WSOP Event 27 - $1,500 no-limit hold'em

Swedish Poker Pro Mats Rahmn Wins His First WSOP Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 2,126
Total Prize Money: $2,901,990

Official Results:
1. Mats Rahmn, Stockholm, Sweden, $655,141
2. Richard Toth, Budapest, Hungary, $333,729
3. Padraig Parkinson, Dublin, Ireland, $203,139
4. Chris Birchby, Hollywood, CA, $145,100
5. James Sileo, Burbank, CA, $116,080
6. Michael Binger, Atherton, CA, $101,570
7. Jordan Morgan, Norman, OK, $87,060
8. Ashwin Sarin, Redmond, WA, $72,550
9. Billy Duarte, Berthoud, CO, $58,040
10. William McKinney, Princeton, WV, $43,530
11. Ben Stanfeneger, Alliance, OH, $40,628
12. John Carver, Hampton, IL, $37,726
13. Jorge Arias, Indianapolis, IN, $34,824
14. Ray Abels, Danville, CA, $31,922
15. Antonio Pane, Las Vegas, NV, $29,020
16. Daniel Smith, Folsom, CA, $26,118
17. Shahryar Eslami, Van Nuys, CA, $23,216
18. Michael Souza, San Diego, CA, $20,314
19. Chris Tsui, Cupertino, CA, $17,412
20. Keith Wintermans, Vancouver, BC, Canada, $17,412
21. Khong Kham Phommaxahans, Arvada, CO, $17,412
22. Wade Woelfel, Mankato, MN, $14,510
23. Robert Vecchio, Sharyland, TX, $14,510
24. Robertus Holink, Groningen, Netherlands, $14,510
25. Eugene Todd, Brooklyn, NY, $11,608
26. Amos Sharpe, Las Vegas, NV, $11,608
27. Jon Musen, Phoenix, AZ, $11,608
28. Dan Bokesch, Lewis Center, OH, $8,706
29. Toben Nelson, Austin, TX, $8,706
30. Hoyt Corkins, Las Vegas, NV, $8,706
31. Alan Engel, Brooklyn, NY, $8,706
32. Chris Bjorin, London, UK, $8,706
33. Thayer Rasmussen, Largo, FL, $8,706
34. Francis Scapula, Bastia, France, $8,706
35. Larry Hicks, Mount Vernon, $8,706
36. Justin Tran, Sacramento, CA, $8,706
37. William Sanford, Bronxville, NY, $7,255
38. Colin Burton, Belowna, $7,255
39. Josh Ronan, Henderson, NV, $7,255
40. Hans Lund, Sparks, NJ, $7,255
41. Michele Whiteside, San Antonio, TX
$7,255, , 42. Eric Mizrachi, Sunny Isles Bch, FL, $7,255
43. Joe Leibman, Fort atkinson, WI, $7,255
44. Jeffrey Larsew, West Jordan, UT, $7,255
45. Philip Gurian, Boca Raton, FL, $7,255
46. Gino Battista, Temecula, CA, $7,255
47. Harry Cheung, Portola Valley, CA, $7,255
48. John Arellano, Whittier, CA, $7,255
49. Jeff Khomari, Turlock, CA, $7,255
50. Matt Smith, Tallahassee, FL, $7,255
51. Duy Hung Le, Los Angeles, CA, $7,255
52. Robert Lewis, Miami Bch, FL, $7,255
53. Stuart Hosen, Addison, TX, $7,255
54. Jeff Fletcher, Danville, CA, $7,255
55. Mandy Calara, Chicago, IL, $5,804
56. Alex Hskou, Brooklyn, NY, $5,804
57. Bhupinder Kohli, Nairobi, $5,804
58. Douglas Holcomb, Roseburg, OR, $5,804
59. Todd Huynh, Morton Grove, IL, $5,804
60. Kevin Jessee, NA, $5,804
61. Tom Macey, Chicago, IL, $5,804
62. Robert Odishoo, Ladera Rch, CA, $5,804
63. Miguel Mateo, NA, $5,804
64. Carlos Fernadez, Sunny Isles Bch, FL, $5,804
65. Brendan Hopps, Bellingham, WA, $5,804
66. Ray Liu, Sunnyville, CA, $5,804
67. Michael Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL, $5,804
68. Perry Friedman, Tiltsville, NV, $5,804
69. James Lee, Buena Park, CA, $5,804
70. Eugene Hanley, Mantucket, MA, $5,804
71. Richard Pace, Louisville, KY, $5,804
72. Eric Arreea, Baldwin Park, CA, $5,804
73. Ray La Pointe, Needham, MA, $5,804
74. David Sklansky, Henderson, NV, $5,804
75. Dennis Otto, Corpus Christi, TX, $5,804
76. Grady Talbot, Carcadia, CA, $5,804
77. Michael Banducci, Traverse City, MI, $5,804
78. Gary Heberman, Fort Lauderdale, FL, $5,804
79. N. Eber, Johannesburg, South Africa, $5,804
80. Carl Olson, Seattle, WA, $5,804
81. Carl Ossbahr, unknown, $5,804
82. Nathan Lang, San Antonio, TX, $4,353
83. Thomas Jean Marc, Paris, France, $4,353
84. Peter Carini, Newark, CA, $4,353
85. John Phan, Stockton, CA, $4,353
86. Donnocha O'Dea, Dublin, Ireland, $4,353
87. Paul Incerto, Norwalk, CT, $4,353
88. Gregory Hurwitz, Sampscott, MA, $4,353
89. Danton Orosz, Ontario, Canada, $4,353
90. Ryan Schultz, St. Louis, MO, $4,353
91. Richard Tehan, NA, $4,353
92. Judson Hinton, Stockbridge, GA, $4,353
93. Tim Le, Portland, OR, $4,353
94. Russell Minobe, Aiea, HI, $4,353
95. John Gaudreault, Elizabeth, Co, $4,353
96. Nick Stanley, Spokane, WA, $4,353
97. Donald Barton, Pahrump, NV, $4,353
98. Paul Freidberg, NA, $4,353
99. Mallory Smith, Aurora, CO, $4,353
100. Mike Baas, Las Vegas, NV, $4,353
101. Dennis Andridla, Hazlet, NJ, $4,353
102. Kevin Slaughter, Las Vegas, NV, $4,353
103. John Johnson, Valencia, CA, $4,353
104. Russell Hudson, Glenwood Springs, CO, $4,353
105. Ernest Plutt, Boise, ID, $4,353
106. Jose Raul, Panama, Panama, $4,353
107. Srinivas Varlagadda, Sarasota, FL, $4,353
108. Marina Baroco, Pensacola, FL, $4,353
109. Tony Nasr, Whittier, CA, $2,902
110. Amir Nurani, El Cajon, CA, $2,902
111. Brian Micon, Atlanta, GA, $2,902
112. Mohammad Azar, Las Vegas, NV, $2,902
113. Karen Kitchen, Grand Blanc, MI, $2,902
114. Mat Gherackal, NA, $2,902
115. Cornell Bowlson, Farmington Hills, MI, $2,902
116. Ryan Larson, Las Vegas, NV, $2,902
117. Manuel Benites, Minneapolis, MN, $2,902
118. Edward Teens, Trion, GA, $2,902
119. Joel Fischbein, Las Vegas, NV, $2,902
120. Nathan Meyvis, Bloomfield Hills, MI, $2,902
121. Martin Henshaw, UK, $2,902
122. Amir Naderi, Santa Monica, CA, $2,902
123. Jason Lilly, Mount Hope, AL, $2,902
124. James Stone, Fairlawn, OH, $2,902
125. Brian Fields, Berkeley, CA, $2,902
126. Tony Davis, Ellijay, GA, $2,902
127. David Franson, Pennsylvania, $2,902
128. Allen Cunningham, Las Vegas, NV, $2,902
129. Wendell Barnes, Charlton, MA, $2,902
130. Alex Santiago, NV, $2,902
131. Joseph Santoro, Orlando, FL, $2,902
132. David Choe, Chicago, IL, $2,902
133. David Plastik, Las Vegas, NV, $2,902
134. Huck Seed, Orlando, FL, $2,902
135. Cory Ward, Titusville, FL, $2,902
136. Canh Phan, Richardson, TX, $2,902
137. David Van Overseem, Manhattan Beach, CA, $2,902
138. Kendell Kim, Corona, CA, $2,902
139. Dennis Seagle, Marion, NC, $2,902
140. Todd Annoni, Los Altos, CA, $2,902
141. Bert Jones, Hermosa Beach, CA, $2,902
142. Zachary Fritz, Las Vegas, NV, $2,902
143. Jeffrey Philips, Bristow, VA, $2,902
144. Wesley Chepler, Huntsville, AL, $2,902
145. Nick Peperone, Vast Amherst, NY, $2,902
146. David King, Hanover, MA, $2,902
147. Brent Bibby, Canada, $2,902
148. Richard Gregory, Bellevue, WA, $2,902
149. Aaron Lasater, Noncross, GA, $2,902
150. Dominick Cantore, Chicago, IL, $2,902
151. Michael Cummings, Grover Beach, CA, $2,902
152. T.J. Cloutier, Richardson, TX, $2,902
153. Orestes Melgarejo, Pembroke Pines, FL, $2,902
154. Matthew Robertson, Lubbock, TX, $2,176
155. Nicholas Schulman, NA, $2,176
156. Kei Tanaka, Tokyo, Japan, $2,176
157. Stephen Duggan, Manhattan, NY, $2,176
158. Mark Gregorich, Las Vegas, NV, $2,176
159. Jason Sy, Houston, TX, $2,176
160. Daniel Becker, Nashville, TN, $2,176
161. Cory Henen, Trumbull, CT, $2,176
162. John Anderson, San Antonio, TX, $2,176
163. John Shetter, Colleyville, TX, $2,176
164. Constantine Moustakis, Danvers, MA, $2,176
165. NA, NA, $2,176
166. W. Douglas Barnum, Columbia, SC, $2,176
167. Bradley heffron, Pickerington, OH, $2,176
168. Michael Hill, Canada, $2,176
169. Peter Jetter, NA, $2,176
170. Peter Nathan, Las Vegas, NV, $2,176
171. Alan Bittikofen, Haywood, CA, $2,176
172. Ronald Toledo, Edmonton, Canada, $2,176
173. Laura Diamond, Evergreen, CO, $2,176
174. Helge Pederson, NA, $2,176
175. Eduardo Santi, Argentina, $2,176
176. Bobby Lee, Sacramento, CA, $2,176
177. Matthew Dunbar, Indianapolis, IN, $2,176
178. Michael Laing, Las Vegas, NV, $2,176
179. Yong Chen, BC, Canada, $2,176
180. Richard Tatalovich, Scottsdale, AZ, $2,176
181. Tian Ma, Chandler, AZ, $2,176
182. Tad Jurgens, Chandler, AZ, $2,176
183. Joseph Torres, Amityville, NY, $2,176
184. Kyle Shigano, Pearl City, HI, $2,176
185. Andrew Bourne, NA, $2,176
186. Gerardo Campos, Weston, FL, $2,176
187. Randy McKay, Finlay, ND, $2,176
188. Steven Cohn, NA, $2,176
189. Jean Harlan, Las Vegas, NV, $2,176
190. Aristomenis Stauropolus, NA, $2,176
191. Mike Friedman, Switzerland, $2,176
192. Aaron Ruppert, Norman, OK, $2,176
193. Nicholas Ronyerz, Goleta, CA, $2,176
194. Paul Fredericks, Winchester, CA, $2,176
195. David Chen, New York, $2,176
196. Paul Wolfe, Apollo Beach, FL, $1,088
197. Dennis Waterman, Myrtle Point, OR, $1,088
198. Anahit Galajian, Glendale, CA, $1,088
199. Nevio Nicolich, NA, $1,088
200. Steve Shkolnik, Woodland Hills, CA, $1,088
201. Adam Meyer, Weston, FL, $1,088

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Many people might be surprised to learn that Scandinavia is one of poker’s hottest new markets. Perhaps it’s the cold dark winters. Perhaps it’s the relatively high income and education levels. Or, perhaps it’s the high-tech sophistication of the region. Scandinavians own more personal computers and cell phones, per capita, than any other population group. Not surprisingly, Swedes, Fins, Danes, and Norwegians also play more online poker than any other region.

Leading the way is Sweden, with a total population nine million. Right behind the US, the UK, and Canada – Sweden sends more players to the World Series of Poker than any other nation. Adjusted for population size, Sweden is second only to the United States in the total number of players who play in the WSOP main event. Sweden’s emergence as a poker hub is also now producing world champions.

Mats Rahmn, a 26-year-old professional poker player from Stockholm, won the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light. More impressive was the fact that Rahmn topped a gigantic field of 2,126 players.

After 2,117 players had been eliminated over two long days, nine players took the final table on the Rio stage. The nine finalists comprised a very tough lineup, although none had previously won a WSOP gold bracelet.

James Sileo, $144,000, 1
Richard Toth, $447,000, 2
Mats Rahmn, $511,000, 3
Billy Duarte, $96,000, 4
Padraig Parkinson, $278,000, 5
Ashwin Sarin, $591,000, 6
Chris Birchby, $497,000, 7
Michael Binger, $325,000, 8
Jordan Morgan, $307,000, 9

“Boston Billy” Duarte was the first player to exit. The longtime poker pro, who plays in big cash games and at major tournaments around the country, was eliminated with ace-queen against ace-king. Duarte failed to catch a queen, putting him out in ninth place, which paid $58,040.

Ashwin Sarin went out next. The software engineer from Redmond, WA arrived at the final table as the chip leader. But Sarin suffered a horrible series of hands and beats over a 90-minute period that melted his stack of chips. Down to his last 200,000 after starting the day off with 591,000, Sarin moved all-in with pocket kings after the flop came J-8-6. His opponent called holding an eight, and then caught a second pair to eliminate Sarin in eighth place. He received $72,550.

Jordan Morgan, a 22-year-old college student from Norman, Okalahoma finished in seventh place when his pocket tens were run down a high pair. Morgan moved all-in with his last 125,000 and was called by a player with a flush draw. Instead of catching the flush however, Morgan’s opponent caught a queen to make a higher pair, resulting in Morgan’s abolition. The Oklahoman collected $87,060 at his first WSOP final table.

Michael Binger had chips for a while, but then went card dead. He tried to take a pot with king-jack by making a 135,000 pre-flop raise. He was called down by an opponent with 10-7 who ended up flopping a seven, good for a pair. That was all it took to knock out the Stanford graduate (PhD). Binger, a physician from California, received sixth-place prize money totaling $101,570.

James Sileo went out next. Hold’em’s most classic confrontation eliminated Sileo, who held ace-king against pocket queens. Board came with all low cards, a disappointment to Sileo, who ended up taking fifth place and $116,080.

Chris Birchby, a.k.a. “Marvin Garden” hit the rail in fourth place when he was desperately low on chips and was forced to play a sub-par hand or risk being blinded off. He moved all-in with his last 100,000 in chips on a steal attempt, but was down called by Mats Rahmn. Birchby had queen-five versus Rahmn’s king-seven. A king flopped, and Birchby – the owner of a sunblock lotion company (“Coola Sunblock”) got burned. Fourth place paid $145,100.

Anyone who still doubts that Europeans can play great poker would be advised to look at the three finalists in this event. After the six Americans had all gone bust, that left an Irishman, a Hungarian, and a Swede to compete for what would be a first WSOP gold bracelet. Padriag Parkinson, who finished third in the WSOP main event back in 1999 (the year fellow Irishman Noel Furlong won it), had to settle for third place again this time around. Parkinson took a horrible beat when his ace-four was cracked by Richard Toth’s ace-three. Both players flopped an ace, but a three fell on the river to make two-pair for Toth. Parkinson, who was cashing for the fourth time at this year’s World Series, collected $203,139 for third place.

When heads-up play began, Richard Toth enjoyed a 2 to 1 chip lead over Mats Rahmn. The two players battled back and forth for nearly an hour before Rahmn won the decisive final hand of the tournament. The final hand came when Rahmn was dealt pocket kings versus Toth’s jack-eight. Toth called a pre-flop raise. After the flop came J-10-9, Rahmn bet out 150,000 and Toth moved all in for 500,000 more. Rahmn called and showed his overpair. Toth had top pair with an outside straight draw. However, two blanks hit the turn and the river, securing the victory for Rahmn.

As the runner up, Richard Toth received $333,729. The Hungarian poker player, who works in high-tech sales, was making his first-ever appearance at the WSOP. Toth will be a force in Europe and in years to come when he plays in North America.

Mats Rahmn had few words to express the jubilation of winning his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet and $655,141. “It feels amazing,” he said.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #27):
Total Entries to Date: 25,250
Total Prize Money Distributed: $51,931,307