Last year, Ryan Tosoc finished in second place in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio. And this year? Tosoc finally secured his first major tournament win. Tosoc faded a record-setting field of 812 entrants and walked away with $1.95 million. Tosoc defeated Alex Foxen heads-up for his first WPT title.

The Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas hosted the last World Poker Tour event on the 2017 calendar schedule. The Bellagio's annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic has always been a popular series for pros and amateurs alike. If anyone had a banner year at the tables, they'd try to keep the run good going at the Bellagio. And if anyone struggled over the year, they'd hit up the Bellagio hoping to end the year on a positive note.
The 2017 Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event also doubled as a stop on the World Poker Tour. This year's WPT Five Diamond broke a record with 812 entrants. Keep in mind, this event had a $10K price tag ($10,400 buy-in to be exact). The total prize pool topped $7.8 million with first place winning nearly $2M and second place also locking up a seven-figure payout.
Ryan Tosoc shipped the Five Diamond Main Event for a sick score worth $1,958,065. A large score like that is newsworthy all by itself. However, Tosco managed to made back-to-back final tables in the same event. But wait, there's more! In addition, Tosoc improved upon last year's finish. Quite a feat considered Tosoc was the runner-up last year. At the 2016 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Tosoc earned $1.1M for a runner-up score after he lost heads-up to James Romero.
Moments after his victory, Tosco told reporters, “It's unreal. Feels like a dream.”
Yes, your math is correct. Tosoc won over $3M in the last two Decembers at the Bellagio. To date, Tosoc won nearly $3.5M in tournaments, so it's safe to say Tosco loves the Bellagio.
The final table at this year's WPT Five Diamond Classic included Alex Foxen, Mike Del Vecchio, Sean Perry, Ajay Chabra, and Richard Kirsch. WPT Champions Club member Mike Del Vecchio finished in third place and missed a shot at another WPT title. Tosoc picked off Alex Foxen heads-up for the win. Foxen has been running good in 2017, which has been his most profitable year as a pro with over $1.6M in cashes including a victory down at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida.
Notables who went deep in the WPT Bellagio included Lauren Roberts, Dan Zack, Dan Colman, Chino Rheem, Matt Gianetti, David the Dragon Pham, Jared Jaffee, Eddy Sabat, Ashton Griffin, Farid Jattin, Amit Makhija, Steffen Sontheimer, Ben Keeline, Dan Strelitz, Ralph Perry, Anthony Gregg, Chance Kornuth, Darren Elias, Michael Gagliano, Jimmy Tran, Ben Yu, Cate Hall, Jim Collopy, Steve Gross, and Sylvian Loosli.
WPT Five Diamond Poker Classic
Buy-in: $10,400
Entrants: 812
Prize Pool: $7,876,400
Payouts: 81
Final Table Results:
1. Ryan Tosoc $1,958,065
2. Alex Foxen $1,134,202
3. Michael Del Vecchio $752,196
4. Sean Perry $504,090
5. Ajay Chabra $350,500
6. Richard Kirsch $271,736