes entered the day third in chips and eventually eliminated Isaac Hanson heads up to claim the title. Haynes managed to wrestle away the chip lead from Hanson, who entered the day as the chip leader and held the lead for most of the day.

This is Haynes’ first-ever WSOP cash and just his fifth recorded cash at any event. He has a total of $66,026 in career tournament winnings including his $62,248 score today.

Play started today with six players today at noon and Jeff Fast, a dealer from Niagara Falls, Ontario, hit the rail first and was eliminated in sixth place shortly after play resumed. He took home $9,761.

Adam Lamers, a member of the WSOP live updates team working for PokerNews, was next to go. He was eliminated in fifth place and took home $13,421.

Jesse Kertland, a 30-year-old dealer originally from Los Angeles, finished in fourth place. He won $18,758.

Jorge Ruiz lost two hands in a row to be eliminated in third place. Ruiz, originally from Mexico City, is working as a dealer and is 43. He won $26,642.

Haynes takes home the second bracelet awarded this summer. Yesterday, Brian Green also won his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty.

Final Table Results
1- Nicholas Haynes ($62,248)
2- Isaac Hanson ($38,447)
3- Jorge Ruiz ($26,642)
4- Jesse Kertland ($18,758)
5- Adam Lamers ($13,421)
6- Jeff Fast ($9,761)

(Article courtesy of World Series of Poker)