2007 Gold Strike World Poker Open - Season 5 - Jan 25, 2007

294 players each put up $10,000 to play in the World Poker Tour’s only stop down South, the Gold Strike World Poker Open in Tunica, Mississippi.

For the second time in just three years, Daniel Negreanu made the final table of the 2007 Gold Strike World Poker Open’s main event. Though he improved from his 3rd place finish in 2005, Negreanu would settle for the title of runner-up after being bested by Bryan Sumner who earned $913,986 for the victory.

Primarily an online cash game player, Sumner made the trip to Tunica for the side game action. He entered and won a one-table satellite to earn his entry into the event, parlaying $1,000 into nearly a million. Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and currently residing in Smirna, Sumner was the first southerner to win this event.

Missing from the final table lineup were decorated pros Scotty Nguyen and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who reached the final table in each of the last two years. Accompanying Sumner and Negreanu at the final table were newcomers Gary Kainer and Young Cho, and World Poker Tour veterans J.C. Tran and Kido Pham.