22 YEAR OLD POKER STAR WINS $878 500 IN U.S. POKER CHAMPS

(674) (11-October-2006)

Starting field of 260 was the challenge for Yale graduate

Alex Jacobs aka "Yahtzem" maintained his characteristic cool and calm exterior whilst exulting within this week as he took home a $878 500 grand prize for winning the U.S. Poker Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

The 22 year old Ivy League graduate overcame a starting field of 260 players to claim victory, with his major prize bringing his total poker earnings to $1 690 000. His previous best placing in a tournament was second in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods Poker Classic Championship event in April.

It's been a landmark year for Jacobs; in May he graduated from his course at Yale where he majored in economics and math, and the Foxwoods win netted him a cool $655 000.

To win the U.S. Poker Championship Jacobs had to go heads-up against Jordan Morgan , another young gun poker pro who was signed on as a member of the InterPoker.com Extreme Team this summer. Morgan earned $405 072 for his second place finish.

The top ten players, and their earnings at the final table were:

1st   Alex Jacob $878 500
2nd  Jordan Morgan $405 072
3rd  Michael DeMichele $215 194
4th  Daniel Shak $151 902
5th  Stephen Feraca $113 926
6th  Dale Pinchot $88 610
7th  Jeffrey King $63 293
8th  Augustin Mendez $50 634
9th  Shane Schleger $40 508
10th  Akio Ishige $32 912