Mar 6, 2014
Seat 1: Chris Moorman – 3,190,000
One of the headliners at tonight’s final table is 28-year-old poker professional Chris Moorman. He has accumulated a ton of winnings during his eight-year career playing poker and he is arguably the best player from England. Before starting his successful career in poker Moorman majored in Economics at Essex University. Moorman has close to $3 million in live tournament earnings and he has won over $10 million playing online (He is ranked as the number one online player in the world by PocketFives). Moorman could secure his second million dollar live cash tonight with a win, and he is a favorite to do so considering his considerable talent and the fact that he is in second chip-position to start the final table. He will also be releasing a poker book later this year titled, "Moorman’s Book of Poker."
Seat 2: Patrick Bruel – 2,280,000
Patrick Bruel might not be a household name in the United States, but he is one of the most recognizable celebrities in his home country of France. The 54-year-old actor and singer has appeared in dozens of movies and has released over 10 music albums. Bruel is also a solid poker player who won a gold bracelet in 1998. He has cashed three times before at World Poker Tour events and has won $201,346 on tour (he has a million in total live earnings). His best previous finish was a 10th-place cash at the WPT World Championship during Season II that was good for $99,798. Bruel is guaranteed at least $200,440 but given his chip stack (third chip-position) he should win much more tonight in Los Angeles. Bruel is a man of many talents and his other hobbies include soccer and chess.
Seat 3: Josh Neufeld – 1,930,000
Josh Neufeld is a 24-year-old investor from Los Angeles. He graduated from UC Berkeley where he majored in business at the prestigious Haas School of Business. He enters the final table tonight in fourth chip-position. Neufeld has won over $100,000 playing live poker and this is his first WPT cash. He will more than double his career earnings wherever he finishes at the final table so this is a big night for him. Neufeld will have his parents and a large group of friends on his final table rail this evening at Commerce Casino.
Seat 4: Glenn Lafaye – 1,855,000
Glenn Lafaye is a 40-year-old money manager from Connecticut. He is married with two children and he attended Queens College. Before his current job he worked as an equities trader for over a decade. He has been playing poker for 30 years and this is his third WPT event. If he wins the final table tonight "Everything is for my wife and kids," said Lafaye. He has one previous cash on tour and it came earlier during Season XII at the Borgata Poker Open. He took 26th place and won $17,050 in a large field of 1,189 players.
Seat 5: Adam Friedman – 1,150,000
Coming into the L.A. Poker Classic final table on the short stack is Adam Friedman. The 32-year-old poker professional is from Ohio and he has been making a living playing the game for nine years. Before that he majored in marketing at Indiana University. Friedman is a seven-card stud specialist and at one point of the tournament he joked that he would prefer the final table be decided by playing stud instead of hold’em. If that were the case Friedman would have a clear advantage since he won a seven-card stud eight-or-better gold bracelet in 2012. Friedman holds $1,422,531 in career live earnings so he has the skill to pull off a comeback if he doubles up early.
Seat 6: Michael Rocco – 5,615,000
Michael Rocco holds a pretty dominant chip lead coming into the final table tonight. He almost holds twice as many chips as his next closest competitor, so all roads to the LAPC crown will have to run through Rocco. The 24-year-old poker player has been playing the game for eight years. Rocco has never cashed before at a WPT event but he is poised to make his first score a huge one and add to his more than $500,000 career tournament earnings. Rocco was born in Pittsburgh but he grew up in Southern California and resides in the area when he isn’t traveling to poker tournaments so he will have a lot of friends and family on his rail this evening.