For the second time in as many days a Frenchman has conquered a World Series of Poker bracelet.  Picking up from where Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier left off yesterday, fellow countryman Elie Payan won the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Event early Thursday morning.  The relatively unknown amateur took down the biggest live Omaha tournament in history as more than 1,000 players entered the triple chance event. For those unfamiliar with the triple chance format, players start with 1,500 chips but can add-on 1,500 chips twice at any time throughout the tournament.  This allows players to bolster their stack in the beginning or to stave off elimination later in the tournament. Either way it adds an even more aggressive approach to a game that hardly needs it.

Even with a smaller buy-in ($1500) Event #22 still attracted many of the world’s top poker players who enjoy playing Pot-Limit Omaha.  Some of the more notable of the 117 players making the money included David Chiu, “Captain” Tom Franklin, and Rob Hollink.  The final table had a few familiar faces including online sensation Emil “Whitelime” Patel who earned himself a $45,544 score after busting in 6th place.  Finishing a few spots better was fellow American David Sands who busted in 3rd place when he got all his chips in with just a gutshot against his opponent’s two pair.  Unfortunately the Las Vegas based poker pro was unable to connect and fell in 3rd place for a nice $113,383 payday.  The six-figure score was the 3rd of his career and continued a strong 2011 that includes a 4th place finish in the EPT Grand Final High Roller Event for more than $200,000.

Heads-up play between Payan and Rafe Kibrit kicked off with the Frenchman holding a 2:1 chip advantage.  The match lasted over three hours and at one point Kibrit was able  to take over the chiplead.  Unfortunately for the American his lead was short lived as Payan came roaring back, ultimately winning the title.  The final hand was a perfect example of what makes PLO so exciting. After a limp and a raise before the flop, Kibrit bet-called all of his chips off on a 4h 3h 2c board.  Holding just a naked overpair against his opponent flush draw, the two were practically flipping for the WSOP title.  The Ace of hearts on the turn gave Payan a flush but 10 outs still remained for Kibrit to fill-up.  Unfortunately for Kibrit the harmless 10 of diamonds fell on the river busting him in 2nd place for $181,222.  The was the first big score for the unknown from Illinois, and could have made for quite the Cinderella story had he been able to take down the title.

Still, Elie Payan winning Event #22 was something not foreseen by most.  The amateur player had only toiled in smaller buy-in events before taking down a $292,825 payday early this morning.  He began the day in the middle of the pack and actually missed the first orbit at the final table before finally showing up and playing a hand.  This was easily the biggest score of his career and joins a handful of other foreign winners at this year’s World Series of Poker.  With more than 30 tournaments still yet to begin there is plenty of time for more players to make their marks at the 2011 WSOP. Be sure to stay tuned to to FlopTurnRiver as we cover all the major events and biggest winners as the 2011 World Series of Poker rolls on from Las Vegas.