Poker star wins 6th WSOP bracelet, solidifies case for hall of fame

The professional poker player won the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship late Thursday, his sixth career victory at the World Series of Poker. Rast is the 20th player to capture six or more bracelets awarded for WSOP tournament wins.

It is the third time Rast won the PPC and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. He joins Michael Mizrachi as the only three-time winners of the event, which is considered the most prestigious tournament at the WSOP for mixed-game players.

“The most emotional maybe was after I won my first PPC, which was like my first major tournament I ever won,” Rast told WSOP.com. “Maybe a little more emotional after this one than the second one. I don’t know, this one … it just meant a lot.”

Rast, a Las Vegas resident, was responsible for the final four eliminations at the final table. He needed only five hands to defeat British businessman Talal Shakerchi during heads-up play and earned the top prize of $1,324,747.

With the victory, Rast pushed his career live tournament earnings to more than $25.2 million.

Rast is one of 10 nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame, joining Josh Arieh, Jeremy Ausmus, Ted Forrest, Kathy Liebert, Mike Matusow, Lon McEachern/Norman Chad, Matt Savage, Isai Scheinberg and Bill Smith.

This year’s inductee will be announced during the $1,979 buy-in Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em, which begins July 13.

“I have my opinion, but the truth is, the people that vote are in the Hall of Fame. So, what I think doesn’t matter,” Rast said. “My job is to come to the poker table and play when I want to and compete, and we’ll let the people in the Poker Hall of Fame make that decision. I just keep doing what I do, and we’ll see what they say.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.