Guarav Raina Wins WSOP Event #29 For $456,822 ($2,500 NLHE)

(Photo: WSOP.com)

WSOP schedulers originally allotted three days for Event #29, but the action continued into a fourth day and the extension of time benefited Gaurav Raina as he took home the gold bracelet and $456,822 in prize money.

Day 4 consisted of heads-up action between Raina and runner-up James Calvo ($282,276), the latter holding a chip lead when play resumed. Raina apparently used the extra time overnight wisely, although it wasn't spent getting a solid eight hours of sack time.

"I couldn't sleep much," the new champion told WSOP.com. "I was thinking about the chip disadvantage, the bracelet, the huge pay jump. Trying to figure out what to do to not lose this match."

Part of his thinking revolved around combating the somewhat unconventional style of Calvo, with Raina admitting to being perplexed by his play. Raina spent some time with friends to discuss Calvo's maneuvers and bet-sizing patterns, which paid off handsomely as the difference between 1st and 2nd place prize money was almost $175,000.

(Photo: WSOP.com)

In The Money

A total of 1,086 entries combined to set the prize pool at $2,443,500, with 163 players earning a payday for their efforts. The last of those was three-time WSOP champ Dutch Boyd, who escaped bubble boy status to claim $3,758.

Also grabbing a min-cash was former Full Tilt honcho Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, who landed in 118th place for $4,068. It was Ferguson's sixth cash of the summer, all of them for less than $5K.

Before heads-up action began, Raina eliminated Asi Moshe in 3rd place when his big slick paired with a king on the flop. Moshe had shoved his remaining 345K in chips from the button with suited connectors, but watched hopelessly as the board ran out.

Calvo did his best to frustrate Raina with a lot of large raises and check-raises during heads-up play, but later admitted that his cards were not very good and that he "was airballing most of the time."

The final hand saw Raina flop a set with his pocket jacks. When the turn paired the board with 5's and Calvo went all-in with two pair and queens up top, Raina snap called.

Calvo needed a queen on the river to win the hand, but the Illinois native had to settle for 2nd place when his two-outer failed to hit. It was Raina's first WSOP title, as well as his first ever live tournament victory.

$2,500 NLHE - Event #29 - Final Table Results