Tony Miles, John Cynn go heads-up in WSOP Main Event

Tony Miles essentially called his deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Miles was so confident in his game that he urged his close friends to back him in the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship for a percentage of his profits.

“I thought I had been playing really well, so I reached out to people really close to me and asked them to invest because I thought that I could make a run in this this year,” said Miles, 32. “A bunch of my friends have pieces of me in this.”

Miles started Saturday night at the Rio Convention Center with more than 60 percent of the chips in the Main Event before John Cynn took the lead less than an hour after the cards went in the air at 5:30 p.m.

Miles regained the lead by eliminating Michael Dyer in third place at the one-hour mark. But the lead changed hands nine times over the next three hours during a heads-up showdown between Miles and Cynn, who opened up a lead of more than a 2-to-1 margin before Miles closed the gap with an all-in bluff.

Play continued Saturday night until a new champion was crowned, with the winner taking home the $8.8 million stack of cash that sat on the felt between the players during their heads-up duel.

Second place is worth $5 million. Whether Miles finishes first or second, the faith of his backers will be rewarded only a few years after a substance abuse problem made him a risky investment.

“When I was coming back from opiate addiction, very few people would take a chance on me. They knew I was talented, but it was hard,” Miles said. “There were a few people that trusted me and knew I would get back here. It’s really amazing that it’s paying off and I’m glad to be able to share not only the joy but some of the profits as well.”

Miles, born in Ogden, Utah, and living in Jacksonville, Florida, said he has been clean for two years. He said he also hopes his run can lift the spirits of his father.

“My stepmom passed away two weeks after we got here,” Miles said. “He’s been grieving, and I’m just happy to be able to bring some joy to his life.”

Both players bluffed multiple times, but Miles made the biggest bluff when he went all-in on his 95.3 million in chips with a 7-5 and only a pair of 3s on the board. Cynn had him beat with two pair (4s and 3s) and could’ve won the title with a call. But he folded.

Cynn was holding onto a lead of more than 69 million in chips four hours into the heads-up duel at 10:45 p.m. as Miles wouldn’t go away.

Cynn, 33, is trying to win the title after placing 11th in the 2016 WSOP Main Event.

“The other year, I was short-stacked almost the whole time and was able to get enough spots to squeak by,” said Cynn, from Evanston, Illinois. “This year’s been different. Out of the 10 days we’ve played, the seven luckiest days of my life.

“I just ran really good and have been fortunate enough to have a stack most of the way.”

Miles knocked out Dyer, who entered Friday with a huge lead, when Dyer went all-in for 22.2 million in chips with ace-10 and Miles called with ace-jack. Miles hit a pair of jacks on the turn and won the hand when Dyer failed to hit a straight on the river.

Dyer, 32, is mostly an online player who has lived in Las Vegas for six years after moving from his native Houston. He took home $3.75 million for third place and said he’ll mostly remember playing under the bright lights on the ESPN feature table.

“It kind of felt like ‘The Truman Show’ there for a minute,” he said. “But I figure it will get back to normal. People don’t remember third place.”

Asked to pick a winner, Dyer went with Miles.

“Miles took all my chips,” he said, laughing. “So I hope he wins just because of that because I like to see my chips do well.”

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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.