Event 1 Winner: Stiers

$500 + $60 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

 Joe Stiers (Silver Spring, MD)

$318,104

Blinds 500k/1 million/100k ante

On the final hand, Joe Stiers calls Tanios Abi-Yaghi's all in bet of 10 million.

Stiers: A♥ 7♠

Abi-Yaghi 5♣ 4♥

The board of 6♠ Q♦ Q♣ 9♥ J♥ offers no help and Stiers wins the title, the trophy and the cash.

"It feels good because I've never cracked a field of over 600," says Stiers who outlasts the 3,871 entries.

Stiers, who's a 30-year-old full time pro, gives partial credit for the win to his mom and sister for a recently acquired good luck charm.  Before playing the PCA in the Bahamas, Stiers' mom gave him a broken finger from a sculpture his sister made when she was 14.

"I don't believe in that stuff," laughs Stiers, who forgot he had the good luck charm.

"I found it in my pocket and starting winning flips which never happens, so I started using it as a card protector. It was with me in the Bahamas and I did well there so I'm going to keep it going."

Since getting the keepsake, Stiers has two wins and a runner-up finish earning him more than $400,000.

This $318,104 payday is by far the largest of his career, and Stiers says he'll be back for a few more tournaments including the Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship event.

 Stiers' Giving his Opponents the Finger