New Yorker defeats the Master heads up for WSOP bracelet, $667,433

Jeffrey Papola won the $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #32) at the World Series of Poker on Sunday morning. Papola, who finished second in the $2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #26) just three days earlier, defeated seven-time WSOP bracelet winner Men "the Master" Nguyen heads up for the title.

"I flew in here the day of (Event #26)," said Papola. "I got in just as the tournament was starting. I ended up getting second in that tournament. Within 10 hours, I was playing in this tournament. So, I have been playing for six straight days. I have not had more than 12 hours of rest at a time. It feels really good. It's exactly the story I was writing in my head."

Papola, a 25-year old law student at Pace University, in White Plains, New York, earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University with a double major – economics and political science. He began playing poker at the age of 18, when he was a student at Rutgers.

"I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with (a law degree)," said Papola. "As far as practicing law, I do not see myself being able to do that, because I really do not like the 9-to-5 thing. That's one reason I was so drawn to poker. I'm learning things that will help me in business and in life….it's to give my life some balance. If I were not in law school, I would probably be playing poker 80 hours a week, and I prefer to do something apart from just play poker."

Papola admitted he had some horrible runs in previous WSOP years. "I was, like, 0-for-50," he joked after winning his first gold bracelet.

A few hours following his win, Papola flew back to New York City. He said he expects to come back to the WSOP in another week or so.

Nguyen, the poker icon from Bell Gardens, Calif., was shooting for WSOP gold bracelet number eight, which would have put him in a tie with Erik Seidel for fifth on the all-time list. Instead, he had to settle for a bittersweet payout amounting to $412,746. Nguyen won the $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship earlier this year, ending a WSOP bracelet drought of seven years.

The final hand of the tournament came when blinds and antes were high and Papola enjoyed about a 5-to-4 chip lead. Nguyen moved all-in with king-10 suited. Papola called and tabled pocket jacks. Nguyen was unable to improve, and Papola claimed his first WSOP victory.

Mark Radoja, from Ariss, Ont., finished third to win $262,902, while Bruno Launais, a 23-year-old poker pro from Mauguio, France, was fourth for $173,123. Orlando De La Cruz, from Folsom, Calif., was fifth for $117,595.

Former gold bracelet winner Erick Lindgren, from Las Vegas, Nev., was eliminated in sixth when his pocket queens ran into Nguyen's pocket kings.

The top 54 finishers in the 568-player field collected prize money. Aside from Nguyen and Lindgren who made the final table together, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott (19th), Matthew Graham (26th), Toto Leonidas (46th), Eric Baldwin (50th), and David Singer (54th-tie).

With his second-place finish, Nguyen now has 68 career cashes, which ranks second on the all-time cashes list, nine behind the leader Phil Hellmuth (with 77).