Greg Ostrander Takes Home Event #41 Gold Bracelet in $3,000 No Limit Holdem

Event #41 awarded the 1,000th Gold Bracelet in the history of the WSOP and Greg Ostrander was there to take it home. The event started with 1,394 players of which 144 would cash with first place claiming a massive $742,072 from a prize pool of $3,805,620.

Greg Ostrander once modeled Calvin Klein menswear - back in his early 20s - and put his earnings to good use in a college education earning a degree in criminal justice. Then he became a cop...yes...a police officer with the Monroe County (New York) Sheriff's Department which oversees Rochester.

Ostrander was a dedicated patrolman for eight years; understanding what it takes to deal with the job on a daily basis, he had been hit, bit, kicked, and involved in a variety of altercations with assailants that left him injured and bloody. Then one night while trying to help control a delinquent that needed to be physically restrained, Ostrander was bitten in the face by the delinquent. (No, not the attack of the face-eating zombies). It required a leave of absence for testing for possible infections.

The leave of absence sent Ostrander into the think-tank and he had discovered poker by that time. Need we say more? Absolutely!

He quit his job as a police officer and began playing poker. Ostrander finished 232nd out of over 7,000 players in last year’s Main Event Championship. And this year he's got a gold bracelet, a chunk of cash, and there are tournaments still waiting to be played. Good move Greg!

When Jackie Glazier and Greg Ostrander came back for heads-up play, Jackie had a 3 to 1 chip lead. Glazier tried a bluff move on Ostrander that didn't work and he stacked over 1m chips from that hand.

The final hand saw Ostrander raise to 200,000 from the button and Glazier called from the big blind. The flop brought the which both players checked. Glazier check-called a bet of 450,000 when the hit the turn. The on the river found glazier checking and Ostrander betting 1 million. Glazier moved all-in. It only took a moment for Ostrander to call as he tabled the for a 10-high straight.

Jackie Glazier's for two pair sent her home with $458,996 for her second place finish.

Greg Ostrander may not be seen anytime soon parading around in a Calvin Klein ad, but he also won't be found in the emergency room having tests ran after being bitten and bloody in the line of duty - at least we hope there are no biters at the poker tables. We believe Greg will be seen sporting his bling at poker tables in the future. Our congratulations go out to Greg on taking home the gold, escaping the biters alive, and stacking up a first place prize of $742,072.

Watch Greg's interview with Lynn Gilmarten of PokerNews.com.

The Final Nine Payouts:

For a complete tournament recap, catch up with PokerNews Live Reporting. Read the WSOP interview with Greg Ostrander here.

Like us on Facebook and follow PokerWorks on Twitter to stay updated with poker news, events, and promotions.