- Jim Bechtel
Infobox poker player
firstname=Jim
lastname=Bechtel
nickname=
caption=Bechtel at the2008 World Series of Poker $50,000H.O.R.S.E. event.
hometown=Gilbert, Arizona
wsop bracelet count=1
wsop money finishes=19
wsop main event best finish rank=Winner
wsop main event best finish year=1993
wpt titles="None"
wpt final tables="None"
wpt money finishes=4James (Jim) Bechtel (born 1952?) is an American
cotton farmer andpoker player, based in Gilbert,Arizona .Bechtel came close to winning a
World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 1979 when he finished 2nd toPerry Green in the $1,500 no limitTexas hold 'em event.Bechtel made the final table of the $10,000 WSOP main event in 1988, finishing 6th for $49,000.
At the 1993 WSOP main event, Bechtel reached the final table in second chip position with $631,000. He went on to eliminate 1990 world champion
Mansour Matloubi andJohn Bonetti before defeating short-stackedGlenn Cozen in the third-hand of heads-up play. Bechtel's JUnicode|♣ 6Unicode|♥ held up against Cozen's 7Unicode|♦ 4Unicode|♥, and as a result Bechtel won the title on the strength of his Jack-high on a TUnicode|♦ 8Unicode|♠ 3Unicode|♣ 2Unicode|♣ 5Unicode|♦ board. Bechtel took home the top prize of $1,000,000 and his only WSOP bracelet, becoming the first amateur player to win the WSOP main event sinceHal Fowler in 1979.Bechtel also finished in the money of the main event in 1986 (11th), 1989 (31st), and 2001 (23rd).
Bechtel was also one of the players to make the final table of the $50,000
H.O.R.S.E. event of the2006 World Series of Poker , where he earned $549,120 for his 4th place finish.As of 2008, his total tournament winnings exceed $2,500,000. [ [http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=17 Hendon Mob tournament results] ]
References
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