Tournaments

The latter success coming at the Borgata Winter Open in New Jersey last weekend, a victory that also took his career tournament earnings to a whopping six million dollars.

Griffin, who broke Allen Cunningham's record as the youngest person ever to win a World Series of Poker title in 2004, edged out David Tran at the end of a competition that featured over 500 players.

As well as the $1,401,109 first prize, the Darien native lands a $25,500 seat at the World Poker Tour Championship.

It was no surprise that Griffin and Tran were the final men at the table as the duo went into the final day with a massive chip advantage over their four rivals.

Griffin and Tran accounted for over two thirds of the chips in play with five million plus each leaving Thomas Hare (2,851,000) and Noah Schwartz (1,313,000) with work to do and Lee Watkinson (397,000) and Ervin Prifti (289,000) needing early success.

But no such miracle was forthcoming for Prifti, the man from Pennsylvania of Albanian heritage having to settle for sixth place on his World Poker Tour debut as he was eliminated in just the fifth hand – meekly departing to Tran's Ace high.

Watkinson, who was eighth at the 2007 WSOP Main Event, followed inside an hour's play. He had a pair of pocket sevens but Schwartz had eights and with no help from the board, the 41-year-old from the Pacific North-West had to settle for $282,779 that took his lifetime winnings close to the four million dollar mark.

A further hour down the line and Tran had established a chip lead of nearly five and a half million – after Griffin bet $800,000 post-flop on a pair of sixes – and Schwartz had departed.

Tran landed a pair of Kings on the flop leaving 24-year-old online specialist Schwartz dead in the water with only a pair of pocket nines in return.

Hare had fought hard to stay in contention but was left with a short stack after Griffin produced a flopped flush and a pair of Queens in the very next hand from the eventual winner accounted for the 54-year-old World Poker Tour debutant.

Heads-up play would last over an hour and began with Tran (8,595,000) holding a healthy chip lead over Griffin (6,620,000).

But Griffin took the lead courtesy of a favourable flop in the 13th hand that handed him two pairs with his Queens usurping Tran's nines.

That saw the 45-year-old who hails from Vietnam trail by 11 million chips and he dropped under the million mark when Griffin produced a straight on the river.

And "The Big Dragon", who was 14th in the last WSOP Main Event, saw his bid come to an end when he went All-In on a King and an eight only for a Queen on the turn to hand Griffin the killer pair.

One can now only guess what riches await for Griffin who is already top of the all-time European Poker Tour winnings list.

1 Gavin Griffin $1,401,109

2 David Tran $737,685

3 Thomas Hare $381,137

4 Noah Schwartz $331,958

5 Lee Watkinson $282,779

6 Ervin Prifti $233,600

7 Shane LaBounty $184,421

8 Justin Bonomo $135,423

9 Scott Blackman $98,359

10 Men Nguyen $63,932

11 John Roveto $63,932

12 John McEwen $63,932

13 Robert Hwang $46,270

14 Onofrio Reina $46,270

15 Eric Siegel $46,270

16 Nam Le $31,966

17 Vadim Trincher $31,966

18 Jared Hamby $31,966

19 Daniel Shiff $25,573

20 Gordon Wilcox $25,573

21 Adam Lippert $25,573

22 Eric Buchman $25,573

23 Jesse Martin $25,573

24 John Racener $25,573

25 Joseph Dimartino $25,573