Bodog Beat

Poker pro Paul Darden won a preliminary event at the LA Poker Classic earlier this week. (Image Courtesy of rikksrevues.com)

With 29 events slated for the LA Poker Classic, including the WPT championship tournament, the series isn't even halfway through yet, we've only just passed Event #12, a $1,065 buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo Split poker tournament. However, that tournament was won by a vaguely familiar name, poker pro Paul Darden.

Who? Well, that's a fair question. See, Darden was one of the staples on the poker circuit during the formative years of the WPT about five or six years ago. In his first WSOP in 2001 he cashed in three events. Of those three, two were final tables and out of those two final tables he walked away with one WSOP bracelet. The next year he cashed in two more WSOP events and final tabled two WPT events, which led to Darden widely being considered a rising star of poker. Over the next few years he would add a major tournament cash every now and then, but nothing like those first two years.

Could this win signal the beginning of a resurgence or just another random flash of brilliance? Either way, the fact remains that Omaha Hi-Lo Split is a game for consummate poker players, very strategical and cerebral. And Darden took on 133 other players, including Jason Strasser and Shannon Elizabeth, to walk away with the $41,580 first-place prize.

If you want a chance to see if Darden can run deep in the WPT championship event at the Commerce Casino, then head over to Bodog Poker and check out the WPT LA Poker Classic online qualifiers, and possibly see the return of a champion.