PROFESSIONAL poker player Luke Brabin has cashed in his chips to take home a coveted gold bracelet and a cool $131,365 at a major tournament at the weekend.
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The former Wagga man, who attended Kooringal High School, came out on top after outlasting 611 players at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Asia Pacific tournament on Monday.
Mr Brabin, 34, was chip leader heading into the final table and was able to hold off Diedier Guerin to claim the first bracelet of 2014.
The self-described entrepreneur, who lives in Melbourne, said the weekend achievement was the pinnacle of his poker career.
"Winning a bracelet was absolutely an ultimate goal of mine in poker," Mr Brabin said after his victory.
"The World Series of Poker is just the pinnacle of events, so obviously it means something more than winning other random tournaments here in Australia."
Mr Brabin collected the big prize when Mr Guerin went "all-in" with a 9 and 8 of diamonds, only for the former to call with a king of spades and a queen of clubs.
The flop saw a 7 of hearts, a 6 of clubs and a 2 of spades. The turn saw a 2 of clubs and when a queen of hearts fell on the river, the bracelet was Mr Brabin's.
Mr Brabin said the gold bracelet victory would be a spur to strive for future goals at the poker table.
"I will definitely be sticking the bracelet up for everyone to see somewhere in my new home," he said.
"This is the start of a new time in my life. I've been through some dark times in the past and I'm just looking for more success and to just keep going."
Mr Brabin's tournament win came in the first event of the 2014 WSOP Asia Pacific series, an $1100 accumulator competition.
The win took his earnings to more than $150,000 from WSOP events, but the professional gambler has tasted success at many other events.
