Greg Hopkins Wins WSOP $2,000 Buy-in
Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship

"Hopkins won this gold bracelet the old fashioned way – he earned it"

The winner of the $2,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em championship was Greg Hopkins a 41-year-old poker pro from Anchorage , AK. Hopkins has paid his dues on the poker tournament trail for 13-long years. This is his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Hopkins was born in Whittier, CA. He spent most of his adult years playing in the cardrooms of suburban Los Angeles. Hopkins has suffered the most extreme swings imaginable in poker – cashing numerous times at major events, but also suffering the depths of despair when the cards did not fall his way. Perhaps more than any other player who's entered hundreds of tournaments over more than a decade, Hopkins won this gold bracelet the old fashioned way – he earned it.

This was Hopkins' third time to cash at the WSOP, and was his third final table. First place paid $269,274.

Through 37 events played thus far at this year's WSOP, Hopkins' win was the most deeply satisfying. When asked afterward how good he felt about winning over a quarter of a million dollars and his first gold bracelet, Hopkins bowed his head and said quietly, "You have no idea how good this moment feels." When asked what was his profession before becoming a professional poker player, Hopkins replied "an optimist."

by Nolan Dalla