Score One for the Home Team

Every season of the World Poker Tour has featured an event in the Caribbean. Whether it is at the beautiful beaches of Aruba, the mega-resort Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, or hopping amongst the U.S. Virgin Islands on a Caribbean cruise, poker has found a home away from home in this land of white sand, crystal-clear water, and endless blue skies. Season six found a new stop in this tropical setting on the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Players' Club Casino offered to host the event at Club Med, Jack McClelland and his tournament staff from Bellagio were flown in to run the tournament, and the inaugural Turks and Caicos Poker Classic was a reality.

Three days of poker had whittled the initial field of 137 players down to six, but a lot of poker still stood between the survivors and a WPT title. The 137 players generated a prize pool of $996,675, which was just short of the $1 million first-place prize that was guaranteed for the event. What might have become a huge dilemma on day one of the tournament was authoritatively handled by Tournament Director Jack McClelland. He took charge of the situation and conducted a vote among the players to decide how to split up the prize money. They decided that the top nine finishers would be paid, with $436,675 going to first place, as opposed to a winner-take-all situation.

The hometown man of the hour was Rhynie Campbell. He sat down at the final table in fifth place in chips, but he also had 50 of his closest friends in his corner. Campbell, who is a part owner of the Players' Club Casino, was joined by Nam Le, Erik Cajelais, Alan Sass, Chris Smith, and Trevor Hebert. The top-heavy prize structure ensured that an aggressive battle would ensue at the television final table. Here were the seat positions and chip counts going into final-table play:



The Local Gains Momentum - Nam Le Eliminated in Sixth Place ($30,000)
Campbell was the first player of the day to find all of his chips in the middle of the table, but he would not be the first to go home. He hit an open-end straight draw on the turn of hand No. 17 against the most battle-tested player at the table, Nam Le, to survive. Nam was crippled on the hand and hit the rail in sixth place just 20 hands later.

The Long and Winding Road - Trevor Hebert Finishes in Fifth Place ($50,000)
It then took nearly four hours and 89 hands of poker before Trevor Hebert fell in fifth place. During this time, Alan Sass and Erik Cajelais traded the chip lead, while the rest of the field doubled up through one another with astonishing regularity. Chris Smith doubled up through Campbell, Campbell through Cajelais, and then Hebert through Campbell. That sequence was followed up by Campbell and Hebert each doubling up an additional time. The crowd got increasingly excited and involved during this stretch of the action, living and dying with every pot that Campbell played. Hebert finally broke the trend when he failed to hit a flush against Cajelais; he took home $50,000 for his fifth-place finish.

The Sprint to Fourth - Chris Smith Settles for Fourth Place ($70,000)
After the fall of Hebert, the action started to heat up, and a mere 14 hands later, another player was all in. Cajelais raised to $45,000 from the button and Smith moved all in from the big blind for $434,000. Cajelais called with the A Q and Smith showed down the K 6. The board rolled out the J 4 2 3 to keep things interesting with a flush draw and a gutshot-straight draw for Smith, but those hopes were dashed when the J on the river gave Cajelais the pot. Smith was eliminated in fourth place and took home $70,000.

Campbell's Big Push - Alan Sass Eliminated in Third Place ($125,000)
This was when Campbell changed everything. On hand No. 165, Campbell completed from the small blind for $20,000, and Sass checked. The flop came 6 4 3, Campbell bet $50,000, and Sass called. The turn card was the 5 and both players checked. The river card was the 4, Campbell bet $155,000, and Sass went into the tank for about a minute before he called. Campbell showed the Q 2 for a queen-high flush, and Sass mucked. Campbell won the pot and took the chip lead with about $1 million. Campbell and Sass clashed once again on hand No. 168. Campbell raised from the small blind to $55,000, and Sass called from the big blind. The flop brought the 6 2 2, Campbell bet $55,000, and Sass called. The turn card was the 4, Campbell bet $200,000, and Sass thought for about 30 seconds before he called. The river card was the 10, Campbell bet $300,000, and Sass thought for more than a minute, stoically staring at Campbell. Sass finally called, and Campbell showed the Q 10 for a queen-high flush. Sass mucked, and Campbell won the $1.2 million pot. Campbell now had a commanding chip lead with $1.6 million, and Sass was crippled with $200,000.

The end came for Sass a few hands later when he moved all in with pocket fours. Campbell called him with the 10 7. The board came A Q J K 3, and Campbell made a Broadway straight on the turn. Sass was eliminated in third place, earning $125,000 for his impressive showing.

Heads-Up Battle - The Storybook Ending
Chip counts were as follows:

Rhynie Campbell - $2,041,000
Erik Cajelais - $719,000

The first major hand of heads-up play came 16 hands in when Campbell moved all in and Cajelais quickly called all in for $425,000. Cajelais turned up the A 8 and Campbell showed the J 10. The board ended up A J 5 6 4 to give Cajelais $900,000 to work with, but he still had a long way to go to swing the momentum in his favor. The end came a few hands later.

Campbell completed from the button, Cajelais raised to $124,000, Campbell moved all in, and Cajelais called with the Q 9. Campbell showed down pocket tens. The flop came Q 9 3 and Cajelais had flopped two pair to take the lead. The crowd reacted with a startled shock, fearing another double-up for Cajelais. The turn card was the K and now Campbell needed a jack (for a straight) or a 10 to win the tournament. The room was absolutely silent until the river brought the 10. The crowd went ballistic and erupted into joyous celebration for their "Belonger" champion. Cajelais took home $225,000 from a tournament in which, at times, he dominated, and at others, got unlucky.

When the champion was asked about the success of the tournament and his success in it, Campbell replied, "To take this tournament down in the Turks and Caicos Islands is a huge accomplishment. It's something I've been dreaming of for a very long time, and it has come to fruition." Campbell had won the inaugural WPT Turks and Caicos Poker Classic, earning $436,675, a championship bracelet, a $25,500 entry into the season-five WPT World Championship in April 2008, and a lot of national pride for his island.