Quebec poker player Jonathan Duhamel has won the 2010 World Series of Poker.
Duhamel, a 23 year-old from Boucherville, collected a whopping US$8.94 million in prize money after winning the event Monday night in Las Vegas.
"It's a dream come true right now," Duhamel told the crowd at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino as confetti fell from a theatre ceiling. "It's like the most beautiful day of my life."
"Come join the party," he said, flanked by some 200 friends and family who had rooted him on, many wearing Habs jerseys in support.
To see CTV's Special Reports on Jonathan Duhamel and his rise to poker stardom, click here.
Duhamel becomes the first Canadian citizen in history to win poker's world championship.
"I love playing poker so much, so I'm going to be playing in all those big tournaments and try to make other big scores," he said. "I'll be there next year in the World Series and try to do my best again."
Duhamel said he now plans to play in the world's biggest tournaments -- and buy Canadiens season tickets.
The game began Saturday with nine finalists, including another Canadian Matthew Jarvis, from Surrey B.C. He busted with an eighth-place upset and received just over $1 million in prize money.
The runner up was John Racener, from Port Richie, Florida. He collected poker's supreme consolation prize -- US$5.55 in prize money.
Day one of the game ended Saturday when Duhamel eliminated Joseph Cheong from San Diego, California, after a 13-hour session.
This year's World Series of Poker Main Event is the second largest in the tournament's 40-year history, starting with 7,319 entrants.
The tournament began on July 5, and took more than four months to complete.
- with files from The Canadian Press
