Bodog Beat

Poker pro Scott Clements won the $5,000 preliminary event at the Bellagio Five Star Poker Classic. (Image Courtesy of FlipChip/LasVegasVegas)

In just a short three-year career Scott Clements has become a force to be reckoned with in the poker world and has just added another notch on his belt by taking down the first $5,000 preliminary event at the Bellagio Five Star Poker Classic, which culminates with the WPT World Championship.

Clements first impressive win came at the 2006 World Series of Poker when he won his first of two WSOP bracelets by taking on a field of 352 players in the $3,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event and beating out a final table that included Phil Hellmuth and Thor Hansen to take home just over $300k. He followed up with two more cashes at that WSOP, including one in the Main Event.

Just a few months later, Clements won the Canadian Poker Open at the WPT North American Championship then went on to final table the WPT Caribbean Poker Adventure in January 2007. Later that year at the 2007 WSOP, he won his second bracelet, final tabled another event and cashed in three others. Add in the WPT title he took home from the 2007 WPT North American Poker Championship, and his list of accomplishments are already longer than most veterans of the poker tournament scene. His career winnings now exceed $3 million.

The Bellagio Five Star Poker Classic has nine more preliminary events to play out before the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship begins on April 19.