One of the summer’s biggest poker tournaments was the 2018 World Series of Poker Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed, which was the largest in the event’s three-year history with 8,598 entries over four starting flights. That created a $6,871,521 prize pool with $888,888 set aside for the winner.

It took four long days of play (it was initially scheduled for three) for 33-year-old Galen Hall to emerge victorious and capture his first gold bracelet. It brought his lifetime earnings up to $5,137,259. You might remember Hall from winning the 2011 PCA in the Bahamas for $2.3 million.

From Hedge Fund Manager to PT Poker Pro

Hall, who graduated from Stanford University, is now a full-time hedge-fund manager at Bridgewater and part-time high-stakes poker pro. Hall is also a close friend of retired Vanessa Selbst, who followed him to the Connecticut hedge fund.

“I try to play poker every four months or so, fit in a tournament whenever I can,” Hall said in a post-win interview. “It’s a little surreal. I have come and played every couple of months for the last six or seven years and have definitely had my fair share of really deep runs … for a long time I kept getting close but didn’t close any of them out, so it’s sick to finally get that [win].”

Born and raised in Pasadena, California, Hall now resides in New York City. Other highlights on his poker resumé include $589,355 for finishing third in the 2011 World Poker Tour $25K Championship, $470,400 for taking third in the 2012 PCA $100K Super High Roller, and $85,550 for placing second to Dani Stern in the 2013 L.A. Poker Classic $5,100 NLHE.

“I’m also a huge nit and sell huge pieces of myself in everything I play, in this tournament I had almost all of myself minus a few swaps,” Hall revealed. “The confluence of all those things was pretty incredible and unlikely and really nice.”

As for adding the extra day, which allowed the final three players to participate on Day 1C of the Main Event, Hall was initially reluctant but glad it played out the way it did.

“It ended up working out much better for me. My family was able to come in which was awesome. My girlfriend flew in, a bunch of my friends were there, so that actually made it really special and cool. In retrospect, I’m obviously thrilled that’s how it went down.”

Road to Victory

Hall came into the added day with 40% of the chips in play. He’d been the long-time chip leader and was the favourite to win the title. First, he dispatched Belgium’s Niels Herregodts in third place with ace-king winning a flip against pocket fours; and six hands later it was all over.

In Level 41 (500,000/1,000,000/150,000), Latvia’s Eduards Kudrjavcevs moved all-in for 10.9 million with the J♥10♣ and Hall called holding the 9♠9♦. Hall just needed to hold, but he did more than that as he improved to a straight on the 8♥6♦5♣7♠K♠ run out. Kudrjavcevs exited in second place for $476,688.

“I thought I definitely had an edge today,” Hall said after the win. “On Tuesday, after a whole long day of play, it's just harder to switch things up. People are a little tired, and I thought I had a good read on what was going on. Today, I had to scale it back for the first 30 minutes or so to see – a lot of times players will get coaching, or they get rest, they change their style a little bit if there's time off. Luckily, I ran hot, so it didn't matter.”

888poker congratulates Galen Hall on his 2018 WSOP $888 Crazy Eights victory!

Official Final Table Result

1st Galen Hall (United States) $888,888

2nd Eduards Kudrjavcevs (Latvia) $476,888

3rd Niels Herregodts (Belgium) $355,888

4th Andrey Zaichenko (Russia) $266,888

5th Alexander Kuzmin (Russia) $201,888

6th Jeremiah Miesen (United States) $153,888

7th Martin Stausholm (Denmark) $117,888

8th Philip Tom (United States) $90,888

Chad Holloway is a 2013 WSOP Bracelet winner who has previously worked for PokerNews as a managing editor and live reporter