WSOP 2009. Info, Chip Counts, & & stuff. Feed your wild side.

[Karabiner]

Gonna be tough for Praz - the other table has more than twice the number of chips that his does.

According to Marc Convey they're pretty much all tez though.

Wish I was that tez !!

We all do. I think we can take Mr Convey's words with a pinch of salt.

Or trust his word given that he's watched that tournament consistently for the last three days.

Always amuses me when poker updaters call players tez, while they are walking around with pen & paper in their hands instead of cards.

+1 updater's should update not comment on standard.

Meanwhile....ONE TIME PARKER!

I don't know I got involved in this but feel I need to comment.

Tikay, we've probably said ten words to each other our entire lives so how you have the opinion that my words should be "taken with a pinch of salt" I do not know. I also think you'd be hard pushed to find someone in the industry who has a bad word to say about me so I don't think you can be taking the words out of the mouth of someone else.  So I do not take kindly to you having any options about me and my character.

Flushy, you were only to happy to banter with me on the rail at the PPT Final about the shocking standard of play there. I don't remember you telling me that, as a live updater, I should keep my opions to myself. And your statement that "If my entire life bankroll was the buy in of this tournament, I'd still play" is a lot more degrading and out of place to anything I've ever said about the standard of play at a tournament.

My opinions about either event were not posted in a blog, were just mentioned in passing conversations to friends. I stand by what I said to Homer about the 6-max and Praz and Peter Gould will, I'm sure, agree.

Marc

Hi Marc,

Thank you for taking the trouble, & being honest enough, to openly respond.

I think you have misunderstood my point here, & I'm going to explain why.

Before I do, you referred to me having "options" about you, & I assume you mean't "opinions". Either way, please just re-examine what I said, & to whom.

Floppy suggested the players were "tez", & backed that up by saying those were your words, not his.

Now, you need to know that I'm "fairly old", & I expect you are of "normal" age. My generation have a default setting of respecting people, a stance which sits oddly in a modern world where everyone disses others.

So, in over a decade of poker, whenever I have seen players described as donkeys, muppets, fish, tez, it sits uncomfortably with me. I just don't like insulting fellow players in that manner, except in individual specific cases where they deserve it. And this is "my" forum, upon which I have tried to impose my, admittedly Victorian, moral standards. To describe half of the remaining field in a Bracelet Event as "tez" troubled me, to be honest. Not to the point of being upset, but it just sat wrong with me.

So, quite politely, I responded to the insult on these "tez" players by trying to give some balance, & suggesting that perhaps that description, uttered by you, "should be taken with a pinch of salt".

It was not a barb aimed at you. It was not rude, it was not an opinion on the integrity of your view. It's simply what I do on this Forum, always, since it started - try to dilute, gently, unfair criticism of individuals. When threads got hot on here, we used to say "weather been grand today, eh?" as a means of cooling things down. "taken with a pinch of slt" was just balance, because I just felt those "tez" players, on maybe the greatest moment of their lifes, (truly), deserved a little more respect. That's all.

"Unfair"? Well, they may wel, be "tez", & I won't argue with you. They might be complete donkeys, in fact. But they might also be players who are experiencing the very highest moments of their poker "career" - on the very edge of a WSOP Bracelet Final Table, & perhaps even a Bracelet. I'd rather like to rejoice in that wonderful moment, whoever wins, rather than just say "pah, he was tez".

Now I happen to think, for those guys, that that's rather "nice". And I know, I know, "nice" is pretty uncool these days. But I like nice, it makes me feel all warm & cooey-wooey. Dissing & denegrating folks, insulting fellow players by suggesting they are "tez", makes me shudder. I know, I don't really belong in poker, where insulting all & sundry is the order of the day, but I make a good living from poker, so I'll hang in a little longer.

That view is not confined to you, or to Flops, it's to everyone. Elsewhere on this thread a guy got described as a "fat american arsehole". Why? because he had the temerity to bust "our man", Praz Bansi, who is a friend of mine, as it happens. Our "fat" friend went in ahead, mind you, but got himself insulted because he busted "our man". That's never, ever, going to sit comfortably with me. In fact, I hated that description. Because I just don't think we should show such lack of respect to our fellow players, thats all. If the "fat arsehole" was you, or your Dad, would you be happy to see him so described? I don't think so.

It's a generation thing. I do respect, as almost everyone of my age does. But the internet has almost killed respect. Play Online Poker, & see decent people called all sorts, & have death or cancer wished upon them. Because they won a hand of poker. It's puerile, & it's disrespectful.

So there you go. If you think I was insulting you, I gladly & unreservedly apologise. But I assure you, I was not. Check on my last 1,000, or even 10,000 Posts. You won't find me insulting too many folks. I don't actually know if I know you - & it matters not. I had no wish to insult you, & I don't think I did. It's just how I try to stem the ever-rising floodtide of insults against individuals. And it's why I shall soon abandon Forums, because these day, everyone thinks its fine to insult anyone & everyone. In my little world, it's not.

I wish you a successful WSOP, & I hope to see you there shortly.

You can take my comments with a pinch of salt, too, if you wish.

Have a nice day. Which means exactly what it says. 


.

Quality postage sir  

[AndrewT]

The reason I called that guy a fat American arsehole was not just because he knocked out Praz. I'd been watching the final table video feed and from what I saw of him I'd stand by all three adjectives.There was something obnoxious about him.

[redsimon]

Great post Tony

[tikay]

So, back to the results.

Stale news by now, near-misses for Praz & Peter, but no cigar.

   2009 World Series of Poker         
   Final Results         
   Event #   9      
   Buy In   $1,500       
   Date   05/06/2009      
   Game   No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed      
   Number of Entries   1459      
   Net Prize Pool   $1,991,535       
   First Place Prize   $428,259      
   Players to Cash   144      
            
   Final Results         
            
   Name   Prize   City   State/Country
1   Aldridge, Ken   $428,259   Pleasant Garden   NC
2   Cavella, Carman   $264,814   Turnersville   NJ
3   Gould, Peter   $170,953   London   United Kingdom
4   Yockey, Bryce   $115,230   Torrance   
5   Furey, Charles   $80,896   Bridgewater   NJ
6   Minaya, Manelic   $59,049   Tampa    FL
7   Bansi, Praz   $42,320   London   United Kingdom
8   Kenney, Bryn   $42,320   Long Beach   NY
9   Lipkin, Robert   $30,311   Buffalogrove    IL
10   Mcnally, Steven   $30,311   Henderson   NV
11   Puzantyan, Allan   $21,707   Beaconsfield   QC
12   Henke, Ramin   $21,707   Kornwestheim   Germany
13   Firestone, Robert   $15,394   Santa Barbara   
14   Densing, John   $15,394   Blue Point   NY
15   Radonjic, Peter   $15,394   Coquitlam   BC, Canada
16   Parille, Joseph   $15,394   Las Vegas   NV
17   Yerushalaim, Benjamin   $15,394   Las Vegas   NV
18   Mathieu, Clavet   $15,394   QB   BC, Canada
19   Sukkar, Edward   $10,973   Shelby Township    MI
20   Crane, Ward   $10,973   Berea   OH
21   Waxman, Matthew   $10,973   ParklanD    FL
22   Heroy, William   $10,973   Charlotte   NC
23   Mackoff, Jonas   $10,973   North Vancouver   BC, Canada
24   Brown, Alan   $10,973   Angus   
25   Melnick, Jason   $9,021   Brooklyn   NY
26   Baker, David   $9,021   Rochester Hills   MI
27   Fox, David   $9,021   Coram   NY
28   Burkholder, Troy   $9,021   Imperial Beach   
29   Sass, Alan   $9,021   Las Vegas   NV
30   Gavatin, Mats   $9,021   Lidingo   Sweden
31   Furst, Rafael   $7,886   Henderson   NV
32   Brown, Rodney   $7,886   Brea   
33   Daneshgar, David   $7,886   Westlake Vlg   
34   Blumlein, Frank   $7,886   Frankfort   Germany
35   Bolden, Gary   $7,886   St Louis   MO
36   Ansari, Adil   $7,886   Odenton Aa   MD
37   Fuller, Thomas   $6,970   Boulder   CO
38   Lacay, Ludovic   $6,970   Cornebarrieu   France
39   White, Bruce   $6,970   Gilbert   AZ
40   Young, Justin   $6,970   Henderson   NV
41   Batell, Michael   $6,970   Las Vegas   NV
42   Shea, Daniel   $6,970   Mckinney   TX
43   Smith, Jeremiah   $6,253   Harderville   MO
44   Awada, Yehia   $6,253   Las Vegas   NV
45   Lee, Douglas   $6,253   Calgary   AB, Canada
46   Finne, Timothy   $6,253   Fanwood   NJ
47   Freire, Richard   $6,253   Miami   FL
48   Enis, Ryan   $6,253   Corinth   MS
49   Clark, Justin   $5,616   Nevada City   
50   Toye, Robert   $5,616   Baton Rouge   LA
51   Lord, Stephen   $5,616   Yorba Linda   
52   Powell, Joshua   $5,616   Chilliwack   BC, Canada
53   Scatchard, David   $5,616   Scottsdale   AZ
54   Coetzer, Conrad   $5,616   Johnannesburg   South Africa
55   Casey, James   $5,038   Naperville   IL
56   Gonsalves, Markus   $5,038   San Diego   
57   Squires, David   $5,038   Hanson   MA
58   Stevens, Donald   $5,038   Syracuse   NY
59   Israelite, David   $5,038   Alexandria   VA
60   Gilbert, Benjamin   $5,038   Studio City   
61   Berry, Brent   $4,520   Port Angeles   WA
62   Atkinson, Bruce   $4,520   Brighton   United Kingdom
63   Cserhati, Zsolt   $4,520   Budapest   Hungary
64   Bhatti, Deepak   $4,520   Las Vegas   NV
65   Peters, David   $4,520   Toledo   OH
66   Conrad, Monica   $4,520   Hemet   
67   Gee, David   $4,062   Gilbert   AZ
68   Vonschlemmer, Mark   $4,062   Baldwin City   KS
69   Inselberg, David   $4,062   Long Beach   NY
70   Chen, William   $4,062   Lafayette Hill   PA
71   Nyffeler, Andre   $4,062   Mahwah   NJ
72   Fish, Darryll   $4,062   Las Vegas   NV
73   Stein, Samuel   $4,062   Henderson   NV
74   Sheehan, Timothy   $4,062   Decatur   GA
75   Wilds, Mark   $4,062   Biloxi   MS
76   Smith, Lucas   $4,062   New York   NY
77   Cubeta, David   $4,062   Falls Church   VA
78   Zartman, Kyle   $4,062   Sherwood   OR
79   Hegeman, Kyle   $3,664   Port Jefferson   NY
80   Fyshe, Adam   $3,664   Ottawa   ON, Canada
81   Robb, Richard   $3,664   Seneca   SC
82   Whybrew, Wesley   $3,664   Haslett   MI
83   Dilda, Eric   $3,664   San Francisco   
84   Wan, Jeffrey   $3,664   Staten Island   NY
85   Nguyen, Anh Van   $3,664   Mississauga   ON, Canada
86   Slaubaugh, Cody   $3,664   Henderson   NV
87   Sheng, Paul   $3,664   San Francisco   
88   Busch, Mark   $3,664   Pittsburgh   PA
89   Banks, Jared   $3,664   Los Angeles   
90   Ford, Robert   $3,664   Pittsburgh   PA
91   Steely, Chase   $3,305   Williamsburg   KY
92   Mortensen, Juan Carlos   $3,305   Henderson   NV
93   LaPointe, Troy   $3,305   Arlington   VA
94   Witteles, Todd   $3,305   Las Vegas   NV
95   Maguire, James   $3,305   Phoenix   AZ
96   Wasick, Matthew   $3,305   Albion    MI
97   Fortin, Patrick   $3,305   QB   QB, Canada
98   Douglas, Shane   $3,305   Priest River   ID
99   Abramowicz, David   $3,305   Sunfish Lake   MN
100   Barratt, Ronan   $3,305   Tempe   AZ
101   Stout, Matthew   $3,305   Las Vegas   NV
102   Mao, Nicholas   $3,305   Long Beach   
103   Sanders, Jason   $3,305   Simi Valley   
104   Haxton, Isaac   $3,305   Las Vegas   NV
105   Juczenko, Eugene   $3,305   Kingswood   Australia
106   Bowker, Kyle   $3,305   Walton   NY
107   Terrell, Kenneth   $3,305   Lawrenceville   GA
108   Bonita, Christopher   $3,305   Winthrop   MA
109   Kovacs, Andras   $2,967   Falkenberg   Sweden
110   Hunter, Matthew   $2,967   Alexandria   VA
111   Wintersberger, David   $2,967   Eschenried   Germany
112   Iola, Samuel   $2,967   Redlands   
113   McClure, Raymond   $2,967   Stratford    ON, Canada
114   Toporowski, Donald   $2,967   Toronto   ON, Canada
115   Khuri, Radwan   $2,967   Memphis   TN
116   Franklin, Ryan   $2,967   Jacksonville   FL
117   Bonding, Lars   $2,967   Las Vegas   NV
118   Begley, Timothy   $2,967   Freehold   NJ
119   Michaels, Alexander   $2,967   Hollywood   FL
120   Dovzhenko, Alexander   $2,967   St. Petersburg   Russia
121   Miceli, Tom   $2,967   Redding   
122   Johnson, Gordon   $2,967   Kamloops   BC, Canada
123   Dolgin, Aaron   $2,967   Woodland Hills   
124   Machina, Morgan   $2,967   Mission Viejo   
125   Okeefe, Kevin   $2,967   Vacaville   
126   Shahar, Alon   $2,967   Fresh Meadows   NY
127   Yousefzadeh, Mehrdad   $2,668   Roslyn   NY
128   Wynn, Gregory   $2,668   Phoenix   AZ
129   Husaynue, Samir   $2,668   West Bloomfield   MI
130   Johnson, Darren   $2,668   Saskatoon   , Canada
131   Hahn, Chad   $2,668   Westfield   IN
132   Tallas, George   $2,668   Las Vegas   NV
133   Hawit, Andre   $2,668   Foster City   
134   McKay, Randy   $2,668   Chicago   IL
135   Teng, Andrew   $2,668   London   United Kingdom
136   Sheirbon, Brent   $2,668   The Dalles   OR
137   Boghosian, Todd   $2,668   Beverly   MA
138   Evdakov, Nikolay   $2,668   Moscow   Russia
139   Shelton, Kenneth   $2,668   Dallas   TX
140   Fonseca, Alberto   $2,668   San Jose   
141   Schock, Mitchell   $2,668   Bismarck   ND
142   Esposito, Michael   $2,668   Seaford   NY
143   Dahlin, Adam   $2,668   Maple Grove   MN
144   Godfrey, Christopher   $2,668   San Jose   

[tikay]

And here's the chappie who bested 1,458 others to win his jangly bangle. Well done him.

He reminds me of someone (non-poker) , but I can't think who.

[tikay]

The Winner

 

·        The 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event is Ken Aldridge, from Pleasant Garden, NC.

 

·        Aldridge is a 57-year-old former teacher.  He spent 29-years teaching high school, including several different subjects.  He is now retired.  “I really value the years I spent as a teacher, because I was always around such a wonderful group of people,” Aldridge said in a post-tournament interview.  “I hope that I helped them to become better people.  That’s the lesson I hoped to teach the most – to become better people.” 

 

·        Aldridge owns a small auto dealership located in central North Carolina.

 

·        In his spare time, Aldridge enjoys playing golf and poker.  He considers himself to be a recreational player.

 

·        While at the final table, several of Aldridge’s friends who play in his home game cheered him on to victory.

 

·        This was only the second time Aldridge has ever cashed in a major poker tournament.  It was his first in-the-money finish in a WSOP event.  Aldridge’s only previous cash took place at the Tunica Grand (Mississippi) in 2005.

 

·        “I really don’t think I made many mistakes,” Aldridge said, somewhat stating the obvious.  “I was very happy with how things went.  I think I was behind only one time the whole tournament when I was ‘all-in.”

 

·        Aldridge collected $428,259 for first place.  He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.  This marked his first time to cash in a WSOP event.

 

·        When asked what he plans to do with the prize money, Aldridge answered:  “I guess anyone can always use $428,000.”

 

·        Aldridge revealed that he has almost no short-handed poker experience.  “I have never played short-handed, except when I get down to a final table (and players are eliminated),” he said.

 

·        Aldridge revealed that he has no plans to play any more WSOP events this year, other than the $10,000 buy-in championshi

[tikay]

The Players

 

·        The final table was comprised of no former WSOP gold bracelet winners.  This was the third event of nine held this year which guaranteed a first-time winner.

 

·        The runner up was Carman Cavella, from Turnersville, NJ.

 

·        The third-place finisher was Peter Gould, from London, England.  This marked Gould’s fifth time to cash in a WSOP.  With this finish, he crossed the $300,000 mark in WSOP earnings.

 

·        The fourth-place finisher was Bryce Yockey, from Torrance, .  Yockey recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University.  The 21-year-old part-time poker player has won some online tournaments, but this was his first foray in a WSOP event.



·        The fifth-place finisher was Charles Furey, from Bridgewater, NJ.

 

·        The sixth-place finisher was Manny Minaya, from Tampa, FL.

 

·        Former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event include – Praz Bansi, Bill Chen (2 wins), Rafe Furst, Todd Witteles, David Daneshgar, and Carlos Mortensen (2 wins).

 

·        Robert Firestone, from Santa Barbara, finished 13th place.  He is part of the family which started the famous tire company.

 

·        Former gold bracelet winner Rafe Furst, who cashed 31st in this event, is the co-founder of one of the first poker player-oriented charities, “Put a Bad Beat on Cancer,” which started in 2003.  Since then, the cause has raised nearly $2.5 million – all of which goes to the cause to fund cancer research.   

 

·        The defending champion in this event was Ralph E. Porter, from Woodinville, WA.  This year, he did not cash.

 

[tikay]

Odds and Ends

 

·        This was the largest live Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history – with 1,459 players.

 

·        Attendance increased in this event by 18 percent over last year, when there were 1,236 entrants.

 

·        Six-Handed tournaments are not commonly offered at most casinos.  The reason is obvious.  The tournaments require just as many tables, dealers, and resources as a standard nine-handed event.  But in Six-handed tournaments, the number of players (and takeout) is reduced by a third.  The WSOP believes the game merits gold bracelet status to the point where four Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em tournaments on this year’s WSOP schedule. 

 

·        Six-Handed Hold'em emphasizes short-handed poker skills.  Rather than a full table of nine players, each table is played six-handed (or less, as players bust out).  This generally requires competitors to play cards out of the standard range of starting-hand requirements.  It also makes post-flop skill paramount to victory.  The game is included on the WSOP schedule in an effort to test as diverse a range of poker skills as possible.

 

·        Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em made its WSOP debut in 2005.  Three Six-Handed events were included on the 2006 schedule. Last year, there was only one Six-Handed event.  Former champions from these events include Isaac "The General" Galazan, Dutch Boyd, Bill Chen, Jeff Madsen, Jason Warner, and Ralph E. Porter.

 

[tikay]

The Event

 

·        The $1,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event attracted 1,459 entrants.  This created a prize pool totaling $1,991,535.  The top 144 finishers collected prize money.

 

·        The tournament was played over a three-day period.

 

·        Ken Aldridge, the winner, revealed a hand which took place early in the tournament which nearly left him busted.  He was all-in and had the worst hand.  But he managed to catch a queen on the river (making top pair) which gave him a critical early pot.  That windfall led to an eventual payout of more than $400,000.

 

·        The final hand of the night came when Aldridge was up against Carman Cavella.  Holding a decisive chip advantage, Aldridge was dealt K-Q.  Cavella was dealt K-4 and decided to move all-in in an attempt to steal a round of blinds and antes.  But Aldridge called.  Both players flopped top pair with a king, but in the end Aldridge’s Q bested Cavella’s weak kicker.  That gave Aldridge the final pot of the tournament. 

[DaveShoelace]

And here's the chappie who bested 1,458 others to win his jangly bangle. Well done him.

He reminds me of someone (non-poker) , but I can't think who.

maybe?

[tikay]

And here's the chappie who bested 1,458 others to win his jangly bangle. Well done him.

He reminds me of someone (non-poker) , but I can't think who.

maybe?

That am him, innit?

It actually reminds me a bit of Brian Wilson. But yeah, Ali is a good shout.

[tikay]

Nice scores for MBK, John Kabbaj, & Surinder, & that cash by PP will do his confidence no harm at all. I have a hunch PP will have a good WSOP.

Note the player from Leichestein - don't see that Nation in a WSOP event often.

And a player from Baton Rouge cashed - am I right in thinking a top golfer hails from there?

2009 World Series of Poker         
Final Results         
Event #   10      
Buy In   $2,500       
Date   05/06/2009      
Game   Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha      
Number of Entries   453      
Net Prize Pool   $1,041,900      
First Place Prize   $244,862       
Players to Cash   45      
         
Final Results         
         
Name   Prize   City   State/Country
Boukai, Rami   $244,862   San Diego   
Bennani, Najib   $151,335   Ridgefield   NJ
Grundy, Ben   $99,574   London   United Kingdom
Cimpan, Cornel   $69,546   League City   TX
Makowsky, Daniel   $51,313   Zurich   Switzerland
Parker, Paul   $39,904   London   United Kingdom
Andrzejwski, Pawel   $32,653   Park Ridge   IL
Kabbaj, John   $28,006   London   United Kingdom
Stockinger, Sigi   $25,151   Linz    Austria
Do, Gary   $18,170   Denver    CO
Khan, Hevad   $18,170   Las Vegas   NV
Collado, Jan   $18,170   Oyten   Germany
Makhija, Amit   $13,534   Brookfield   WI
Sunar, Surinder   $13,534   Wolverhampton   United Kingdom
Entin, Jonas   $13,534   Granada Hills   
Rosen, Jamie   $10,293   Boca Raton   FL
Chang, Chris   $10,293   Kelowna   BC, Canada
Cousineau, Anthony   $10,293   Las Vegas   NV
Boyce, George   $7,918   Silver Spring   MD
Devlin, Stephen   $7,918   Omagh Co   Ireland
Sklansky, David   $7,918   Las Vegas   NV
Corkins, Hoyt   $7,918   Las Vegas   NV
Velador, Jose   $7,918   Lake Elsinore   
Solomon, Jarred   $7,918   Johannesburg   South Africa
Abdallah, George   $7,918   Houston   TX
Tamayo, Jonathan   $7,918   Humble   TX
Littlefield, Jeff   $7,918   Greenville   TX
Filippi, Amnon   $6,293   New York   NY
Grospellier, Bertrand   $6,293   Vandozurve   France
Vega, Alfredo   $6,293   Aachen   Germany
Arfa, David   $6,293   Elmwood Park   IL
Hollink, Rob   $6,293   Groningen   The Netherlands
Verbakel, Bjorn   $6,293   Beek en Donk   The Netherlands
Pickering, Jaime   $6,293   Queens Land   Australia
Soulier, Fabrice   $6,293   Barbentane   NV
Bhasin, Rohit   $6,293   Brisbane   Australia
Boyd, Craig   $5,074   Manchester   MO
Ingles, Jared   $5,074   Baton Rouge   LA
Fisher, Paul   $5,074   Chicago   IL
Seth, Andy   $5,074   Urbana   IL
Sorensen, Jan   $5,074   Odense   Denmark
Williams, Jeff   $5,074   Dunwoody   GA
Negreanu, Daniel   $5,074   Las Vegas   NV
Lehmann, Markus   $5,074   Mauren   Liechtestein
Bauerlein, Eugene   $5,074   St. Petersburg   FL

[tikay]

Roe Rami, looking pleased with life, as well he may.

[tikay]

The Winner

 

·        The 2009 World Series of Poker $2,500 Mixed – Pot-Limit Hold’em / Pot-Limit Omaha event champion is Rami Boukai, from San Diego, .

 

·        Boukai is a 26-year-old professional poker player.

 

·        Boukai was once a student at UC-San Diego.

 

·        Boukai was born in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.  He is believed to be the only Saudi Arabian-born WSOP gold bracelet winner in history.  Previous WSOP winners have come from the Middle East, including Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Israel. 

 

·        It should be noted that although Boukai was born abroad, he came to the United States at the age of one.  Boukai’s father was Lebanese.  His mother is a native-born American.  Boukai has never visited Saudi Arabia.  His father worked there in the 1980s on construction projects.

 

·        Nevertheless, Boukai’s online poker player screen name is “Arabian Night.”

 

·        Boukai has played in three WSOP events so far this year, making the third time a charm (victory).

 

·        This marked Boukai’s seventh time to cash at the WSOP.  His best previous finish was a 14th-place showing in 2007.  This was his first final table appearance.

 

·        Boukai collected $244,862 for first place.  He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.

 

·        Boukai’s combined career tournament winnings now total about $570,000.

 

[tikay]

The Players

 

·        The final table was comprised of no former WSOP gold bracelet winners.  This was the fourth event of ten held this year which guaranteed a first-time winner.

 

·        This was one of the more cosmopolitan final tables played so far this year.  The nine finalists represented five different nations, including:

 

Austria

England (3)

Poland

Switzerland

United States (3)

 

·        Consistent with the “cosmopolitan” theme, two of the Americans were born abroad – one in Romania and the other in Saudi Arabia.

 

·        The runner up was N. Shaun Bennani (sometimes listed as Najib Bennani).  He is a 26-year-old former accountant-turned-poker pro. 

 

·        The third-place finisher was Ben Grundy, from London, England.

 

·        The fourth-place finisher was Romanian-born Cornel Andrew Cimpan, who now lives in League City, TX.



·        The fifth-place finisher was Daniel Makowsky, from Zurich, Switzerland.  He finished as the runner up in a WSOP event held last year.

 

·        The sixth-place finisher was Paul Parker, from London, England. 

 

·        The seventh-place finisher was Pawel Andrzejwski, from Park Ridge, IL.  This marked his fifth cash at the WSOP.

 

·        The eighth-place finisher was another Englishman, John Kabbaj, from London.  He also finished as a runner up in a WSOP event, back in 2004.  Kabbaj won the European No-Limit Hold’em Championship in 2006.

 

·        The ninth-place finisher was Sigi Stockinger, from Salzburg, Austria.

 

·        Former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event included – Jan Sorensen, David Sklansky (3 wins), Rob Hollink, Daniel Negreanu (4 wins), and Hoyt Corkins (2 wins). 

 

·        The defending champion in this event was Max Pescatori, from Milan, Italy.  He entered this tournament, but did not cash.