Restaurateur wins $1.19M in World Series of Poker

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Las Vegas • A Canadian restaurant manager is the first poker aficionado to be made a millionaire at this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Amateur player Benny Chen, of Prince Edward Island, won $1.2 million on Tuesday night in the seven-week poker bonanza just getting underway at the Rio hotel and Casino off the Strip.

The 32-year-old beat out 6,343 other players, each of whom paid $3,000 to enter. The event dubbed the "millionaire maker" is the largest tournament at the World Series of Poker aside from the main event.

Tens of thousands of poker fans from more than 100 countries flock to Sin City each year to compete for millions of dollars in prize money and 62 World Series of Poker champion bracelets.