It's Been A While: Negreanu Chases First Win in Las Vegas Since 2008 on PokerGO

Watch Daniel Negreanu play live right now on PokerGO, as cards are in the air for the final table action described in this article. 

On Saturday night, Daniel Negreanu made the final table of U.S Poker Open Event #3, a $25,00 No Limit Hold’em tournament, tied for the chip lead. Before cards went in the air for the final table on PokerGO, we spoke briefly to Negreanu about what winning would mean to him.

To the question whether anything but the win would satisfy him today, he sternly and confidently responded with a “Yes.”

“It’s been a while,” Negreanu continued. “I made a lot of final tables in the last couple of years, got a lot of seconds and thirds but the win has just been evading me. Some weird s*** has been happening to me, and nothing but a win today will be satisfactory for me.”

May 2015, that was the last time Daniel Negreanu came out of a tournament victorious. The invitation-only Shark Cage event in Monte Carlo added $966,000 to his now $35.9 million in live tournament earnings, but in order to find an open event that he took down, we have to go back in time even further.

At the 2013 World Series of Poker Europe, Negreanu secured WSOP Player of the Year honors for the second time since 2004 by making the final table of the €25,000 High Roller. Ultimately, Negreanu won that event for $979,955 and it stands to this day as his most recent victory in an open event. Adding to his motivation of wanting to lift a trophy, the last time Negreanu notched up a win in the USA, or Las Vegas for that matter, we have to go back to the 2008 World Series of Poker.

When asked whether the payout, which isn’t in the ballpark of some of the bigger results in Negreanu’s career is less of a factor because of his drive to get a win, the all-time money list leader was very clear.

“For me specifically, the win is important because it’s evaded me for so long. It’s been a while since I’ve actually come in first place, so it be nice to get that monkey off my back. Once you get the monkey off your back, then it’s just about playing your best. Posting a lot of top-three finishes is great, but you don’t want to go five years without a win and keep plugging away.”

Going into this final table, Negreanu is in a great spot to grab that elusive win. Tied for the chip lead with six players remaining, and a night of studying under his belt, he’s ready as can be.

“I did do some study last night, as I have a few resources specific to a player that I studied more than others. It’s Jake Schindler because he’s right on my left. There’s a lot of available footage of him and his play, but he’s very, very tough to play against. I’ve played a lot with Chidwick during the World Series of Poker, but I don’t have a detailed, funky, high-level history of hands with today’s opponents. There’s not a lot of leveling or history with many of these people except for what we’ve had during this tournament.”

Given the shot clock and Negreanu’s hyper-focus on getting that big win today, the Canadian thinks that he’ll be all business at this final table.

“I want to focus on what I can in the 30 seconds that I have, and that doesn’t leave a lot of room to open up conversation,” Negreanu closed out with as he has his eyes on the prize like never before, taking his seat and getting dealt the first hand at this final table.

Tune in right now for live action of this final table, as Negreanu is one of the top contenders for the title in U.S. Poker Open Event #3. The first prize is $374,000 and players are guaranteed a payout of $66,000 right now.