Phil Ivey seems to be on a serious winning streak. After winning $1 million dollars in the Monte Carlo Millions just recently, the young poker champ cashed in another $600,000 by winning the Full Tilt Poker Invitational hosted by the Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco.
The Full Tilt Poker Invitational is a high stakes Texas Holdem tournament that can be entered in by invitation only. It was broadcast live from Monaco on Fox News and numerous other media outlets, and watched by approximately 120 million people. Howard Lederer and Barry Tompkins were responsible for the commentary.
This year the following seven Poker stars played for the $600,000 first prize: Phil Hellmuth (9 WSoP bracelets), Mike Matusow, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (2000 WSoP champion), Gus Hansen (3 WPT titles), John Juanda and Phil Ivey. In addition to the $600,000 first prize, second place paid $280,000 and third paid $120,000.
The final rankings of the tournament were:
- Phil Ivey, $600,000
- John Juanda, $280,000
- David Ulliot, $120,000
- Chris Ferguson
- Gus Hansen
- Phil Hellmuth
- Mike Matusow
In just two days Phil Ivey added $1.6 million dollars to his bankroll by winning the Monte Carlo Millions and the Full Tilt Poker Invitational. Phil Ivey, who won his 5th bracelet earlier this year at the World Series of Poker, now has won over $3.3 million dollars in 2005 from poker tournaments.