James Obst Cashes 3 Times in 2019 World Series of Poker
Besides poker, James Obst is a fan of chess and tennis. Stan the Man Wawrinka appears to be his favorite pro tennis player.
James Obst of Melbourne, Australia continued his strong play in the World Sieres of Poker with a 15th place finish in Event #12. Placing 15th in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty (Event #12) gave James Obst a $11,483 payday. It was the third money finish for Obst in 12 WSOP events so far.
Daniel Park of Bayside, New York won the WSOP gold bracelet in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty Event. Park took home $226,243 in earnings for the win. Erik Cajelais ($139,731) of Canada and Jennifer Dennis ($102,010) finished in second and third place, respectively.
Earlier in the WSOP schedule, James Obst finished in 45th place in the $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw event (Event #6). Obst’s technically received the same amount of prize money as the player who finished in 43rd place (Christopher McHugh). Both collected $3,737 for their troubles.
Daniel Zack of Princeton, New Jersey won the $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw event, so he collected $160,447 in prize money. Sumir Mathur of Scottsdale, Arizona finished in 2nd place and received $99,153 in earnings.
Coincidentally, another Scottsdale resident, Brayden Gazlay, finished in 3rd place. Gazlay collected $65,217 in winnings for his third place finish.
$400 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em Event
James Obst finished in the money in Event #7, which was the $400 WSOP.com Online No-Limit Hold’em event. The $400 WSOP Online NLHE event drew 2,825 entrants and had a prize pool of $1.017 million. Mr. Obst finished 167th in the online poker event, which netted him $915 in earnings.
While James Obst’s winnings are relatively minor, the three money finishes gave him boosts in the Player of the Year standings. Obst collected 47.5 POY Points for Event #6, 100.2 POY points for Event #7, and at least 209.9 POY points for Event #12.
James Obst Poker Profile
Throughout his WSOP career, James Obst has 1 WSOP gold bracelet and 33 finishes in the money. All in all, he’s collected $1,929,818 in WSOP earnings alone. It’s a solid career, which could see Obst with over $2 million in career WSOP winnings by the time 2019 is over.
James Obst was born in Adelaide, South Australia — the Australian state with the most anti-gambling stance. The 28-year old poker professional attended college at St Peter’s College in Adelaide. Before his poker career, Obst represented Australia three times in the World Junion Chess Championship.
By the time he was 14, James Obst began playing poker. Obst states his first games involved No Limit Holdem with 2cents/ 4cents blinds — a far cry from the WSOP tournament. Later, he competed Stud Hi Lo events. Obst launched an online poker career under the screen name “Andy MCCLEOD”.
James Obst’s WSOP Career
His first cash in a live poker event came in 2009. Obst’s lone WSOP gold bracelet came in the 2017 WSOP $10,000 Razz Championship, where he earned $265,000. His biggest cash at the World Series of Poker came in 2016, when he finished 13th in the WSOP Main Event.
Obst collected $427,000 for the 13th place finish at the 2016 WSOP Main Event. Though he is still less well known internationally, James Obst has been one of the most successful Aussies in the World Series of Poker over the past 5 years.
Besides his live poker feats, James Obst once coached poker for the online website RunItOnce. From his Twitter feed, Obst also appears to be a huge tennis fan — especially of Swiss player Stan Wawrinka. He maintains The Wimbledon Gambit, the personal blog of James Obst. The Wimbledon Gambit focuses on tennis, chess, and (of course) poker.
Last Year for WSOP at Rio?
The 2019 World Series of Poker is the 50th Anniversary of WSOP. It’s also the 15th straight year the WSOP took place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Paradise, Nevada. Caesars Entertainment owns the Rio, though this might be the last year it’s held in the off-the-Strip resort.
Caesars’ top shareholders want the company to sell itself to a top competitor. MGM Resorts, Eldorado Resorts, and Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Entertainment each have talked to Caesars about a buyout. Though no deal is imminent, most gaming analysts expect another gaming company will buy Caesars in the next year.
If so, then the new owner likely would move the World Series of Poker to a more prestigious location. Though the WSOP is the premier event in the world of poker each year, the tournament never has taken place on the Las Vegas Strip. In its first 35 years, the WSOP took place at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas.
