Monday, October 31, 2016 11:18 AM Local Time
The Mistake-Free Mathematician Strikes Again
Event #3
No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
Buy-in: $300 (+$65)
Total Entries: 541
Prizepool: $162,300
Poker professional, David Cossio, has now captured two Circuit titles in a matter of two months, more than validating his WSOP career.
Stateline, Nevada (October 31, 2016) – David Cossio navigated through two, long days of poker and a field of 541 entrants to reach the top spot in Event #3: $365 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry. After over a decade without a first-place finish, the methodical math whiz has impressively captured two gold rings within two months of each other.
Event #3 featured three starting flights. Cossio bagged in the third leg of the re-entry tournament, Flight C. From then on he climbed the ranks with determination. By the time play reached 27 players remaining, Cossio had established his dominance and never looked back.
“The last three tables I think I played mistake free poker,” Cossio explained.
Sometimes it is simply the lack of mistakes that separates the best from the rest when it comes to the art of poker. And Cossio has certainly proven that he can maintain this discipline in his game, placing him in an elite class of poker professionals. His WSOP resume is more than qualified to attest.
The 2016/17 Circuit tour has been a momentous one for Cossio, boasting four in-the-money finishes already. His breakthrough victory came in September when he took down the NLHE, $580 buy-in event during the IP Biloxi series. It then took Cossio only 43 days to recreate his triumph here at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. When asked if he was surprised by the quick turnaround on gold rings, Cossio coolly responded.
“I only had four cashes and two were wins, so I’m kind of surprised,” said Cossio. “But then, before, I had very bad luck for a very long time so it’s kind of even.”
This was Cossio’s 40th cash in WSOP events, walking away with $34,084 this time around. His already remarkable earnings total is now over $650,000. Thus far, Cossio’s largest cash is still the $260,000 payday he received for finishing second at Horseshoe Hammond’s Main Event back in 2013. However, the other, nearly $400,000 in winnings have come from hard-nosed tournament grinding dating back to 2004.
Before his prestigious poker career began, Cossio was college math professor and Math Olympiad Coach for the Mexican National Team. His math prowess is undoubtedly a contributing factor to his skills on the felt.
These skills have led him to a highly elevated position on the WSOPC National Leaderboard. With 110 points, Cossio sits second on the list, trailing only Christopher Leong. There will be virtually no stopping Cossio from a a return trip to the Global Casino Championship. He requires some personal retribution after walking away as the bubble boy in the 2015/16 GCC, missing out on at least a $16,280 payday.
“I want to play again because I was pretty mad I bubbled,” Cossio claimed.
Occasionally things happen for a reason and Cossio wonders if maybe this unfortunate incident has paid off in the form of his new-found determination and success. Nevertheless, this will not be the last the WSOP sees of David Cossio; not by a long shot.
Here is a rundown of the final table results:
1st: David Cossio - $34,084
2nd: Tracy Yeates - $21,081
3rd: Richard Yelland - $15,415
4th: Peter Hong - $11,439
5th: Clint Baskin - $8,607
6th: Mike Heshmati - $6,565
7th: Neil Scott - $5,077
8th: Barry Raymos - $3,980
9th: Jason Bolton - $3,162
Complete results can be found above, under the "Results" tab.