WSOP Event 34 - $1,000 no-limit hold'em rebuy

Phil Hellmuth, Jr. Makes Poker History with Record-Tying Tenth Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 754
Number of Rebuys: 1,691
Total Prize Money: $2,340,238

Official Results:
1. Phil Hellmuth, Jr. Palo Alto, CA, $631,863
2. Juha Helppi, Helsinki, Finland, $331,144
3. Daryn Firicano, Boston, MA, $187,219
4. John Spadavecchia, Lighthouse Point, FL, $163,817
5. Terris Q. Preston, Toronto, Canada, $140,414
6. Elio Cabrera, Miami, FL, $117,012
7. David Plastik, Las Vegas, NV, $93,610
8. Rafael Perry , Las Vegas, NV, $70,207
9. Antanas Guoga (Tony G), Vilnius, Lithuania, $46,805
10. Phillippe Rouas, San Francisco, CA, $25,743
11. Jose Brenes, Coral Gables, FL, $25,743
12. John Taylor, Satellite Beach, FL, $25,743
13. James McCrink, Las Vegas, NV, $21,062
14. Ryan Hughes, Phoenix, AZ, $21,062
15. Jordan Morgan, Norman, OK, $21,062
16. Alex Balandin, New York, NY, $16,382
17. Shane Schleger, Santa Monica, CA, $16,382
18. Jennifer Leigh, Wilmington, DE, $16,832
19. Paul Gianfriddo, Australia, $11,701
20. Howard E. Perry, Joelton, TN, $11,701
21. Hilbert Shirey, Winter Haven, FL, $11,701
22. Brandon J. blake, Palme, AK, $11,701
23. Joseph N. Bartholdi, Las Vegas, NV, $11,701
24. T. Jurgens, unknown, $11,701
25. Hoa Nguyen, Sunnyvale, CA, $11,701
26. Ross Boatman, London, UK, $11,701
27. Julian Gardner , Manchester, UK, $11,701
28. Kevin Ho, Gainsville, FL, $8,191
29. Prahlad S. Freidman, Los Angeles, CA, $8,191
30. Ulises Roman, Huntington, W. VA, $8,191
31. William G. Gazes, Miami Beach, FL, $8,191
32. Kevin Ratliff, Chicago, IL, $8,191
33. Hasan A. Habib , Downey, CA, $8,191
34. James Van Alstyne, Las Vegas, NV, $8,191
35. Gregg R. Merkow, Plano, TX, $8,191
36. Lance Allred, Los Angeles, CA, $8,191
37. Ian A. Mahaney, Forest Hill, MD, $6,787
38. Brandon Wong, Crovis, CA, $6,787
39. Robertos H. Hollink, Groningen, Holland, $6,787
40. David Levi, Las Vegas, NV, $6,787
41. Robert Boyd, Columbia, MO, $6,787
42. Theobald Tran, Las Vegas, NV, $6,787
43. Scott Epstein, Las Vegas, NV, $6,787
44. Carl Sciandri, Belmont, CA, $6,787
45. Jonathan Gaskell, Manchester, UK, $6,787
46. Shannon Shorr , Birmingham, AL, $5,500
47. Phillipe Boucher, Quebec, Canada, $5,500
48. Mark Schoichet, Royal Palm Beach, FL, $5,500
49. Mike Metcalf, St. Augustine, FL, $5,500
50. Joe Sebok, RPV, CA, $5,500
51. Vassilios A. Lazarou, Las Vegas, NV, $5,500
52. Neil Stone, Atlanta, GA, $5,500
53. Champie Douglas, Las Vegas, NV, $5,500
54. Mark Seif, Las Vegas, NV, $5,500
55. Marc R. Whitford, Rockford, MI, $4,680
56. Mark Wilds, Biloxi, MS, $4,680
57. Joseph F. Faust, Jacksonville Beach, FL, $4,680
58. Neil Webber, Austin, TX, $4,680
59. Patrik Selin, London, UK, $4,680
60. John Esposito, Las Vegas, NV, $4,680
61. Andreas Hoivold, Christiansand, Norway, $4,680
62. Ray Haskell, Tampa, FL, $4,680
63. Carl Hostrup-Pedersen, Denmark, $4,680
64. Mark Peterson, Denmark, $4,095
65. Barry Paskin, United Kingdom, $4,095
66. Beng Beh, Australia, $4,095
67. Edward Brogdon, Litchfield Park, AZ, $4,095
68. J.T. Anderson, Carthage, TX, $4,095
69. David Lurvey, Springfield, MO, $4,095
70. Patrik Antonius, Finland, $4,095
71. Thithi Tran, NA, $2,730
72. Chris Bush, BC, Canada, $2,730
73. Scott Fishman, Las Vegas, NV, $2,730

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Every World Series of Poker tournament has a special moment or two. This one had a dozen special moments that will linger on in the minds of everyone lucky enough to have been at the Rio on the night of July 25, 2006. Phil Hellmuth, Jr. finally broke down the barricade that had separated him from winning an elusive tenth World Series of Poker gold bracelet and sky rocketed to the top of the poker pyramid.

Money, fame, and glory are but a fickle reminiscence of what has already come and more often gone. But what captivates us most are -- the memories. Pick your favorite unforgettable moment: Before the start of the final table, Hellmuth warmly embracing his wife in the middle of the tournament floor for what seemed like minutes, oblivious to hundreds of onlookers; During a break, Hellmuth, the ticking human time-bomb, pacing the tournament hallways in isolation; Hellmuth catching a lucky life-saving card at a key moment to stay alive on his quest for win Number Ten; Hellmuth falling into his proud parents’ arms immediately after achieving victory; Hellmuth being mobbed by fellow poker pros Mike Matusow and John Bonetti; Hellmuth high-fiving the entire front row of the grandstand as he took a well-deserved victory lap; Hellmuth being an ultimate class-act by congratulating the runner-up Juha Helppi in a post-tournament celebration; and perhaps the greatest moment of all – Hellmuth himself officially being christened as a ten-time gold bracelet winner by WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. Indeed, if Hellmuth’s poker triumph is ever to be set to music, it would take a symphony orchestra to provide the full sense of spectacle and historical relevance of the triumph. Beetoven may be famous for his Ninth. But Hellmuth will be celebrated for his Tenth.

The No-Limit Hold’em with Rebuys championship was played over a three-day period. There were 754 entries and 1,691 rebuys -- including a record “48” by Daniel Negreanu, believed to be the most of any major tournament in history. Negreanu’s heavy investment failed to pay off as he finished out of the money. It took two long days to eliminate Negreanu along with 745 players. The nine finalists returned to the Rio poker stage on Day Three. The final table consisted of several players with high-stakes experience, but only two former gold bracelet winners – Phil Hellmuth, Jr. with nine wins (coming in) and Ralph Perry, who won his first-ever gold bracelet last week. All eyes were on the combustible Hellmuth, who was making his sixth cash this year and third final table appearance. Alas, the third time would prove to be a charm.

Ralph Perry, $235,000, 1
Terris Preston, $164,000, 2
Tony G, $77,000, 3
John Spadavecchia, $122,000, 4
Elio Cabrera, $95,000, 5
David Plastik, $121,000, 6
Juha Helppi, $436,000, 7
Phil Hellmuth, Jr, $768,000, 8
Daryn Firicano, $450,000, 9

Hellmuth, the early chip leader, lost 15 percent of his chips on the first hand of play. Then, Antanas Guoga (a.k.a. “Tony G”) lost 100 percent of his chips as the shortest stack. The Lithuanian-born poker pro, who won the European Poker Championship in 2005, busted out ninth and received $46,805.

This has been a fabulous week for Ralph Perry. The Russian-born poker pro won a WSOP gold bracelet just five days ago and was sitting at the final table competing for win Number Two. Perry’s dream of joining Bill Chen and Jeff Madsen as two-time winners in 2006 was shattered when his pocket nines were stomped by Phil Hellmuth’s pocket jacks. Perry added another $70,207 to his World Series winnings.

David Plastik is a extraordinary player who has been around for years. However, he has yet to win at the WSOP. Plastik, now with 21 lifetime cashes, came up short for the 21st time with a seventh-place finish. This time, pocket jacks were no good as Plastik’s J-J was battered by Hellmuth’s pocket aces. Plastik melted away and received $93,610.

Elio Cabrera has an interesting story. The Cuban-born poker player now living in Florida was making his first cash at the WSOP and was playing on poker’s grandest stage. Cabrera managed to survive with a short-stack for over two hours, but was ultimately knocked out when his straight was rivered by Phil Hellmuth’s diamond flush. Cabrera collected $117,012.

Terris Preston was the next player to go out. The Canadian moved all-in on a flush draw, but missed. Preston, an investment advisor from Toronto (13th in the Short-Handed championship held two weeks ago) earned $140,414 for fifth place.

Two more hours passed before “The Marble King” hit a wall of stone. John Spadavecchia, who made his fortune selling marble for homes of the rich and famous in south Florida, was severely short-stacked. He went out in fourth place. The silk-shirted, gold chain festooned Spadavecchia, so eloquently described by British author Tony Holden as “looking as though he stepped right off the set of ‘Goodfellas,” was whacked as the fourth-place finisher. Spadavecchia’s take amounted to $163,817.

Daryn Firicano could very well have been the headline of this event. He played remarkable poker over three days. In fact, Firicano had the chip lead when play was three-handed before taking a fall. The 25-year-old Boston poker pro gave both of his opponents a scare before ultimately busting out in third place, which paid $187,219.

Great final tables require monumental gladiators. This one had at least two. Juha Helppi, who has emerged within just three years as one of the world best tournament players, has won just about everything except a WSOP bracelet. Sitting on the opposite end of the table was Phil Hellmuth, the nine-time gold bracelet winner and captivating character study of all that makes poker so compelling to watch.

Hellmuth had already made it to two final tables this year. Both times, he came up short. The first setback came when the largest gallery in WSOP history left stunned after seeing Hellmuth finish second to Jeff Cabanillas. A week later, in the Omaha High-Low championship, Hellmuth finished a disappointing sixth.

But this time, Hellmuth would get the intangible breaks that had shattered him in the past. One of the most dramatic hands of the entire year took place when Hellmuth was dealt pocket fives and flopped a five – making a set. The trouble was – there were three diamonds on board. An amazing turn of events ensued when a fourth diamond fell on the turn, to match Helppi’s lone fifth diamond. Helppi, holding a flush, was one blank on the river away from winning his first WSOP title. But the board paired on the final card and Hellmuth made a full house.

The look of anguish on Hellpi’s face afterward was worth a thousand words. Picture getting hit in the stomach with a sledgehammer. Hellpi could not believe his eyes and could not disregard the crowd’s roar for Hellmuth. If there was a turning point, this was it.

A short time later, Hellmuth regained the chip lead when he called Hellpi’s all-in raise holding pocket kings. Hellpi tabled an ace-ten. An ace failed to appear for Hellpi, which only added to the proverbial prairie fire that would engulf the final table and result in Hellmuth’s explosive victory.

The final hand of the tournament came when Hellmuth (with ace-jack) called Hellpi (with ace-nine) after the Finn made an all-in pre-flop re-raise. Neither player made a pair, so the ace-jack played and Hellmuth won the championship. That set off a half-hour celebration that rocked the Rio tournament area to its core.

Lost in the great storyline that was Hellmuth’s victory was the supporting cast, led by Juha Hellpi. The Finnish poker pro, who has won more money in Europe than any other player over the last three years, collected $331,144 for second place.

As the boisterous crowd flooded onto the stage and began to chant, “Ten! Ten! Ten!” in unison, Hellmuth basked in the glow of what was perhaps his most satisfying poker victory. The 1989 WSOP certainly came to define Phil Hellmuth as a world champion. But wining gold bracelet Number Ten now establishes Hellmuth as a bona fide living legend.

With the victory, his first at the World Series in over two years, Hellmuth joined his fellow poker legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who have already won ten gold bracelets each. Brunson and Chan both won their tenth titles last year, leaving Hellmuth behind to simmer over the last 13 months. Now, the three-way race to win gold bracelet Number Eleven is on.

“I honestly would have paid a million dollars for this moment,” Hellmuth told a cheering crowd afterward. “I know it’s my time. I don’t play this well every World Series…this year is my time. I’m maybe the best hold’em player in the world, at the top of my game and I felt it would be a shame if I didn’t win the bracelet. Nothing else matters from here, but I do anticipate a successful run in the championship event (next week). I really feel like I can win it.”

Anyone who still doubts that this poker victory meant everything to Phil Hellmuth, Jr. would be advised to reflect upon his final question whispered in the most straightforward manner possible to the Tournament Director as he walked away from the Rio poker stage. “So, how much money did I win?” Hellmuth asked.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #34):
Total Entries to Date: 30,092
Total Prize Money Distributed: $67,868,330

WSOP Event 32 - $5,000 pot-limit hold'em

Jason Lester Finally Wins a WSOP Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 378
Total Prize Money: $1,776,600

Official Results:
1. Jason Lester, Miami, FL, $550,764
2. Alan Sass, Las Vegas, NV, $284,256
3. Stuart Fox, Birmingham, UK, $142,128
4. Tony Hartmann, Minneapolis, MN, $124,362
5. Michael Tedesco, Menlo Park, CA, $106,596
6. Gregg Turk, Sterling, VA, $88,830
7. Emad Tahtouh, Melbourne, Australia, $71,064
8. Tom Smith, St. Cloud, MN, $53,298
9. Kirill Gerasimov, Moscow, Russia, $35,532
10. Nam Thien Le, Huntington Beach, CA, $21,319
11. Benjamin Arnold, Santa Ana, CA, $21,319
12. Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV, $21,319
13. Laura Fink, New York, NY, $17,766
14. John Shipley, Solihull, UK, $17,766
15. Tonio Scali, New York, NY, $17,766
16. Cyndi Violette, Los Angeles, CA, $14,213
17. Kevin O'Donnell, Scottsdale, AZ, $14,213
18. Rami Boukai, Laguna Hills, CA, $14,213
19. Nick Schulman, New York, NY, $10,660
20. Alexander Kravchenko, Moscow, Russia, $10,660
21. Jon Knauf, Garland, TX, $10,660
22. Greg Mascio, Brea, CA, $10,660
23. Jeff Buffenbarger, UK, $10,660
24. Ayaz Mahmood, Houston, TX, $10,660
25. Garth Derbyshire, London, UK, $10,660
26. Nick Guagenti, Westerville, OH, $10,660
27. Joe Beevers, London, UK, $7,106
28. Daniel Alaei, NA, $7,106
29. James Romptz, Cordova, TN, $7,106
30. Constantine Moustakis, Danvers, MA, $7,106
31. Lonnie Heimowitz, Monticello, NY, $7,106
32. Jamieson Pickering, Surfers Paradise, Australia, $7,106
33. Mark Tehscher, London, UK, $7,106
34. Erik Seidel, Las Vegas, NV, $7,106
35. George Abdallah, Houston, TX, $7,106
36. Patrick Antonius, NA, $3,553
37. Mark Gregorich, Las Vegas, NV, $3,553

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – When Jason Lester walks into any poker room, everyone seems to recognize him. He’s been playing in poker tournaments for twenty years. He’s cashed 16 times at the World Series of Poker, and made six final table appearances. He was part of poker’s biggest story ever when Chris Moneymaker rocked the world and won the 2003 championship event. Lester finished fourth that year. Had a few key hands gone the other way, perhaps it would have been Lester’s day and he’d be a world champion. But alas, that’s poker.

In fact, it’s more of a surprise to learn that Lester did not have a gold bracelet – at least not until the midnight hour on June 24, 2006. The Miami-based investor finally accomplished his breakthrough victory when he topped a highly-competitive field of 378 players and won the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

Lester added his name to this year’s memorable list of tournament winners -- players who had previously been members of the WSOP’s supporting cast, while others got the starring roles. Sammy Farha, David Williams, Chip Reese, Mike Sexton, John Gale, and now Jason Lester have all slain the poker demons of years past with gold bracelet victories.

The Pot-Limit Hold’em championship was played over a three-day period. It took two long days to eliminate 369 players. The nine finalists returned to the Rio poker stage on Day Three. The final table consisted of several players with high-stakes experience. However, none had previously won a WSOP title.

Michael Tedesco, $278,000, 1
Jason Lester, $222,000, 2
Tony Hartmann, $163,000, 3
Stuart Fox, $214,000, 4
Alan Sass, $431,000, 5
Emad Tamtouh, $97,000, 6
Kirill Gerasimov, $124,000, 7
Gregg Turk, $122,000, 8
Tommy Smith, $238,000, 9

Kirill Gerasimov was the first player to go out. The Russian poker player, who was making his second final table appearance at this year’s World Series, was eliminated when his ace-king was booted by Emad Tahtouh’s pocket queens. A queen flopped, which improved to a full house, putting the Russian out in the cold. Gerasimov collected $35,532 for ninth place.
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Next, Tommy Smith got the axe. The 21-year-old college student took a tough beat with set-over-set holding pocket sixes. After Alan Sass re-raised on the flop with pocket queens, Smith called instantly with trip sixes. Smith’s joy turned to anguish when Sass tabled a set of queens. The lone six in the deck which would have saved Smith remained concealed. Eighth place paid $53,298.

Emad Tahtouh was the next player to exit. The Australian poker player hoped to join his fellow mate Joe Hachem as a gold bracelet winner, but came up short. A little-known fact is that Tahtouh is the sole reason Hachem decided to come and play at last year’s WSOP. Tahtouh had won his entry to play in the main event, and Hachem decided to come to Las Vegas along with his friend. And the rest, as they say – is history. Tahtouh became “history” when his suited king-five failed to make a pair. The Aussie collected $71,064.

Gregg Turk went out next. The investment advisor from suburban-Washington, DC tanked with ace-queen suited to Jason Lester’s pocket eights. All small cards meant a sixth place finish for Turk. He received $88,830 in prize money.

Fifth place went to Michael Tedesco. The second-most famous poker player from Menlo Park, CA (Phil Hellmuth, Jr. lives up the road) went out holding a dominant hand, ace-queen versus ace-eight. Stuart Fox (A-8) caught an eight and eliminated Tedesco. The investment banker who specializes in mergers and acquisitions cashed out for what amounted to $106,596.

Tony Hartmann is another longtime tournament player with a long record of accomplishments, but no WSOP gold bracelets as of yet. “The Big House” went out holding ace-king versus Alan Sass’ pocket nines. The middle pair held up, which meant a fourth-place finish for Hartmann. He was paid $124,362.

Stuart Fox, a.k.a. “Foxy,” got bitten next when Jason Lester (with ace-nine) re-raised all-in after Fox attempted a pre-flop steal with king-three suited. Fox was pretty much pot-committed and was forced to call. Neither player made a pair, which meant the ace-high played. Fox ended up as the third-place finisher – which paid $142,128.

When heads-up play began, Jason Lester enjoyed a sizable chip lead. “I did not want to gamble,” he explained later. “I was not going to give my opponent any chips when I did not have to….and I was not going to make any calls in marginal situations.”

Alan Sass had the backing of a rowdy cheering section of a few dozen friends and supporters. But that was not enough to defeat a very determined Lester. The final hand of the night was deal when Sass tried to make a clever move with six-four suited after the flop came 9-3-2. Sass held an inside-straight draw and moved all of his chips into the pot on a semi-bluff. However, Lester had nine-seven, good for top pair. Sass was all-in and missed on the final two cards giving his opponent the victory.

Alan Sass, a.k.a. “The Usher” was the runner up. The 23-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas collected $284,256.

“I’m so happy, it’s such a relief to win this,” Lester said in a post-tournament interview. “I’ve been playing at the World Series for twenty years and to finally win this it’s such a validation for all those years and all those beats, and all the times where I think I could have won a gold bracelet.”

Lester collected $550,746 in prize money. “My background in game theory is really what got me here,” Lester answered when asked to assess his reasons for victory. “It’s my strategic skills. I play backgammon, chess, and other games and I eventually got into poker because it became so big. My win here really is the summation of all those things that came together – from experience, knowing the math, from my own style.”

“I will be playing the main event next week,” Lester concluded. “Now, when I sit down, I am going to have more confidence and a renewed table presence. That’s what winning (a WSOP gold bracelet) does for you.”

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #33):
Total Entries to Date: 29,338
Total Prize Money Distributed: $62,528,092

Hellmuth alert

Phil Hellmuth is heading into today's final table of the $1,000 no-limit hold'em rebuy as the chip leader, chasing his record-tying 10th bracelet. He was tied with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan with nine apiece up until last year, when Doyle and Chan each won events.

Hellmuth has already come close to number 10 once this series, making the final table of an Omaha tournament as chip leader and on the verge of a non-hold'em bracelet that he covets so much. A complete meltdown at that final table (sixth place) denied him once again, but he heads into today's match with a dominating lead in the game he plays best. Still, this will be no cakewalk for Phil, who must still contend with Ralph Perry and Juha Helppi, who each have sizable stacks of their own. He must also face legendary bigmouth Tony G., who comes into today as the short-stack, but armed with a trash-talking style that could provide some fireworks in the early going and put Phil in danger of tilt.

Hellmuth has already made history once this year by setting the mark for most cashes in the series by becoming the first player to reach 50, and he's added several since that time.

Should be an interesting one to watch.

WSOP Event 33 - $1,500 razz

James Richburg Wins Razz World Championship

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 409
Total Prize Money: $558,285

Official Results:
1. James Richburg, Long Beach, CA, $139,576
2. Carlos Mortensen, Las Vegas, NV, $94,908
3. Steve Diano, Las Vegas, NV, $61,411
4. Cliff Josephy, Muttontown, NY, $39,080
5. Ron Ritchie, Marietta, GA, $30,706
6. Richie Sklar, Northridge, CA, $25,123
7. "Miami John" Cernuto, Miami, FL, $19,540
8. Jamie Brooks, Phoenix, AZ, $13,957
9. Chad Carpenter, Las Vegas, NV, $7,258
10. Eric Froehlich, Springfield, VA, $7,258
11. Christopher Fargis, Brooklyn, NY, $7,258
12. Robert Turner, Downey, CO, $7,258
13. Randy Haddox, Houston, TX, $7,258
14. Perry Friedman, Las Vegas, NV, $7,258
15. George Rechnitzer, Beverly Hills, CA, $7,258
16. Nick Charman, Nepean, ON, Canada, $7,258
17. Russ Salzer, New York, NY, $4,466
18. Chris Parsons, Deerfield Beach, FL, $4,466
19. Jeffrey Lisandro, Santa Barbara, Italy, $4,466
20. Stanley Lewkowicz, Manchester, CT, $4,466
21. Frank Henderson, Houston, TX, $4,466
22. John Strzemp, Las Vegas, NV, $4,466
23. Peter Costa, Leicester, UK, $4,466
24. Drew Bentley, Tuscaloosa, AL, $4,466
25. Graham Duke, Vancouver, Canada, $2,791
26. Tommy Reynosio, Sacramento, CA, $2,791
27. Hassan Kamoei, Indio, CA, $2,791
28. Richie Ming Waiwong, Las Vegas, NV, $2,791
29. Rod Pardey, Sr. Las Vegas, NV, $2,791
30. Danny Walker, Wasilla, AK, $2,791
31. Sio Nong, Phoenix, AZ, $2,791
32. Chris Bjorin, London, UK, $2,791
33. Eskimo Clark, New Orleans, LA, $2,233
34. Ross Mallor, New York, NY, $2,233
35. Maurice Schwartz, Philadelphia, PA, $2,233
36. Bhupinder Kohli, London, UK, $2,233
37. Thomas Hufnagle, Downey, CA, $2,233
38. Scott Silverman, Lone Pine, CA, $2,233
39. Nick Niergarth, NA, $2,233
40. Ali Eslami, NA, $2,233

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Seven-Card Razz has developed a bad reputation. It’s the proverbial step-child of poker games. While the rest of the poker world is playing Texas Hold’em, Razz is the quirky card game that pops up every now and then at a few major poker tournaments. The game attracts an admittedly older and more traditional crowd.

Razz gets a bad rap, which is unfair. After all, the game is full of subtle nuances and razor-thin margins. Perhaps one reason Razz will never rival Hold’em in terms of popularity is because it lacks excitement and drama. No-limit Hold’em is a test of courage. Razz is a test of patience. No-Limit Hold’em rewards the brave. Razz punishes the daring.

Few spectators were left in the audience to witness James Richburg’s resounding first WSOP victory. He won his first gold bracelet precisely at 4:45 am early on a Monday morning in front of hundreds of empty seats and poker tables which had been filled to capacity only hours earlier. Richburg won the tournament in typical Razz fashion – by simply outlasting everyone else, waiting for the right moments, and pushing small advantages which produced large gains.

The Razz championship at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light, attracted 409 entries. The final table consisted of three former WSOP gold bracelet winners – “Miami John” Cernuto (with 3 wins), Carlos Mortensen (with 2 wins), and Cliff Josephy (with one win).

This was the “oldest” final table so far at this year’s WSOP, other than the seniors championship. The youngest player was age 38. In fact, the finalists ranged from 38 up to 62 years – in dramatic contrast to most hold’em final tables which have been dominated by twenty-somethings.

SEAT 1-- Carlos "The Matador" Mortensen, 118,000
SEAT 2 -- James Richburg, 115,000
SEAT 3 -- Ron Ritchie, 80,000
SEAT 4 -- "Miami" John Cernuto, 55,000
SEAT 5 -- Steven Diano, 50,000
SEAT 6 -- Chad Carpenter, 30,000
SEAT 7 -- Richard Sklar, 35,000
SEAT 8 -- Cliff Josephy, 27,000
SEAT 9 -- Jamie Brooks, 22,000

After Chad Carpenter busted out ninth, the eight finalists took seats at the final table upon the Rio poker stage. Soon thereafter, the low-stacked Jamie Brooks went out in eighth place. The table games manager from Phoenix received $13,957.

“Miami John” Cernuto was making his second final-table appearance this year, but once again fell short of winning gold bracelet Number Four. Instead, Cernuto earned $19,540 for seventh place.

Richie Sklar, who hangs out on golf courses and at race tracks as much as poker rooms, failed to either make par or win, place, or show in this event. Sklar, a longtime gambler and golfer went out of bounds when his queen-low was bested by a jack-low. Sklar went to the clubhouse with $25,123 for a sixth-place finish.

Ron Ritchie went out next. The owner of a construction company in Atlanta, Ritchie busted out with several bricks on his final hand, and had to settle for fifth place. Ritchie collected $30,706.

Cliff Josephy, a.k.a. “Johnny Bax” took a hit and was eliminated in fourth place. The pro poker player, who won a gold bracelet in last year’s $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event, admitted later that he had never played a hand of Razz prior to this tournament. His intuitive poker knowledge allowed him to outlast all but the final three players en route to a $39,080 payday.

Steve Diano, a professional sports bettor from Las Vegas, wasn’t able to cash a winning ticket. But he did come out well financially with a third-place finish. Diano was out stacked by his two opponents when play became three-handed. He finally went out when the limits were raised. Diano received $61,411.

It took a few hours before James Richburg finally defeated his last rival. Carlos Mortensen put up a fight. But he was never able to seriously threaten Richburg for most of his chips. The 2001 world poker champion finally went out, losing to a 9-8 low shown by Richburg. Mortensen’s cards were not seen. Mortensen earned $94,908 as the runner up.

The Razz champion, James Richburg has a long history of play at the World Series of Poker. He finished second in the 1991 Stud Eight-or-Better championship. Little did he know it back then, but that would be his last WSOP final table in 15 years. The past would be forgotten at this early morning hour. After all, it was the beginning of a new day. Richburg collected $139,576 in prize money and his first WSOP gold bracelet as the sun peaked over the horizon.

It’s important to note that this year’s Razz world championship attracted an all-time record of 409 entries. That’s the most players ever in history for a Razz-only poker tournament. Contrast that number with 291 entrants in 2005 and 195 entrants in this same event back in 2004. Considering a 37 percent growth rate for Razz over last year, versus hold’em which is only up 24 percent, could that possibly mean that Razz is emerging as the fastest-growing poker game?

James Richburg certainly hopes so.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #33):
Total Entries to Date: 28,960
Total Prize Money Distributed: $60,193,207

WSOP Event 31 - $2,000 no-limit hold'em

Detroit poker player destroys final table in wire-to-wire victory

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 2,050
Total Prize Money: $3,731,000

Official Results:
1. Justin Scott, Detroit, MI, $842,262
2. Farzad Rouhani, Gaithersburg, MD, $429,065
3. Bob Bright, Las Vegas, NV, $261,170
4. Gregory Glass, Newport Beach, CA, $186,550
5. Nathan Templeton, Chattanooga, TN, $149,240
6. Carl Olson, Seattle, WA, $130,585
7. Joshua Wakeman, Sandwich, IL, $111,930
8. Jason Johnson, Coral Springs, FL, $93,275
9. Bryan Micon, Atlanta, GA, $74,620
10, Paul Spano, Sacramento, CA, $55,965
11, Kendall Fukomoto, Honolulu, HI, $52,234
12, Chad Mizner, Chandler, AZ, $48,503
13, Jacob Stearley, Spring Lake, MI, $44,772
14, Angelo Cordi, Indiana Wells, CA, $41,041
15, Deborah Lavigne, Fairhope, AL, $37,310
16, Tony Bloom, London, UK, $33,579
17, Stephen Jones, Springfield, IL, $29,848
18, Ryan Fair, Coral Springs, FL, $26,117
19, Narimal Parmar, Lomita, CA, $22,386
20, Kayshan Muthy, London, UK, $22,386
21, Angel Garcia, Henderson, NV, $22,386
22, Efrain Lopez, Miami, FL, $18,655
23, Dan Harrington, Santa Monica, CA, $18,655
24, Graham Smith, Bridgenorth, UK, $18,655
25, Adam Marshall, Pittsburgh, PA, $14,924
26, Eduardo Sants, NA, $14,924
27, David Cesiano, Galveston, TX, $14,924
28, Jamys Williams, Phoenix, AZ, $11,193
29, Jose Severino, Panama, $11,193
30, Brandon Adams, Gulf Breeze, FL, $11,193
31, Eric Cloutier, Lafayette, LA, $11,193
32, Kevin Petersen, Plano, TX, $11,193
33, David Cai, Westminster, CA, $11,193
34, Mike Hofeld, Egg Harber, NJ, $11,193
35, Ian Frazer, London, England, $11,193
36, Logan Trinidade, Los Angeles, CA, $11,193
37, Nathan Smith, Haymarket, VA, $9,328
38, Kevin Noel, Coral Springs, FL, $9,328
39, Ylon Schwartz, Brooklyn, NY, $9,328
40, Jeffrey Tahler, W. Hollywood, CA, $9,328
41, Ferit Gabriellson, Horsbore, Sweden, $9,328
42, John Spanavecchia, Lighthouse Point, FL, $9,328
43, Alex Brenes, San Jose, Costa Rica, $9,328
44, Michael McIntyre, Tewersbary, MA, $9,328
45, Marc Karam, Ottawa, Canada, $9,328
46, Joseph Nolan, Henderson, NV, $9,328
47, Ben Armstrong, Tulsa, OK, $9,328
48, George Long, Las Vegas, NV, $9,328
49, Michael Katz, Manalapan, NJ, $9,328
50, Tony Pirone, Boston, MA, $9,328
51, Bobby Poe, Commerce Twp, MI, $9,328
52, Randy Holland, Winnetka, CA, $9,328
53, Ryan Armstrong, Belleive, NE, $9,328
54, Tony Nasr, Whittier, CA, $9,328
55, J.P. Vaughan, Campo, CA, $7,462
56, Mark Hope, Denver, CO, $7,462
57, Joe Myers, Gray's Lake, IL, $7,462
58, Chris Tsiprailidis, Liverpool, NY, $7,462
59, Ryan Moore, Newport Beach, CA, $7,462
60, Michael Odeh, Las Vegas, NV, $7,462
61, Ken Koski, Howell, MI, $7,462
62, T.J. Yurkanin, Seattle, WA, $7,462
63, Hasan Habib, Downey, CA, $7,462
64, Chris Convery, Capetown, South Africa, $7,462
65, Randall Witt, Nashville, TN, $7,462
66, Mickey Mills, Ocean Beach, CA, $7,462
67, Karlo Lopez, Carolina, Puerto Rico, $7,462
68, John Lively, Houston, TX, $7,462
69, Michael Cribb, Rochester Hills, MI, $7,462
70, Uskov Alexander, Moscow, Russia, $7,462
71, Chris Reslock, Atlantic City, NJ, $7,462
72, Claude Marbeleu, Toolouse, France, $7,462
73, Praz Bansi, London, England, $7,462
74, Blake Mason, Atlanta, GA, $7,462
75, Chi Nguyen, Anaheim, CA, $7,462
76, Gary Benson, Sydney, Australia, $7,462
77, Eric Bush, Raleigh, NC, $7,462
78, Jason Levine, Miami, FL, $7,462
79, Patrick Pezzin, Bari, Italy, $7,462
80, Jeff Han, Torrance, CA, $7,462
81, Paul Andrzejewski, Park Ridge, IL, $7,462
82, Derek Lawless, Heartfordshire, UK, $5,597
83, Robert Ohl, Mansfield, OH, $5,597
84, Les Juliano, Austin, TX, $5,597
85, David Crouse, Huber Heights, OH, $5,597
86, Ron Stanley, Austin, TX, $5,597
87, Brian Fields, Huber Heights, OH, $5,597
88, Jamad Rashid, Henderson, NV, $5,597
89, Theo Nerantzinis, Bethpage, NY, $5,597
90, John Esposito, Las Vegas, NV, $5,597
91, Mats Iremark, Sothenburg, Sweeden, $5,597
92, Marcus Collins, Perth, Australia, $5,597
93, Charles Balesteri, Island Park, NY, $5,597
94, Randy McKay, Finley, ND, $5,597
95, James Basar, Burnswick, OH, $5,597
96, Tony Bueti, Mt. Kisco, NY, $5,597
97, Jarrod Ankeniman, Avon, CT, $5,597
98, David Stirling, Wellington, FL, $5,597
99, Jennifer Tilly, Los Angeles, CA, $5,597
100, Steve Karp, Dona, FL, $5,597
101, Robert Blechman, Culver City, CA, $5,597
102, Robert Lendgren, Richland, WA, $5,597
103, Brett Shaffer, Beloit, KS, $5,597
104, David Ross, Los Angeles, CA, $5,597
105, Doris Homonicki, Victoria, Australia, $5,597
106, Richard Marshall, Raleigh, NC, $5,597
107, Jeremy Tutre, Salt Lake City, UT, $5,597
108, Zacharia Butler, Brierley Hill, UK, $5,597
109, Joseph Burkley, Lowell, MA, $3,731
110, Dow Sjolestad, Phoenix, AZ, $3,731
111, John Loisana, Chapel Hill, NC, $3,731
112, Andrew Stirling, Wellington, FL, $3,731
113, Eric Nelson, Sioux City, IA, $3,731
114, Joseph Torres, NA, $3,731
115, Jeff Bryan, Fort Calhoun, NE, $3,731
116, Roy Wilder, Livermore, CA, $3,731
117, David Cussio, El Paso, TX, $3,731
118, Mark Davis, NA, $3,731
119, Ron McMillan, Las Vegas, NV, $3,731
120, Jeff Shulman, Las Vegas, NV, $3,731
121, Claus Vallo, Copenhagen, Denmark, $3,731
122, Harold Cohen, Los Angeles, CA, $3,731
123, Walter Chambers, Baton Rouge, LA, $3,731
124, Kakoun Haim, Paris, France, $3,731
125, Hutson Richarde, Charlotte, NC, $3,731
126, Jason Fleurant, Vancouver, Canada, $3,731
127, James Kilaryian, Moneta, VA, $3,731
128, Johnny Kitchens III, Lake Mary, Fl, $3,731
129, Jeppe Mikkelsen, Aarhus, Denmark, $3,731
130, Greg Hemphill, Galsgow, Sweeden, $3,731
131, Jose Barbero, Buenos Aires, Argentina, $3,731
132, Vegard Nygard, Oslo, Norway, $3,731
133, Zack Stewart, Santa Monica, CA, $3,731
134, Craig Gold, Belmont, CA, $3,731
135, Javier Sarache, Pembrook Farms, FL, $3,731
136, Jeffrey Johnson, West Palm Beach, FL, $3,731
137, James Routos, Kent, WA, $3,731
138, Cong Do, Brigantine, NJ, $3,731
139, Marc Cipriano, Las Vegas, NV, $3,731
140, Sean Willis, Murrell's Inlet, SC, $3,731
141, Tommy Hang, Lynwood, WA, $3,731
142, Richard E. Park, Huntington, CA, $3,731
143, Jeffrey Lambert, Thousand Oaks, CA, $3,731
144, Brian Malcolm, Redmond, WA, $3,731
145, Anthony Consola, Chicago, IL, $3,731
146, John Vincent, NA, $3,731
147, Roger Pape, Fort Morgan, CO, $3,731
148, Orlando Moretti, Ontario, Canada, $3,731
149, Amir Nurant, El Cajon, CA, $3,731
150, Michael Carroll, Torrance, CA, $3,731
151, Alexander Dokunov, Las Vegas, NV, $3,731
152, Ernesto Espino, Las Vegas, NV, $3,731
153, Gregory Vamplew, NA, $3,731
154, John Bonetti, Houston, TX, $2,798
155, Stephen McClean, Dublin, Ireland, $2,798
156, Adam Greens, New York, NY, $2,798
157, Jason Barnett, Oxford, AL, $2,798
158, Jan Selberg, NA, $2,798
159, Peter Longmore, NA, $2,798
160, Thomas Macey, Chicago, IL, $2,798
161, Jess Susi, San Diego, CA, $2,798
162, Richard Predham, NA, $2,798
163, Jeff Samuelson, Doniphan, NE, $2,798
164, Aram Zerounian, Portola Hills, CA, $2,798
165, Craig Hartman , Fort Wayne, IN, $2,798
166, Kevin O'Sullivan, CA, $2,798
167, Jason Ryan, Houston, TX, $2,798
168, Alexander Lieu, Pasadena, CA, $2,798
169, Johan Dunder, Stockholm, Sweden, $2,798
170, Troy Van, Riverside, CA, $2,798
171, Michael Clark, Ludera Ranch, CA, $2,798
172, Keith Taylor, Mancepa, AZ, $2,798
173, Mike Caro, Shell Knob, MO, $2,798
174, Elijah Harrod, Boswell, GA, $2,798
175, Kevin Paulk, Lynn Hoven, FL, $2,798
176, Anahit Coalajian, Glendak, CA, $2,798
177, Paul Quadie, Highland Ranch, CO, $2,798
178, Gino Criscione, Laguna Niguel, CA, $2,798
179, Che Coye, Lake Elsinore, CA, $2,798
180, Brett Marshall, Fresno, CA, $2,798
181, Dan Gatto, Galt, CA, $2,798
182, Saul Prusoff, Alpharetta, GA, $2,798
183, Alan Fidellow, Yorktown Heights, NY, $2,798
184, Ali Zayeu, El Paso, TX, $2,798
185, Farid Vaghefi, San Diego, CA, $2,798
186, Jerome Saunders, Orlando, FL, $2,798
187, Paul Tschernia, Henderson, NV, $2,798
188, Gregory Cartin, Brookline, MA, $2,798
189, Keith Block, Pomona, NY, $2,798
190, Michelle Law, Las Vegas, NV, $2,798
191, Patrick Heneghan, Chicago, IL, $2,798
192, James Bates, NA, $1,632
193, Peter Calvo, NA, $1,632
194, Juan Moranjo, Miami Lakes, FL, $1,632
195, Keith Jacobs, Calabasas, CA, $1,632
196, Broc Segura, New Iberia, LA, $1,632
197, Emanuel Failla, Commach, NY, $1,632
198, Gregory Monaldi, Davie, FL, $1,632
199, Ryan Fronda, Farhem, Hampshire, $1,632
200, Mohammed Shafia, NA, $1,632
201, William Thorson, NA, $1,632
202, Samuel Silverman, Las Vegas, NV, $1,632
203, Romain Feriolo, Marseille, France, $1,632, ,

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Justin Scott flew into Las Vegas and promptly lost his entire bankroll at a baccarat table. This would not be an unusual story, since millions of visitors arrive in the gambling capital of the world each year and then leave town with less money. Scott’s story is unique because out of the ashes of defeat in the pit, the 22-year-old professional poker player from Detroit scratched together a $2,000 buy-in for the No-Limit Hold’em championship and ended up winning $842,262 at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

Scott steamrolled over a staggering field of 2,050 players – one of the largest tournaments held thus far at the World Series. After 2,041 players had been eliminated over two long days, nine players took their seats at the final table upon the Rio poker stage. The nine finalists comprised largely an unknown group of poker players. None had previously won a WSOP gold bracelet. When play began, Justin Scott enjoyed a decisive chip lead. Nathan Templeton was second, with everyone else far off in the distance. ESPN television was on hand to film the seven-hour finale, which featured perhaps the most dominant victory by any player yet at this year’s WSOP.

Carl Olson, 301,000, 1
Nathan Templeton, 832,000, 2
Bob Bright, 324,000, 3
Jason Johnson, 174,000, 4
Farzad Rouhani, 133,000, 5
Greg Glass, 267,000, 6
Josh Wakeman, 319,000, 7
Justin Scott, 1,500,000, 8
Bryan Micon, 224,000, 9

Bryan Micon, a.k.a. “Neverwinpoker” fulfilled his namesake by being the first player to bust out. Micon took a horrible beat when his pocket kings were trounced by Jason Johnson’s ace-king. Johnson caught two devastating aces on the board to crush Micon. The Atlanta-based poker player took $74,620 for ninth place.

What goes around comes around. After busting-out Micon, Jason Johnson was himself eliminated when his ace-queen lost of Justin Scott’s ace-king. Neither player made a pair, but the king-kicker in Scott’s hand played and Johnson was knocked out. Johnson, a painter from Florida, cashed out for $93,275. Johnson’s elimination would mark the first of seven consecutive players to be eliminated by Scott. His play at this final table was so domineering, that as play progressed spectators could see the growing sense of frustration on the faces of Scott’s powerless opponents.

Dr. Josh Wakeman attended his first WSOP and this was his first-ever final table appearance. The chiropractor from Illinois had his back broken when his ace-jack was upset by Justin Scott’s queen-seven. Two queens flopped, and Dr. Wakeman was discharged in seventh place. In what has been a great year in poker for chiropractors (world champ Joe Hachem’s former profession), Wakeman collected $111,930 in prize money.

The Justin Scott express rolled on. Already ahead in chips by a 3 to 1 count, Scott’s total domination continued. Carl Olson went out next. His pocket sixes were flattened by Scott’s ace-seven. The proverbial toss-up situation with a pair versus two overcards went Scott’s way, when an ace flopped. Olson, a University of Washington graduate who now plays poker professionally, received $130,585 for sixth place.

If there was any thought that Justin Scott might eventually go card dead and take a few hits, it vanished when the chip leader busted out yet another player – this time holding pocket deuces. Scott’s deuce-deuce edged out Nathan Templeton’s queen-ten when the real estate investor from Tennessee failed to connect with a pair. Templeton’s share of the prize poll amounted to $149,240 for fifth place.

By this time, Justin Scott was an immovable force. He amassed the vast majority of the chips still in play, making the spectacle more of a contest for “second place” than any lingering suspense as to who would be the tournament winner. Scott obliterated yet another player when his ace-king broke Greg Glass’ king-ten. Both players flopped top pair when a king came. Drawing slim with two cards still to come, Glass failed to hit a ten. Was Glass half-full or half-empty? It depends on how one views a fourth-place finish. The 40-year-old poker player from California received $186,550 in prize money.

Things were not so bright for Bob Bright. The CEO of a stock trading firm in Las Vegas cashed out as the third-place finisher when his ace-six failed to connect with the board. Justin Scott’s pocket threes held up on the final hand, fizzling out Bright’s chances of a comeback victory. Bright, who won the “Best All-Around” player award at Caesar’s Las Vegas on this year’s WSOP Circuit, had to settle for $261,170 and third place, this time.

Looking at the chip discrepancy going into heads-up play, Farzad Rouhani must have felt like a stalled Hyundai sitting in the middle of the rail road tracks looking up at a roaring freight train. Rouhani was down nearly 13 to 1 – the single-largest lead going into heads-up play at the WSOP in over three years. Scott’s 3,800,000 in chips, festooned in dozens of neat columns looked like the Acropolis compared to Rouhani’s 290,000 shack.

Overlooked in Scott’s extraordinary victory was Rouhani’s remarkable survival skills. Perhaps no player had fewer key cards or bigger hands at this year’s World Series, and yet still managed to win more prize money ($429,065). On the previous day, when play had dwindled down to 35-players, Rouhani had less than 100,000 in chips and made a few key folds holding marginal hands which enabled him to survive longer in the tournament. Rouhani never had many chips in this event, yet still managed to outlast all but the last of 2,050 players.

Rouhani put all of his last chips into the pot as the favorite. His pocket eights were in the lead on the final hand of the tournament. But Scott simply could not be stopped. His queen-six made a pair when a queen landed on board, and Rouhani ended up as the last victim of what can only be described as poker’s closest thing to a massacre.

The new poker champion was interviewed afterward and began with a classic understatement. “I came in with 1.5 million,” Scott said. “I was able to use my chips to run over the table.”

Scott was complimentary toward his opponents, particularly Rouhani. “Maybe I’m going to write a poker book,” he said. “I’m going to put (Rouhani) in it for how to play short-handed in tournaments. He was simply amazing.”

Justin Scott’s trip to Las Vegas may have started off with a wimper. But it certainly ended with a bang. He went from being flat broke to $842,262 richer. “I’m going to pay off the rest of my dad’s home,” Scott said. “Then, I’m going to buy a home for myself.”

A bit of free advice – stay away from the baccarat tables.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #31):
Total Entries to Date: 28,551
Total Prize Money Distributed: $60,193,207

WSOP Event 30 - $5,000 short-handed no-limit hold'em

Jeff Madsen Wins Gold Bracelet Number Two

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 507
Total Prize Money: $2,382,900

Official Results:
1. Jeff Madsen, Los Angeles, CA, $643,381
2. Eric Lindgren, Las Vegas, NV, $357,435
3. Tom Franklin, Gulfport, MS, $214,461
4. Tony Woods, Murrieta, CA, $150,123
5. Jonathan Gaskell, Wigan, UK, $119,145
6. Paul Foltyn, Doncaster, UK, $83,402
7. Cliff Cantor, Hollywood, CA, $69,104
8. Vanessa Rousso, Las Vegas, NV, $61,955
9. Jenny Kang, Portland, OR, $54,807
10. Michael Banducci, Traverse City, MI, $47,658
11. Fredrik Halling, Stockholm, Sweden, $42,892
12. Paul Wasicka, Westminster, CO, $38,126
13. Philippe Boucher, Quebec, Canada, $33,361
14. Joe Awada, Las Vegas, NV, $29,786
15. Martyn Wilson, Wolverhampton, UK, $26,212
16. Peter Fischir, Silkeborg, Denmark, $22,638
17. John Juanda, Las Vegas, NV, $19,063
18. Gregg Merkow, Plano, TX, $15,489
19. Brian Willis, Jersey City, NJ, $11,319
20. Mats Gavatin, NA, $11,319
21. Robert Williamson III, Dallas, TX, $11,319
22. Kenna James, Las Vegas, NV, $11,319
23. Mark Peterson, Aarhus, Denmark, $11,319
24. Don Todd, Davie, FL, $11,319
25. Chris Loveland, Harris, NH, $11,319
26. Marco Traniello, Rome, Italy, $11,319
27. David Pham, Cerritos, CA, $11,319
28. Keith Tilston, Austin, TX, $11,319
29. Omar Khayat, Las Vegas, NV, $11,319
30. Joseph Beevers, London, UK, $11,319
31. Robert Ford, Johnstown, PA, $11,319
32. Ted Lawson, Plantation, FL, $11,319
33. Mike Woo, Desert Hot Springs, CA, $11,319
34. Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf, Los Angeles, CA, $11,319
35. Michael Berra, St. Louis, MO, $11,319
36. James Rumptz, Cordova, TN, $11,319
37. Vincenzo Beatrice, Hollywood, FL, $8,340
38. Harry Cheng, Portola Vally, CA, $8,340
39. Christopher Beil, Raleigh, NC, $8,340
40. Bergren Robin, NA, $8,340
41. Jennifer Tilly, Los Angeles, CA, $8,340
42. Sam Grizzle, Las Vegas, NV, $8,340
43. Dan Pedersen, NA, $8,340
44. Phil Hellmuth, Palo Alto, CA, $8,340
45. David Plastik, Las Vegas, NV, $8,340
46. Mark Gregorich, Las Vegas, NV, $8,340
47. Joseph Tehan, Las Vegas, NV, $8,340
48. Craig Hartman, Fort Wayne, IN, $8,340
49. John Duthie, London, UK, $8,340
50. Steven Seidman, Rancho Santa Fe, CA, $8,340
51. Scott Mayfield, Grants Pass, OR, $8,340
52. David Singer, Las Vegas, NV, $8,340
53. William Gazes, Miami Beach, FL, $8,340
54. Jim Bechtel, Gilbert, AZ, $8,340

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The unthinkable happened on July 22, 2006 when 21-year-old Jeff Madsen won his second gold bracelet within a week. Even more remarkable is the fact that Madsen turned “21” just six weeks ago. This was Madsen’s third final table at this year’s World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light. He is one of only two players to hold such a distinction. Madsen now has two firsts and one third-place finish on his WSOP resume.

No player has ever skyrocketed to the top of the poker world so quickly, or so effortlessly. Not Stu Ungar. Not Johnny Chan. Not Phil Hellmuth. At 21, Ungar was still hustling gin games in New York. Chan was washing dishes in his parent’s restaurant. Hellmuth was a University of Wisconsin student, playing in $20 buy-in hold’em games. Contrast those memoirs with Jeff Madsen, who already has two gold bracelets and $1,401,881 in WSOP winnings. And, here’s a notion that should make the poker world shake and shudder – he’s not finished yet.

The $5,000 buy-in Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em world championship attracted 507 entries. The tournament was played six players to a table. After 498 players had been eliminated over two long days, finalists took the final table on the Rio poker stage.

The six players comprised a tough lineup, most notably two former gold bracelet winners -- “Captain Tom” Franklin and Jeff Madsen. Noted tournament professional Erick Lindgren was also competing for his first WSOP win. When play began, Jonathan Gaskell enjoyed a comfortable chip lead. Jeff Madsen was dead last in the chip count coming into the final table. That would certainly not be the case seven hours later, when the tournament ended and history was made.

Tony Woods, $354,000, 1
Jonathan Gaskell, $727,000, 2
Captain Tom Franklin, $365,000, 3
Erick Lindgren, $448,000, 4
Paul Foltyn, $438,000, 5
Jeff Madsen, $201,000, 6

Paul Foltyn had a rough time at the final table. He was eliminated about two hours into play after taking a number of tough beats that left him severely short-stacked. Foltyn, a 22-year-old college student from England, was forced to play a weak hand and missed completely. He collected $83,402 for sixth place.

Proving that having chips at the start had no bearing on the outcome, the early big stack Jonathan Gaskell was the next player to go bust. Gaskell, another English player, experienced his Waterloo when his pocket kings were cracked by Erick Lindgren’s ace-king. Lindgren certainly didn’t like the view when the cards were tabled. But agony turned into ecstasy when an ace rained down on the river, giving Lindgren a monster-sized pot and the chip lead. Meanwhile, Gaskell was aghast and hit the rail in fifth place, good for a less-than-satisfying payout totaling $119,145.

Tony Woods went out next. The 41-year-old poker pro from California lost with ace-king to Erick Lindgren’s pocket jacks. Woods failed to hit his pair, which meant a fourth-place finish and $150,123 in prize money.

This was “Captain” Tom Franklin’s second final table appearance this year. Franklin, a Vietnam veteran turned poker pro from Gulfport, Mississippi, went card dead at the worst possible time of the tournament. His two opponents -- Madsen and Lindgren -- applied relentless pressure, forcing Franklin into repeated folds when he could not call a large bet or a raise after missing the flop. Franklin’s final hand came when he hit top pair, but was out kicked by Jeff Madsen. Franklin’s queen-ten lost to Madsen’s king ten, after a ten flopped. The Captain was saluted for his third-place finish, which paid $214,461.

Normally, a player in Madsen’s unique position would be a huge crowd favorite, when heads-up play commenced. But this was not the case. Erick Lindgren, described by many of his peers as “the best poker player not to have won a WSOP gold bracelet,” attracted a rowdy cheering section. For a time, it looked like Lindgren would not disappoint his legion of fans. The Vegas poker pro enjoyed the chip lead during most of the duel, but then suffered a horrendous turn of events that left everyone in a stunned state of disbelief.

After taking a few beats and losing coin flip situations (Lindgren’s pocket eights losing to Madsen’s ace-king when an ace flopped completely changed the momentum of the contest), Lindgren lost his final hand of the night holding ace-jack suited versus Madsen’s queen-nine. The final board showed K-Q-2-5-3 – good for a pair of queens for Madsen.

Erick Lindgren could not have been more disappointed with a $357,435 payoff. No amount of consolation could ease the painful sting of defeat. However, like Gentleman John Gale the previous year – who lost a WSOP tournament in the most dramatic way possible, only to come back and win an event this year – Erick Lindgren’s day shall come.

The question everyone is now asking is – what will Jeff Madsen do next? He will be competing for what could be a record-third gold bracelet over the next week. Madsen will also play in the main event, which begins on July 28th. But beyond that, what does a 21-year-old college student do with $1.4 million and two WSOP titles?

Demonstrating maturity and composure far beyond his years, Madsen said he expects to return to college in the fall for his senior year. The Cal State-Santa Barbara film student still wants to pursue a career in movies. Perhaps Jeff Madsen’s first film should be a remake of “Kid Millions.”

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #30):
Total Entries to Date:26,501
Total Prize Money Distributed:$56,462,207

WSOP Event 29 - $2,500 pot-limit hold'em

Gentleman John Gale Wins a WSOP Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 562
Total Prize Money: $1,292,600

Official Results:
1. John Gale, Bushey, UK, $374,849
2. Maros Lechman, Columbia Station, OH, $197,768
3. Kevin Ho, Gainesville, FL, $103,408
4. Joe Hachem, Melbourne, Australia, $90,482
5. Alex Jacob, Parkland, FL, $77,556
6. Lee Grove, Superior, NE, $64,630
7. Jeffrey Roberson, Rolla, MO, $51,704
8. Lee Markholt, Eatonville, WA, $38,778
9. Greg Alston, Miami Beach, FL, $25,852
10. Aaron Bartley, Las Vegas, NV, $14,219
11. Theo Tran, Las Vegas, NV, $14,219
12. David John, Las Vegas, NV, $14,219
13. Emanual Santiago, Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, $11,633
14. Nick Guagenti, Westerville, OH, $11,633
15. Joshua Van Duyn, San Diego, CA, $11,633
16. John Hansmeyer, Lethbridge, Canada, $9,048
17. Iwan Jones, Cardiff, Wales, UK, $9,048
18. Thomas Smith, St Cloud, MN, $9,048
19. Alex Brenes, San Jose, Costa Rica, $6,463
20. Zachary Stewart, Santa Monica, CA, $6,463
21. Ernesto Celedon, Grand Prairie, TX, $6,463
22. Gregg Turk, Potomac Falls, VA, $6,463
23. Craig Gray, Portland, OR, $6,463
24. Chris Howard, London, UK, $6,463
25. Jonathan Turner, Las Vegas, NV, $6,463
26. Gary Parsons, Perth, Australia, $6,463
27. Carlo Citrone, Newcastle, UK, $6,463
28. Efrain Lopez, Miami, FL, $4,524
29. Richard Redmond, NA, $4,524
30. Lee Watkinson, Long Branch, WA, $4,524
31. Ariel Schneller, Blacksburg, VA, $4,524
32. Thomas Fuller, Boulder, CO, $4,524
33. Randel Brown, Little Rock, AR, $4,524
34. Matthew Matros, Brooklyn, NY, $4,524
35. Michael Dueloth, Cohasset, CA, $4,524
36. McLadan Ivin, Blackheath, Australia, $4,524
37. Scott Auerback, Holmdel, NJ, $3,878
38. Daniel Negreanu, Las Vegas, NV, $3,878
39. Spiro Mitrokostas, W. Yarmouth, MA, $3,878
40. Robert Neary, Granite Bay, CA, $3,878
41. Gary Rabin, NA, $3,878
42. Eric Tomberlin, Jacksonville, FL, $3,878
43. Ralph Porter, Woodinville, WA, $3,878
44. Jonathan Hewston, NA, $3,878
45. John Shipley, North Ireland, $3,878
46. Kathy Liebert, Las Vegas, NV, $3,232
47. Mke Sexton, Las Vegas, NV, $3,232
48. Karl Mahrenholz, NA, $3,232
49. Laura Fink, New York, NY, $3,232
50. Thieu Phan, NA, $3,232
51. Jeffrey Aebischen, Barngate, NJ, $3,232
52. Jean-Robert Bellande, Hollywood, CA, $3,232
53. Steven Powsner, Brooklyn, NY, $3,232
54. Adam Nilsson, Sweden, $3,232

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The real test of character is not watching someone during a time of celebration. Rather, it is watching someone in a time of despair. Anyone can behave politely when things are going good. But what about during the bad times? What do they do? How do they act? This notion brings about the old saying, “adversity introduces a man to himself.”

The 2006 Pot-Limit Hold’em championship concluded on July 21, 2006. But the story of John Gale and his inspiring gold bracelet-winning victory started more than a year earlier.

At last year’s World Series of Poker, Gale had his last opponent down to the felt and drawing slim. ESPN cameras and the entire poker world were watching as Gale, one of poker’s most gracious gentlemen, was about to win the $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em championship. But poker is all about the unpredictable. Gale not only lost the key hand that would have won him a WSOP title, he proceeded to lose several more vicious hands (usually as the favorite). Brian Wilson ended up making a stunning comeback in heads-up play, eventually seized the chip lead, and ended up as the winner. Instead of acting bewildered or angry, Gale extended his hand and then warmly embraced the winner. He smiled and moved off of the stage to allow Wilson his moment of glory.

In what has been a year of retribution at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light, John Gale added his name to the illustrious list of tournament winners who had previously been shunned by the poker gods in years past. Sammy Farha and David Williams, who were runners up in the championship event in 2003 and 2004 respectively, each captured a gold bracelet. After decades of unofficially being tagged as “the world’s best all-around poker player,” Chip Reese won the biggest buy-in event in WSOP history and finally validated the designation. Then, there was poker ambassador Mike Sexton, who started this year’s tournament off with a resounding victory in the Tournament of Champions.

John Gale’s victory was all the more pleasing to watch because he so genuinely wanted the gold bracelet – far more than the monetary value of the $374,849 in prize money. It’s often a cliché to mention that a WSOP gold bracelet means more than the money. But in Gale’s case, it’s truthful.

“It’s every poker player’s dream,” Gale said. “It means so much more now because I came so close (last year). I really do feel bad for anyone that gets close and does not win. But, to now come back and enjoy this moment makes it all the sweeter.”

After 553 players had been eliminated over two long days, nine players took the final table on the Rio poker stage. The nine finalists comprised a very tough lineup, most notably Joe Hachem the reigning world poker champion. When play began, John Gale was a distant third in the chip count, trailing by more than 3 to 1 to the chip leader, Alex Jacob.

Lee Markholt, $128,000, 1
Maros Lechman, $101,000, 2
Joe Hachem, $64,000, 3
Jeffrey Roberson, $24,000, 4
John Gale, $134,000, 5
Lee Grove, $66,000, 6
Alex Jacob, $524,000, 7
Kevin Ho, $287,000, 8
Greg Alston, $80,000, 9

Greg Alston was the first player to go out. On his final hand, Alston tried to steal the pot with a pre-flop re-raise holding king-four. But the initial raiser, Kevin Ho, had more than enough chips to make the call, and did so holding king-seven. Ho made two pair to a board of K-10-6-7-9, and Alston was eliminated. Alston, who had been playing tournament poker for nearly a decade, including the last six years at the WSOP, collected $25,852 for ninth place.

Lee Markholt went out next. Once again, Kevin Ho was the hatchet man. The Washington State-based poker player went all-in with ace-seven against Ho’s king-deuce. When the final board showed Q-3-2-8-9, a lowly pair of deuces had eliminated Markholt. Eighth place paid $38,778.

Jeffrey Roberson finished in seventh place when he was severely short-stacked and moved all-in under the gun holding queen-three. Kevin Ho eliminated his third consecutive opponent when he called the raise with pocket aces, which crushed the weaker hand. Roberson, a home builder from Missouri, received $51,704.

Lee Grove was down to his last 20,000 when he moved in with ace-seven. Joe Hachem called the small raise and flipped over king-five. The final board showed J-J-6-K-3, giving Hachem a pair of kings. Grove collected sixth-place prize money totaling $64,630.

Many thought this was Alex Jacob’s tournament to lose. He arrived with a sizable chip lead at this, his second final table this year, but suffered through a horrific final hour which knocked him out a disappointing fifth. After losing most of his chips on a number of crippling hands, Jacob went out with a pair of nines against Joe Hachem’s pocket queens. Jacob, a graduate of Yale University, received $77,556.

Down to four players, there was a hand that was as enlightening as it was dramatic. World champ Hachem was all-in against Kevin Ho and was in serious trouble. He was down to a single card. With his tournament life on the line, the entire room standing and holding their collective breaths, a queen spiked on the river and saved Hachem -- at least temporarily. As the crowd roared, Hachem made what unfortunately an all-too rare revelation of overt sportsmanship. As he heard the cheers around him, Hachem saw his opponent looking down and dejected. With the wave of his arm, Hachem asked for stillness from the crowd. It was a respectful and dignified gesture that reveals more about Hachem as a champion and as a person than any million dollar prize or gold bracelet.

Sadly, Hachem’s good graces did not translate into what could have been his second WSOP victory. He went out a short time later on a horrible beat. On the key hand, Hachem moved all-in holding king-nine after the flop came K-4-3. John Gale had ace-three and called with the small pair. The turn brought a blank, but an ace on the river stunned the crowd, knocked out the champ, and rocketed Gale up into the chip lead.

“Sorry Joe,” John Gale would say later in a post-tournament interview. “I knew I did not have the best of it when I called. But I decided to gamble to have the chance to knock out a great player.” For Hachem, fourth place paid $90,482.

Kevin Ho went out in third place when he was all-in with an outside straight draw holding jack-nine to the flop -- which came A-10-8. John Gale had ace-jack, for top pair. Two blanks sealed Ho’s fate – which paid $103,408.

Heads-up play between John Gale and Maros Lechman lasted 89 hands. The chip lead changed four times. Both players had decisive chip advantages at various points, up 5 to 1 at times. But neither player could hold the lead for long. Finally after three hours and 45 minutes of intense play, Gale caught a rush of cards and had his stubborn opponent down to the felt.

The final hand of the tournament came when Lechman’s ace-six lost to Gale’s king-nine. The final board showed 10-9-7-5-2. Gale’s pair of nines won the pot. Maros Lechman finished the tournament in second place and earned $197,768.

Had he won, Maros “Premier” Lechman would have been the youngest player ever to win at the WSOP. At 21 years and three weeks of age, Lechman would have eclipsed Jeff Madsen’s record (set earlier this week) by 20 days.

Gale was tearful after his well-deserved, crowd-pleasing victory. He hugged many well-wishers in the stands and it took several minutes for Gale to compose himself for the post-tournament festivities. True to his genial nature, Gale complimented his opponents -- especially Lechman in heads-up play.

Poker is a game of peaks and valleys. Many valleys, in fact. Only one player in each tournament can see the winner’s view from the summit. As Gentleman John Gale discovered, wallowing in the World Series valley for a while makes the summit’s view all the more magnificent when it finally comes. Oh, and how magnificent the view is.


Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #29):
Total Entries to Date: 25,994
Total Prize Money Distributed: $54,079,307

WSOP Event 28 - $5,000 seven-card stud

Benjamin Lin Wins His First-Ever WSOP Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 182
Total Prize Money: $855,400

Official Results:
1. William Lin, Rockville, MD, $256,620
2. Sean Sheikhan, Las Vegas, NV, $171,080
3. Cyndy Violette, Los Angeles, CA, $102,648
4. Allen Kessler, Huntington Valley, PA, $76,986
5. "Miami" John Cernuto, Miami, FL, $55,601
6. Patrick Bueno, Paris, France, $38,493
7. Lupe Munquia, Odessa, TX, $29,939
8. Mike Caro, Shell Knob, MO, $21,385
9. Russ Salzer, New York, NY, $12,831
10. John Womack, Lauderhill, FL, $12,831
11. Brian Goddard, Huntington Beach, CA, $12,831
12. Kevin Tang, Alhambra, CA, $12,831
13. David Singer, Mamaroneck, NY, $12,831
14. David Grey, Henderson, NV, $12,831
15. Brian Nadell, Las Vegas, NV, $12,831
16. Lonnie Heimowitz, Monticello, NY, $12,831

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – When play at the final table of the $5,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship became three-handed, a few bystanders glanced at the remaining players up on the main stage at the Rio. They had the following exchange:

Spectator 1: Who’s left?
Spectator 2: I see Cyndy Violette up there.
Spectator 1: Who else?
Spectator 2: There’s Sean “Sheik” Sheikhan.
Spectator 1: What about the other guy?
Spectator 2: I don’t know. He’s just some other guy.

Benjamin Lin represents all the “other guys” who play poker. He epitomizes many thousands of mostly-unknown names and faces who plow through huge tournament fields, make final tables, yet are not given the attention and admiration they probably deserve.

While television and media focus mostly on the poker superstars, many “other guys” (and ladies, too) are out there day in and day out fighting for prize money and respect – not necessarily in that order.

Three days ago, Benjamin Lin walked into the Rio Las Vegas as a 31-year-old accountant from suburban Washington-DC, who liked to play poker in his spare time. After winning the Seven-Card Stud championship at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s best Light, Lin is walking out of the Rio as the latest WSOP gold bracelet winner. He pulverized a highly-competitive field of 182 entrants who each put up five grand in what has become known as the “world championship” of one of poker’s most long-established games.

After 174 players had been eliminated over two days, eight players took the final table on the Rio poker stage. The eight finalists comprised a formidable lineup. Two were former WSOP gold bracelet winners – “Miami John” Cernuto with three wins, and Cyndy Violette with one victory.

This final table was exceptional for at least one reason. Perhaps no single individual has done more for poker during his lifetime than Mike ‘The Mad Genius” Caro. The former hippie used to destroy lowball draw games that were popular in California during the 1970s. Later, he started writing about poker and became one of the game’s top theorists. Caro played against (and beat) a computer, devised numerous strategies that helped thousands of poker players, and appeared on national television numerous times as the game’s top spokesman. In the 1990s, he founded “Mike Caro University,” which held classes at the Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles. Books, magazine articles, and seminars turned losers into winners. Yet for all of his contributions to poker science over the years, many newcomers still do not know of Caro’s profound impact on the game.

In the stud event, Caro -- who rarely plays in poker tournaments -- was making his first WSOP final table appearance in twenty years. Unfortunately, “The Mad Genius” was the first player to bust out. He lost holding (Q-10) 10-K-5-2 (X) against (K-10) A-K-3-7 (3) – which made two pair. Caro collected $21,385 for eighth place, which was his third cash at this year’s World Series.

Lupe Munquia went out next. Munquia, who owns a paint and body shop in Odessa, Texas, crashed in seventh place when his split kings were topped by two pair. Munquia had (K-4) K-2-A-10 (3) which lost to Allen Kessler’s (J-3) A-8-3-8 (6). Munquia received $29,939.

Patrick Bueno was the next player to be eliminated. The businessman from Paris, France went out on a diamond draw, which missed. Meanwhile, his opponent Benjamin Lin made a lowly pair of nines which was enough to take down the pot. Bueno was sixth – good for $38,493.

On the very next hand, Benjamin’s chip stack increased even more when he knocked out veteran poker superstar “Miami John” Cernuto. “Miami John,” who once worked as an air traffic controller before becoming a full-time professional, went off the radar screen when his buried tens failed to improve. Cernuto had (10-10) Q-3-J-2 (8) which lost to Lin’s (Q-8) Q-J-A-5 (4). Fifth place paid $76,986.

Allen Kessler has been playing on the tournament circuit for five years. The Temple University graduate has cashed many times and has made it to several final tables, but he has yet to achieve a WSOP win. Kessler’s attempt came up short again when his split tens improved to two pair, losing to Cyndy Violette’s higher-two pair. The final hand showed Kessler with (K-10) 10-3-5-4 (4) against Violette’s (J-6) 2-J-Q-K (Q). Kessler collected $76,986 for fourth place.

When play became three-handed, Cyndy Violette had to like the circumstances. Violette, who has been playing professionally for 15 years and who is one of the East Coast’s top Seven-Card Stud players, was competing for gold bracelet Number Two. This marks the third consecutive year she has made it to a WSOP final table. Violette was the early aggressor but just as it appeared she might run over the table, her two opponents began playing back at her and started taking down big pots. On her final hand, Violette was dealt several high cards and missed a flush draw, which knocked her out of the tournament. Violette’s (Q-9) A-10-7-K (X) with four hearts was cracked by Lin’s (K-K) 8-6-6-3 (X) which made two pair. Cyndy Violette received $102,648 for third place.

Sean “Sheik” Sheikhan has been described as poker’s lightening rod. He certainly electrifies any game he plays in – mostly the world’s highest-limit cash games. Sheikhan did his best to unnerve his opponent with table talk, daring his adversary to call when at a competitive disadvantage and at other times simply making it clear to everyone within listening distance that the “Sheik” was the better poker player. Unfortunately, Sheikhan ran bad in heads-up play, often starting with a solid hand which turned into a loser.

Sheikhan lost the final hand of the night when his (9-6) K-A-K-J (2) was snapped off by Lin when he caught an inside straight on seventh-street. Lin ended up with (9-9) 6-8-10-5 (7) – good for the ten-high straight. Sheikhan, who was born in Iran and now lives in Las Vegas, collected $171,080 for second place.

Benjamin Lin took his place the elite class of 396 players (out of over a 100 million worldwide) who have won a WSOP gold bracelet over the entire 37-year history of the world’s premier poker spectacle. Lin’s winnings amounted to $256,620.

Winning an event at the World Series changes everything. Perhaps the next time he makes it to a final table heads-up, the conversation will now describe Benjamin Lin as a poker champion – playing against the other guy.

Note: “X” denotes unknown card.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #28):
Total Entries to Date: 25,432
Total Prize Money Distributed: $52,786,707

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

WSOP Event 26B - $1,500 pot-limit Omaha rebuy

'E-Fro' Puts on a Show

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 158
Number of Re-Buys: 472
Total Prize Money: $908,100

Note: Event #26 was split into two tournaments. Both are Pot-Limit Omaha events. 26-A is single-elimination. 26-B is with re-buys. Both are official WSOP gold bracelet events. For reporting purposes, they are listed as 26-A and 26-B.

Official Results:
1. Eric “E-Fro” Froehlich, Washington, DC, $299,675
2. Sherkhan Farnood, Kabul, Afghanistan, $165,274
3. Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV, $90,810
4. Kevin O'Donnell, Scottsdale, AZ, $72,648
5. Bruno Fitoussi, Paris, France, $54,486
6. Matt Overstreet, Henderson, NV, $45,405
7. Richard Freire, Miami, FL, $36,324
8. Rafi Amit, Holon, Israel, $27,243
9. Ayaz Mahmood, Houston, TX, $18,162
10. Robert Wisiak, Queens, NY, $12,713
11. Davood Mehrmand, Frankfurt, Germany, $12,713
12. Daniel Harmetz, Sacro, CA, $12,713
13. Antanas Guoga, Lithuania, $10,897
14. Peter Costa, Leichton, $10,897
15. Jeffrey Lisandro, Santa Barbara, IT, $10,897
16. David Halpern, New Orleans, LA, $9,081
17. Greg Worker, Onsteo, MI, $9,081
18. Galen Kester, Senatobia, MS, $9,081, ,

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Move over Phil Ivey. Move over Daniel Negreanu. Move over Allen Cunningham. There’s a new kid in town. Eric Froehlich, aged 22-years and four months, became the youngest player to ever win two WSOP gold bracelets. Last year, “E-Fro” won his first championship and became the youngest WSOP winner ever. However, earlier this week, an even more youthful Jeff Madsen eclipsed Froehlich as the youngest gold bracelet winner (by two months) – making “E-Fro” the forgotten man, at least for a few days.

Froehlich topped a tough field of 158 players and won $299,675 in the Pot-Limit Omaha championship. A whopping 472 re-buys pushed the total prize pool close to a million dollars. The special re-buy event was added to this year’s schedule at the World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

After 149 players had been eliminated, nine players took the final table on the Rio stage. The nine finalists comprised a very tough lineup, including three former gold bracelet winners – Chau Giang (3 previous wins), Rafi Amit (1 previous win), and Eric Froehlich (1 previous win). Players were eliminated in the following order:

Ayaz Mahmood, a Pakistani-born poker pro now living in Houston, has been a common sight at final tables in recent years. Mahmood wasn’t able to generate much momentum in this group however, as he went out with A-J-9-6 to his opponent’s 7-7-5-4. The final board showed 9-6-3-Q-5 giving O’Donnell a straight. Mahmood received $18,162 in prize money.

Israeli-born Rafi Amit went out next. His 8-6-5-2 lost to A-7-4-3 when the final board showed J-4-2-4-3. Kevin O’Donnell caught runner-runner to make a full house, putting Amit out in eighth place. This was his second trip to the final table at this year’s WSOP. Amit was paid $27,243.

Richard “Knucklehead” Freire made things interesting for the crowd. By far the most animated player at the table, Freire made it seem he was playing in his weekly home poker game. He repeatedly stood up from the table and jokingly exchanged words with his rivals. But no amount of personality could save Knucklehead when his Q-5-3-2 was hammered by Chau Giang’s Q-Q-6-4. The final board showed 8-4-2-7-Q, giving Giang trip-queens. Seventh place paid $36,324.

Matt Overstreet went out next when his Q-Q-9-3 was dominated by Giang’s K-K-J-5. Giang ended up making trip-jacks this time when the final board showed A-J-2-A-J. Overstreet, a recent University of Mississippi graduate, hit the bricks with $45,405 for sixth place. Overstreet also cashed in the main event last year.

Parisian poker player and club owner Bruno Fitoussi was eliminated when his K-8-7-5 lost to Kevin O’Donnell’s A-J-8-3. The final board showed J-9-5-6-4 with three diamonds to go with the two diamonds in O’Donnell’s hand. Fitoussi, who won the World Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2001 did not get a chance to go one-on-one in this event. However, he did receive $54,486 for fifth place.

Kevin O’Donnell enjoyed the chip lead, but then suffered a devastating serious of blows that knocked him out of the tournament. O’Donnell tried to make a move with a straight and a flush draw when he re-raised all-in on the turn holding K-Q-J-2 (with two clubs). The board showed 10-8-7-4 with two clubs. Sherkhan Farnood called the large raise holding a very vulnerable straight (A-9-6-5), which held up. O’Donnell pocketed $72,648 for fourth place.

Chau Giang has been a master of Pot-Limit Omaha for over a decade. The three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner was shooting for win Number Four, but came up short. The Vietnamese-born poker pro (of Chinese decent) who frequently plays in the highest-limit cash games in the world, was knocked out when his A-8-4-2 was topped by Eric Froehlich’s mediocre 10-7-6-4. Giang did not have many chips left on his last hand, so Froehlich made the right call and then won the hand when the final board showed A-5-4-3-8 – good for a straight. Giang’s take from the event amounted to $90,810.

Eric Froehlich won his second WSOP gold bracelet at 3:17 am in front of a sparse crowd gathered around the final table. Given the late hour and so many other games and tournaments held in recent days, it’s understandable that few people were around to witness his second win. Yet, they may have very well witnessed the second chapter in what could prove to be a very long and highly successful poker career.

Froehlich’s moment of glory came when he was dealt Q-7-7-6 against Sherkhan Farnood’s K-K-6-3. Froehlich flopped a set and then made a full-house when the final board of the night showed 10-7-5-J-J.

Sherkhan Farnood finished as the runner up. Certainly Afghanistan’s most accomplished poker player, Farnood works as a banker. He deposited $165,274 for second place. Meanwhile, Eric Froehlich took center stage for the second time in two years.

When asked which of the two victories is sweeter, Froehlich reminisced back to last year’s win. “The first one is sweeter,” Froehlich admitted. When asked if a second WSOP win puts him into the same class with similar youthful champions such as Ivey, Negreanu, and Cunningham, Froehlich was more modest. “They are all great players,” he said. “Sure, I would like their respect and to be in that class as a player. But I still have a long way to go to earn that.”

Nevertheless, Froehlich says that is determined to make poker history in the years ahead. “I’m looking to pass Johnny (Chan) and Doyle (Brunson) in nine years,” Froehlich said half-jokingly. Chan and Brunson are currently the all-time leaders in most WSOP wins, with ten each.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #26-B):
Total Entries to Date: 23,124
Total Prize Money Distributed: $49,029,317

WSOP Event 26A - $1,500 pot-limit Omaha

Ralph Perry Wins His First WSOP Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 525
Total Prize Money: $716,625

Note: Event #26 was split into two tournaments. Both are Pot-Limit Omaha events. 26-A is single-elimination. 26-B is with re-buys. Both are official WSOP gold bracelet events. For reporting purposes, they are listed as 26-A and 26-B.

Official Results:
1. Ralph Perry, Las Vegas, NV, $207,817
2. George Abdallah, Houston, TX, $109,644
3. Brian Kocur, Baltimore, MD, $57,330
4. Luzhe Zhang, Vienna, Austria, $50,164
5. Ray “Rooster” Lynn, Alexandria, VA, $42,998
6. Spiro Mitroksotas, W Yarmouth, MA, $35,831
7. Frank Henderson, Houston, TX, $28,665
8. Jason Newburger, Vernon Hills, IL, $21,499
9. Russell Salzer, Hollywood, FL, $14,333
10. Gary Wooldridge, Houston, TX, $7,883
11. Ryan Hartmann, Mpls, MN, $7,883
12. Daniel Mowczan, Sterling Heights, MI, $7,883
13. Dmitriy Kirin, Holland, PA, $6,450
14. Stephen Mazer, Potomac, MD, $6,450
15. Darryl Dauenhauer, Laughlin, NV, $6,450
16. Mike O'Malley, Upland, CA, $5,016
17. Peter Gould, London, UK, $5,016
18. Steve McBride, Scott Depot, WV, $5,016
19. David Williams, Las Vegas, NV, $3,583
20. Juha Helppi, Hellsen, Finland, $3,583
21. Berry Johnston, Bethnany, OK, $3,583
22. Jacky Chitwood, Celina, TN, $3,583
23. Robert Darrah, Temecula, CA, $3,583
24. Mandy Celara, Chicago, IL, $3,583
25. Jordan Morgan, Norman, OK, $3,583
26. Tonio Scali, New York, NY, $3,583
27. Trung Ong, Albuquerque, NM, $3,583
28. Donnacha O’Dea, Ireland, $2,508
29. Mark Taylor, Colorado Springs, CO, $2,508
30. Stephen Hearst, Manhattan Beach, CA, $2,508
31. Keith Wiener, Hoboken, NJ, $2,508
32. Jonathan Zuchowsky, Jupiter, FL, $2,508
33. Kiu Davis, Plano, TX, $2,508
34. Jason Kook, Fountain Vly, CA, $2,508
35. David "Devil Fish" Ulliott, UK, $2,508
36. Alexander Krarchenko, UK, Hull, $2,508
37. Kirill Gerasimov, Moscow, Russia, $2,150
38. Reginald Simmons, Tampa, FL, $2,150
39. Dennis Benavides, Corpus Christi, TX, $2,150
40. Ronald McMillan, Las Vegas, NV, $2,150
41. Dao Bac, Garden Grove, CA, $2,150
42. Hilbert Shirey, Winter Haven, FL, $2,150
43. Paul Jackson, Birmingham, England, $2,150
44. Michael Chajka, Camillus, NV, $2,150
45. John "Miami John" Cernuto, Las Vegas, NV, $2,150
46. Rogelio Garcia, Tuscon, AZ, $1,792
47. Jonathan Krela, Thunder Bay, ON, $1,792
48. Evan Madery, E. Meadow, NY, $1,792
49. Men "The Master" Nguyen, Bell Gardens, CA, $1,792
50. Ted Lawson, Plantation, FL, $1,792
51. Jan Sorensen, Lemassol, Cyprus, $1,792
52. Tim Frostad, Saskatchewan, CA, $1,792
53. Matthew Rashbrook, Victoria, BC, $1,792
54. Humberto Brenes, Coral Gables, FL, $598
55. Iwan Jones, NA, $597
56. Scott Levy, Frisco, TX, $597, ,

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – “The Butterfly Effect” is common expression which explains the unbreakable connection between all earthly things. It was first coined several years ago as a scientific concept. The question posed was, “Does a butterfly flapping its wings in Kansas create a typhoon in the South Pacific?” Since even a tiny butterfly affects the air current with the flapping of its wings, it then follows that a storm cycle months later and thousands of miles away is a distant by-product of the butterfly’s initial motion.

“The Butterfly Effect” also applies to poker. Unfortunately, many fail to grasp its nuances. For instance, even the most subtle actions affect the outcome of a poker tournament. Consider the fact that any motion whatsoever – a laugh, a sneeze, or even the most ordinary of common distractions – will cause a poker dealer to shuffle a deck of cards in a slightly different way. Just one card out of place at any time, by consequence, changes the entire sequence of cards which follow the rest of the tournament. Since the actions of one table very likely are seen and heard by players at adjoining tables, those secondary tables too, are affected by the initial motion. Then, the next tables are affected also, and so on. Sure, poker is a game of skill. But it’s also quite possible that an innocuous chuckle by the player in Seat Five on Day One at Table 164 at the 2005 World Series of Poker influenced the outcome of the biggest poker tournament in history. Joe Hachem’s victory was a combination of billions of figurative butterfly wings flapping, combined with the talent to make a win possible.

Rafael “Ralph” Perry was born in Russia. During his childhood, Perry’s family immigrated to Israel. At the age of 17, Perry arrived in the United States. Perry’s butterfly effect took place 15 years ago in Brooklyn, New York. The 25-year-old was invited into a pool hall one night and discovered a poker game going on in the back room. Perry decided to sit down in the game, and his life was never the same after that.

“The game was Seven-Card Stud,” Perry remembered fondly. “I decided to play. I played for an hour. I ended up winning like twenty dollars. I played every single hand I loved the game so much.”

After his win, Perry was invited by friends to go to a local card club in Brooklyn, where he quickly became a regular player. When poker was legalized in Atlantic City, Perry started playing there. Then, he heard about a place where there were even more poker games – Las Vegas.

“When I first came to Las Vegas, my intention was to get a job as a blackjack dealer. But, I never had to go out and get a job,” Perry said. “I started playing in low-limit stud games. It was all I knew how to play. From that day forward, I started playing stud.”

One afternoon, Perry was sitting down inside a local cardroom where the action was slow. “I looked over at the next table and saw massive piles of chips in the center of the table. The pots were monsters,” Perry said. “I asked the floorman, ‘what game is that?’ He said, ‘Texas Hold’em.’ I asked, ‘How do you play it?’ They told me and I learned how to play.”

Sure enough, that second butterfly effect created a typhoon a few years later. Perry won his way into the 2002 World Series of Poker’s championship event and ended up finishing third. “I had a horrible WSOP up until the main event that year,” Perry recalled. “Then, I finished third and won half-a-million dollars. That was the most money I ever had.”

Four long years have since passed since Perry was thrust in the spotlight. He has made more than his share of cashes and final tables in tournaments, but for all his financial success, Perry had yet to earn a breakthrough tournament victory. That would all change on July 18, 2006.

Ralph Perry was one 525 players who entered the Pot-Limit Omaha championship at this year’s World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’ Best Light. After an initial 516 players were eliminated, that left nine players to compete at the final table. Players were eliminated, as follows:

Russ Salzer, a.k.a. “The Muscle,” finished in ninth place. Salzer, who enjoyed a marvelous WSOP last year, continues to demonstrate his rock-solid tournament skills. Salzer, from New York City, received $14,333.

Jason Newburger was the next player to exit. The 22-year-old student-athlete who is currently attending Bradley University, was playing Pot-Limit Omaha for the first time. Remarkably, he finished eighth and collected $21,499.

Frank Henderson was the only former WSOP gold bracelet winner at the final table. “Hollywood” Henderson won his poker title back in 1989. His bid for bracelet number two came up well short. Henderson earned $28,665 for seventh place.

Next, Spiro Mitrokostas, a graduate of Tufts University (near Boston) and ardent Red Sox fan, struck out and finished sixth. Mitrokostas collected $35,831.

Ray “Rooster” Lynn did not have much to crow about. Lynn was the next player eliminated. The landscaper who now lives in the Washington, DC area received $42,998 in prize money.

A short time later Zhang Luzhe, from Vienna, Austria, waltzed away from the table in fourth place. Luzhe, who regularly plays in big cash games in Europe, added $50,164 to his poker bankroll.

Down to just three players, Brian Kocur lost his final pot of the tournament to Ralph Perry. Kocur, who is in the mortgage and real estate business, cashed out for $57,330.

George Abdallah has been playing poker for nearly a decade. The Houston restaurant owner has enjoyed several cashes and major tournament wins, including first place in a WSOP Circuit Pot-Limit Omaha event this year, in addition to a fourth-place finish at the WSOP Circuit championship held in New Orleans in May. Abdallah wanted this gold bracelet in the worst way, in order to join his mentors Sammy Farha and John Bonetti – two Houston-based champion poker players who have coached Abdallah. But Abdallah was at a sizable chip disadvantage from the start of heads-up play and was never able to seize control of the table away from his rival.

The final hand of the tournament was dealt out when Ralph Perry started with K-J-10-2 against Abdallah’s Q-10-4-3. The flop came 10-7-3 giving Abdallah two-pair. He moved all-in and was in the lead as Perry called. A nine on the turn gave Perry a straight draw. Then, an eight on the river completed Perry’s jack-high straight. Abdallah was forced to settle for second place, which paid $109,644. Despite one of his biggest cashes ever, there was no satisfaction on Abdallah’s face.

With the well-earned victory, Ralph Perry won his first WSOP gold bracelet. He received $207,817 in prize money. As Perry posed for photographers in front of a massive pile of chips and was interviewed by the press, several poker players who were playing in another poker tournament across the room glanced over at the newest WSOP champion. Dozens of conversations ensued. Shuffles were altered. All of poker history changed.

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #26-A):
Total Entries to Date: 22,966
Total Prize Money Distributed: $48,121,217

WSOP Event 25 - $2,000 no-limit hold'em shootout

David “Dragon” Pham Wins His Second WSOP Gold Bracelet

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 600
Total Prize Money: $1,092,000
Defending Champion (2005): None (New Event)

Official Results:
1. David “Dragon” Pham, Cerritos, CA, $240,222
2. Charlie Sewell, Oklahoma City, OK, $124,488
3. Roland DeWolf, London, UK, $65,520
4. Reno Williamson, Mooresville, IN, $49,140
5. Chad Layne, Henderson, NV, $43,680
6. Jason DeWitt, South Bend, IN, $38,220
7. David Bach, Athens, GA, $32,760
8. Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf, Los Angeles, CA, $27,300
9. Adam Kagin, Henderson, NV, $21,840
10. Jeff Heiberg, Buffalo, WY, $16,380
11. Kathy Liebert, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
12. Yosh Nakano, Long Beach, CA, $4,805
13. John Kincaid, Omaha, NE, $4,805
14. William Durkee, Pitssburgh, PA, $4,805
15. Mike Cooper, San Francisco, CA, $4,805
16. Chris Clampitt, Irmo, SC, $4,805
17. David Singer, Momaroneck, NY, $4,805
18. Frank Blumlem, NA, $4,805
19. Robert Goldfarb, Scottsdale, AZ, $4,805
20. Mike Sexton, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
21. James Worth, Oakville, CANADA, $4,805
22. Alan Adler, Bakersfield, CA, $4,805
23. Tom Franklin, Gulfport, MS, $4,805
24. Kevin Phillipson, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
25. Carlo Cintrone, Gafeshead, IRELAND, $4,805
26. William Lin, Denver, CO, $4,805
27. Marek Kolk, NA, $4,805
28. Chris Smith, New York, NY, $4,805
29. Vlad Mezheritsky, Brooklyn, NY, $4,805
30. Blair Rodman, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
31. Aaron Ogus, Redmond, VA, $4,805
32. Ian Woodley, London, UK, $4,805
33. Andreas Krause, Heilbrown, GERMANY, $4,805
34. Terry Ballew, Reno, NV, $4,805
35. Thung Huynh, Westminster, CA, $4,805
36. Gerald Rhoades, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
37. Samuel Korman, NA, $4,805
38. Joseph Neiman, Teaneck, NJ, $4,805
39. Tobias Christensen, Aarhus, DENMARK, $4,805
40. Gary Hammer, San Francisco, CA, $4,805
41. Roy Vandersluis, London, UK, $4,805
42. Joe Pelton, Newport Beach, CA, $4,805
43. Mario Esquerra, Whittier, CA, $4,805
44. Emil Bayan, Fremont, CA, $4,805
45. Sverre K. Sundbo, San Francisco, CA, $4,805
46. Mark Warner, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
47. Tracy Scala, Boca Raton, FL, $4,805
48. Josh Arieh, Atlanta, GA, $4,805
49. Todd Brunson, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
50. Justin Tran, Sacramento, CA, $4,805
51. Jair Beltran, Vancouver, CANADA, $4,805
52. Marcel Luske, Amsterdam, $4,805
53. Michael Davis, Spokane, WA, $4,805
54. Mark Seif, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
55. Gavin Griffin, Shorewood, IL, $4,805
56. James Woods, Beverly Hills, CA, $4,805
57. Mariello Del Grosso, NA, $4,805
58. Jason Fishbein, Chicago, IL, $4,805
59. Christopher Ferguson, Las Vegas, NV, $4,805
60. Ramzi Al-Rashid, Austin, TX, $4,805
61. Shane Littlefield, Manchseter,