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

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The Girlie Event. (Restricted).

I so wanted Tammy Tibbles to win this. That name just works, like Stirling Moss, Lester Piggott, Rod Laver, they just sound right. Ah well, Lisa Hamilton will have to do.

   2009 World Series of Poker         
   Final Results         
   Event #   17      
   Buy In   $1,000       
   Date   09/06/2009      
   Game   No Limit Hold'em      
   Ladies World Championship         
   Number of Entries   1060      
   Net Prize Pool   $964,600       
   First Place Prize   $195,390      
   Players to Cash   117      
            
   Final Results:         
            
   Name   Prize   City   State/Country
1   Hamilton, Lisa   $195,390   Honolulu   HI
2   Bender, Lori   $120,575   Houston   TX
3   Morelli, Mari Lou   $78,132   Long Beach   CA
4   Pedroza, Angel   $53,940   Turlock   CA
5   Cunningham, Kimberly   $38,719   Pearland   TX
6   Rios, Kimberly   $29,121   San Lorenzo   CA
7   Parsons, Lisa   $22,880   Las Vegas   NV
8   Thomas, Dawn   $18,742   Southgate   MI
9   Santy, Lisa   $15,973   El Segundo   CA
10   Houle, Donna   $13,716   Cranston   RI
11   Brown, Collette   $13,716   Carrollton   TX
12   Storrar, India   $13,716   London   United Kingdom
13   Liu, Joanne   $9,954   Las Vegas    NV
14   Jimena, Julieta   $9,954   San Diego    CA
15   Tibbles, Tamara   $9,954   Spokane    WA
16   Masek, Melissa   $7,118   Denver    CO
17   West, Sandra   $7,118   Las Vegas    NV
18   Kantor, Anna   $7,118   Wauconda    IL
19   Tran, Angie   $5,556   Houston    TX
20   Kerstetter, Jamie   $5,556   Monroe Twp    NJ
21   Jett, Karina   $5,556   Henderson    NV
22   Talbot, Alice   $5,556   Arcadia    CA
23   Kling, Lauren   $5,556   Las Vegas    NV
24   Swaney, Laurie   $5,556   Olympia    WA
25   Vinlove, Jennifer   $5,556   Ceres    CA
26   Hopper, Nelda   $5,556   Anna    TX
27   Bartolone, Frances   $5,556   Robbinsville    NJ
28   Bane, Nancy   $4,581   San Marcos    CA
29   Hillis, Cindy   $4,581   Arlington    WA
30   Zarosky, Patti   $4,581   Pleasanton    TX
31   Saelee, Yian   $4,581   Tukwila    WA
32   Harris, Maura   $4,581   Chesterfield    MO
33   Brown, Shelly   $4,581   Honolulu    HI
34   White, Sandra   $4,581   Irving    TX
35   Nazarali, Alya   $4,581   Calgary    AB, Canada
36   Blair, Deborah   $4,581   Vail    AZ
37   Snead, Debra   $3,790   Parker    CO
38   Chalendard, Marie   $3,790   Chalendard    FR
39   Withers, Michelle   $3,790   Universal City    TX
40   Austin, Mary   $3,790   Springdale    AR
41   Tangstrom, Ulrika   $3,790   Stockholm   Sweden
42   Kolfage, Candy   $3,790   Las Vegas    NV
43   Beltran, Thuy   $3,790   Parrish    FL
44   Joseph, Susan   $3,790   Los Angeles    CA
45   Peng, Vanessa   $3,790   Las Vegas    NV
46   Champa, Monica   $3,260   Camas    WA
47   Bonn, Candace   $3,260   Mobridge    SD
48   Armstrong, Rhonda   $3,260   Santa Rosa    CA
49   Mayrinck, Maria   $3,260   Rio De Janeiro    Brazil
50   Vukasin, Lisa   $3,260   Anchorage    AK
51   Khuu, Lisa   $3,260   Las Vegas    NV
52   Shea, Ann   $3,260   Butte    MT
53   Pierce, Lucia   $3,260   Canyon    TX
54   Navarro, Avelyn   $3,260   Mt View    CA
55   Burkhead, Debra   $2,864   Las Vegas    NV
56   Kruze, Julie   $2,864   Las Vegas    NV
57   Gromenkova, Svetlana   $2,864   New York    NY
58   Egedisen, Brenda   $2,864   Denver    CO
59   Rody, Laura   $2,864   Las Vegas    NV
60   Medina, Mychele   $2,864   Long Beach    CA
61   Varlotto, Donna   $2,864   Las Vegas    NV
62   Samor, Chhaya   $2,864   Hemet    CA
63   Murray, Nancy   $2,864   Garden City    GA
64   Mccabe, Terri   $2,575   Cedar Park    TX
65   Priday, Christine   $2,575   Commerce City    CO
66   Vonsachsen, D. Princess   $2,575   Las Vegas    NV
67   Martinez, Betty   $2,575   Lakewood    CO
68   Broda, Lorri   $2,575   Tarzana    CA
69   Schroeder, Christina   $2,575   Red Deer    AB, Canada
70   Seagris, Gail   $2,575   Thunder Bay    ON
71   Katz, Hillarie   $2,575   San Francisco    CA
72   Volynsky, Victoria   $2,575   Pflugerville    TX
73   Adriaans, Marina   $2,459   Mierlo   Netherlands
74   Baker, Jennifer   $2,459   Ft Collins    CO
75   Nguyen, Dang   $2,459   Mont Royal    QC, Canada
76   Johnston, Ann   $2,459   Gainesville    GA
77   Abarbanel, Brett   $2,459   Las Vegas    NV
78   Albritton, Lea   $2,459   Berkeley   CA
79   Cook, Amanda   $2,459   Colorado Springs    CO
80   Leago, Jennifer   $2,459   Houston    TX
81   Broder, Lori   $2,459   Buellton    CA
82   Verrett, Melissa   $2,228   Cross Plains    WI
83   Vullo, Tracy   $2,228   Mayfield Hts    OH
84   Isaacs, Susan   $2,228   Henderson    NV
85   Shaffer, Roneen   $2,228   West Vancouver    BC, Canada
86   Holomon, Marlene   $2,228   Northridge    CA
87   Honour, Nicole   $2,228   Keystone Heights    FL
88   Le, Anh   $2,228   San Jose    CA
89   Enriquez, Espy   $2,228   Oceanside    CA
90   Juarbe, Rosalinda   $2,228   Las Vegas    NV
91   Mcdonald, Jodene   $2,083   Osceola    WI
92   Feterman, Maria   $2,083   Las Vegas    NV
93   Newburger, Nancy   $2,083   Vernon Hills    IL
94   Bui, Adeline   $2,083   Leander    TX
95   Bachman, Kristin   $2,083   Calgary    AB, Canada
96   Clark, Patricia   $2,083   Jeffersonvill    IN
97   Ho, Maria   $2,083   Arcadia    CA
98   Gains, Beth   $2,083   Los Angeles   CA
99   Phillippo, Jody   $2,083   Phoenix   AZ
100   Kalantzi, Maria   $1,900   Long Island City   NY
101   Doan, Thuyen   $1,900   Williamsburg   VA
102   Rodriguez, Inga   $1,900   Laredo   TX
103   Wheat, Jane   $1,900   Long Beach   CA
104   Nguyen, Hai   $1,900   Sacramento   CA
105   Vaneffen, Dawn   $1,900   Owosso   MI
106   Musson, Enid   $1,900   Blackpool   United Kingdom
107   Hardisty, Katarina   $1,900   Victoria   BC, Canada
108   Decarlo, Dawn   $1,900   Hamilton   NJ
109   Celaya, Raylene   $1,900   Las Cruces   NM
110   Boehm, Stacie   $1,900   Sheridan    TX
111   Kasinowicz, Sandra   $1,900   Folsom   CA
112   Hollingshead, Kim   $1,900   Van Nuys   CA
113   McCarty, Robin   $1,900   Coconut Creek   FL
114   Han, Mo   $1,900   Las Vegas   NV
115   Benecke, Wendi   $1,900   Carlsbad   CA
116   Walker, Norma   $1,900   Hemet   CA
117   Schoenberg, Erica   $1,900   Henderson   NV

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.

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Event Headlines –

 

1.  Lisa Hamilton Wins 2009 Ladies World Poker Championship

 

2.  High-Stakes Cash Game Player Makes Last-Minute Decision to Enter Tournament, Wins Event

 

3.  Two-Time Champ Susie Isaacs Cashes for Ninth Time in Ladies Championship – Most in History

 

 

The Winner --

 

·        The 2009 World Series of Poker Ladies Poker Championship is Lisa Hamilton, from Las Vegas, NV.

 

·        Hamilton is originally from Hawaii.  She has been living in Las Vegas for about 12 years.

 

·        Hamilton does not describe herself as a “professional poker player.”  Yet she spends many hours playing poker (in big cash games).  She explained she is shy and does not want to boast about playing poker for a living.  Hamilton also spends some of her time helping with the family business, which is in clothing retail.

 

·        This was only the second WSOP event Hamilton has played.  She entered an event a few years ago, but was eliminated early.  Hence, this was her first WSOP cash, which was an outright victory.

 

·        Hamilton is a high-stakes cash-game player.  She regularly sits in the upper strata of No-Limit games, from $10-20 up to $50-100 blinds, a big game by any standard.  She rarely plays in poker tournaments.

 

·        “I do not even play in tournaments,” Hamilton said.  “That’s why everyone is teasing me (after I won).”

 

·        Hamilton stated in the previous WSOP event she entered, she busted out just a few minutes into play.  She vowed never to play in a tournament again.  However, Hamilton came to this WSOP with a friend to watch her play and hang out with her during breaks.  She decided to enter the tournament at the last minute.

 

·        “I entered at the last minute,” Hamilton said.  “I kept telling my friend, ‘I’m not playing!’  I am not playing in this event!  I decided to play and I don’t even know how I made it this far.  I’m shocked!”

 

·        “I’m not used to being around so many girls,” Hamilton said, in reference to the fact she usually sits with male opponents in most of her high-stakes cash games.

 

·        Hamilton collected $195,390 for first place.  She was also awarded her first WSOP gold bracelet.

 

·        Hamilton had no specific plans for the prize money she won. 

 

·        Hamilton was cheered on to victory by about a dozen friends, including many players who know her from cash games.

 

·        As for future tournament plans, Hamilton stated that she plans to play only the WSOP Main Event.

 

·        According to the official records, Hamilton now has 1 win, 1 final table appearance, and 1 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.  This was her first time to cash.

[tikay]

Lori Bender, another name that just fits somehow.

The Final Table --

 

·        The final table contained no former WSOP gold bracelet winners.  This was the seventh of 18 finales held so far this year with no former winners -- which guaranteed a first-time champion.

 

·        This was the first final table this year with no players aged in their 20s.  Yesterday’s finale (Event 15) was quite possibly the youngest final table composition in WSOP history, with an average age of 24.  The ages for the ladies ranged from 31 to 53.

 

·        The runner up was Lori Bender, from Houston, TX.  She graduated from the FBI National Academy and is now a captain in the Houston Police Department.    

 

·        The third-place finisher was Mari Lou Morelli, from Long Beach, CA.  Two years ago, she won the Deep Stack Extravaganza which paid $93,000, held at the Venetian.

 

·        The fourth-place finisher was Angel Pedroza, from Turlock, CA.  She works as a bartender.



·        The fifth-place finisher was Kimberly Cunningham, from Pearland, TX.  She is the daughter of a professional pool player.  Cunningham is also a homemaker and mother of two children.

 

·        The sixth-place finisher was Kim Rios, from San Lorenzo, CA.  She won her buy-in into the tournament via the Ladies in Poker Series (LIPS), which supports women in the game of poker.

 

·        The seventh-place finisher was Lisa Parsons, from Las Vegas, NV.  She finished 76th in last year’s WSOP Main Event.  She also took 33rd place in the 2007 Ladies Poker Championship.

 

·        The eighth-place finisher was Dawn Thomas, from Southgate, Michigan.  

 

·        The ninth-place finisher was Lisa Santy, from El Segundo, CA.

 

·        The defending champion from 2008 was , from New York, NY.  She cashed again this year, finishing in 57th place.
 

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Other In-the-Money Finishers --

 

·        Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Susie Isaacs (84th) and Svetlana Gromenkova (57th).

 

·        Susie Isaacs in-the-money finish in this event means she has now cashed nine times in the Ladies Poker Championship, more than any player in history.

 

·        Other notable names on the money list included:  Karina Jett (21st), Debbie Burkhead (53rd), Maria Ho (97th), and Erica Schoenberg (117th).

 

 

Odds and Ends --

 

·        The tournament was played over three consecutive days.  On Day Three, the final table was dealt out on ESPN’s secondary stage.  The feature table, located nearby, hosted the other finale played on the same day, which was the World Championship of Omaha High-Low Split.  Most days at the WSOP this year will include two final tables. 

 

·        The Ladies World Poker Championship has been played every year at the WSOP since 1977.  This was the 32nd straight year of the competition.  During the first two decades, the ladies played Seven-Card Stud for the title.  In 2001, the format was changed to Hold'em.

 

·        From 1977 through 2003, this event was traditionally played on Mothers Day.   At the time, the WSOP took place during the months of April and May.  Accordingly, Mothers Day Sunday was reserved for ladies.  This proved to be a conflict for many ladies who wanted to compete in the event, but who also had family commitments on that day.  So, the event was moved to a different day in 2004.  Since 2005, the WSOP has been played during the summer months. 

 

·        Only two women have won multiple Ladies Poker World Championships.  This short list includes Barbara Enright and Susie Isaacs.  Isaacs holds another record in this event, which will be difficult to match.  She cashed five out of six years in this competition between 1991 and 1997. 

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The Event --

 

·        The $1,000 buy-in Ladies Poker World Championship attracted 1,060 entries.  The total prize pool amounted to $964,600.  The top 117 finishers collected prize money.

 

·        This was the fourth consecutive year that attendance in the ladies championship has surpassed one-thousand players.

 

·        The chip leader at the end of Day One was Tamara Tibbles, from Spokane, WA.  She ended up finishing 15th.

 

·        The chip leader coming into the final table was Lori Bender.  She ended up finishing second.  Winner Lisa Hamilton started off Day Three in second place.

 

·        Hamilton endured at least one scary moment late in the tournament.  At the final table, she was all-in holding pocket kings against the (then) chip leader, Angel Pedroza, who had A-J suited.  An ace flopped, but so did a king – giving Hamilton a set of kings.  The set won.  That was the critical hand which propelled her to victory.

 

·        When heads-up play began, Hamilton had about a 3 to 1 chip advantage over Lori Bender.

 

·        The final hand of the tournament came when Hamilton was dealt Q-8 versus Bender, holding 9-8.  The flop came J-8-3.  After a blank four on the turn, Bebder check-raised all-in and Hamilton made the call.  Hamilton tables second pair with the better kicker, which dragged the pot after a blank fell on the river.

 

·        This was the quickest final table of the 2009 WSOP, to date.  It clocked in as less than three hours.



·        The tournament officially began on Saturday, June 7th, at 12 noon.  The tournament officially ended on Tuesday, June 9, 5:10 pm. 

 

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WSOP Statistics --

 

·        Through the conclusion of Event #18, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 19,352 entries.  $38,561,660 in total prize money has been awarded to winners.

 

·        Through Event #17 -- fourteen Americans have won gold bracelets.  One Russian player has won.  One Finnish player has won.  One Australian player has won.  Note:  Last year 16 of the 55 gold bracelet events were won by non-Americans (29 percent).  This number increased to 19 of 59 events (32 percent), counting the four gold bracelet tournaments played at WSOP-Europe.

 

·        Event #17 winner Lisa Hamilton is to be classified as a semi-pro player, although she clearly plays in games big enough to professional status.  Accordingly, the “Pro-Am” gold bracelet scoreboard (excluding Event #1 – Casino Employees) currently reads:

 

            Professionals --            10 wins(Thang Luu, Steven Sung, Jason Mercier, Phil Ivey, Rami Boukai, Anthony Harb, Ville Wahlbeck, Keven Stammen, Brock Parker, Jeffrey Lisandro)              Amateurs --      3 wins            (Freddie Ellis, Ken Aldridge, Travis Johnson)              Semi-Pros --     3 wins            (Vitaly Lunkin. Brian Lemke, Lisa Hamilton)  ·        Four of the 18 winners this year (22 percent) were previous gold bracelet winners.

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Errors and Omissions (Previous Reports) --

 

·        In yesterday’s $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship (Event 15) it should be noted that for the first time there were three previous Seven-Card Stud champions sitting at the same final table.  (Thanks to PokerNews.com for this addition)

[tikay]

The $10,000 Hi-LO - not a single Brit Cashed.

   2009 World Series of Poker         
   Final Results         
   Event #   18      
   Buy In   $10,000      
   Date   World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better      
   Game   09/06/2009      
   Number of Entries   179      
   Net Prize Pool   $1,682,600      
   First Place Prize   $445,898       
   Players to Cash   18      
            
   Final Results         
            
   Name   Prize   City   State/Country
1   Alaei, Daniel    $445,898   Los Angeles   CA
2   Clements, Scott    $275,946   Mt. Vernon   WA
3   Boyd, Ben   $182,730   Los Angeles   CA
4   Negreanu, Daniel   $130,401   Las Vegas    NV
5   Monnette, John   $97,422   Palmdale    CA
6   Jamison, Gregory   $77,736   Las Vegas    NV
7   Koral, Thomas   $65,453   Skokie    IL
8   Duke, Annie   $58,049   Los Angeles   CA
9   Zhu, Yueqi    $54,179   Rowland Heights   CA
10   Mckinley, Cameron   $39,709   Vancouver   WA
11   Fernandez, Jacobo   $39,709   Hollywood   FL
12   Khoueis, Samir   $39,709   Pendle Hill   Australia
13   Wahlbeck, Ville   $31,632   Helsinki   Finland
14   Lawson, Ted   $31,632   Plantation   FL
15   Pezzin, Patrick   $31,632   Toronto   ON, Canada
16   Kravchenko, Alexander   $26,921   Moscow   Russia
17   Leonidas, Alfredo   $26,921   Los Angeles   CA
18   Rogers, John   $26,921   Darien   CT

[tikay]

Here's Danny.

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The World Series of Poker is Presented by Jack Link's Beef Jerky. Feed your wild side.
Tournament Highlights:

 

Event Headlines –

 

1.  Poker Pro Daniel Alaei Wins Second Gold Bracelet and 2009 Omaha High-Low Split World Championship

 

2.  Greg Jamison Makes Final Table of Omaha High-Low Split World Championship Third Consecutive Year

 

3.  Final Table Features Four Former WSOP Gold Bracelet Winners

 

 

The Winner --

 

·        The 2009 World Series of Poker Omaha High-Low Split champion is Daniel Alaei, from Los Angeles, .

 

·        Alaei is a 26-year-old professional poker player.  He has more than $2.5 million in career tournament earnings, and more earnings in high-limit cash games.

 

·        Alaei is perhaps best well known for his many appearances on popular television shows which feature cash game action, including the first three seasons of “High Stakes Poker.”

 

·        Alaei is a big believer in mind over matter.  He is an avid reader, enjoys mentally-stimulating games, and likes to pursue new challenges.

 

·        Alaei says his parents are his heroes.  He credits his mother for inspiring him to do better and admired his father for overcoming obstacles.

 

·        Alaei believes in behaving properly at the poker table at all times.  He does not like or engage in theatrics.

 

·        While at the table, Alaei usually wears thick black designer sunglasses and a military-style cap.

 

·        “In the poker world, bracelets are like trophies,” Alaei said afterward.  “So, it is good to win.  Now, I want a third bracelet.  Before, I wanted number two.  And now, I want number three.”

 

·        Alaei’s first gold bracelet victory came in the Deuce-to-Seven Lowball event at the 2006 WSOP, at which he won a nearly identical sum of money ($430,000).  Yet that competition was quite different as it ended very late in the night and was played in front of few people who remember the victory.  That night, Alaei defeated David Williams in heads-up play, earning his victory.  By contrast, this event was televised over the Internet, which was watched by thousands of viewers, and was played in front of a capacity crowd at the Rio.

 

·        “At my last win, it was so late and we were so tired.  This is very different.  We played until five in the morning.  It was really grueling.  At the end of it, I just wanted to go to sleep.  But tonight, I might go out and have some dinner and drinks.  Then, I come back tomorrow.  There’s another tournament tomorrow,” Alaei said. 

 

·        “I do not play too much limit (poker),” Alaei said.  “I mostly play No-Limit and Pot-Limit.”

 

·        “Everybody at the final table is a great player,” Alaei stated.  “Everybody here played good.  This is a big buy-in event with a smaller field, so there just aren’t many bad players.  No one was giving anything away.  Everyone was playing their best.”

 

·        Alaei collected $445,898 for first place.  He was also awarded his second WSOP gold bracelet.

 

·        While the large crowd gathered primarily to cheer for well-known superstars Daniel Negreanu or Annie Duke, Alaei was cheered on to victory by several friends, including Erick Lindgren.

 

·        According to the official records, Alaei now has 2 wins, 2 final table appearances, and 17 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.

 

·        Alaei has cashed in the WSOP Main Event twice, in 2004 and 2005.

 

·        Remarkably, although Alaei has only made two WSOP final tables, he has won them both.

 

With this victory, Alaei becomes the 124th player in history to achieve $1 million in winnings at the WSOP.

 


·

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The Final Table --

 

·        The final table contained four former WSOP gold bracelet winners – including  (4 wins),  (2 wins),  (1 win), and  (1 win).

 

·        Greg Jamison’s achievement in this tournament merits special mention.  He finished sixth.  Jamison has now made the final table of this event three consecutive years.  He finished second last year and was fifth in 2007.  This rivals ’s remarkable achievement earlier this year, when he made his third straight final table in the $1,500 Omaha High-Low event.

 

·        The runner up was , From Mt. Vernon, WA.  Clements is an Omaha High-Low specialist.  He won his two gold bracelets in Omaha High-Low Split (in 2006 and 2007).  Had Clements won this event, he would have become the first player ever to win three Omaha High-Low gold braclets.    

 

·        The third-place finisher was Ben Boyd, from Los Angeles, CA.  This was his second time to cash at the WSOP, after making the money in a 2006 event.

 

·        The fourth-place finisher was , from Las Vegas, NV.  The Canadian-born poker superstar appeared primed to win gold bracelet number five, a victory which would have been made all the sweeter due to his second-place finish in another tournament just four days ago.  But Negreanu went low on chips late and ended up with an admirable, yet disappointing exit.



·        The fifth-place finisher was John Monnette, from Palmdale, CA.  Less than a week ago, Monnette finished second to  in the No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven World Championship.

 

·        The sixth-place finisher was Greg Jamison, from Las Vegas, NV.  In addition to the three consecutive Omaha High-Low Split championship final tables, he also cashed in last year’s WSOP Main Event, finishing 248th.

 

·        The seventh-place finisher was Thomas Koral, from Skokie, IL.  He has been playing professionally for about four years.  This was Koral’s second WSOP final table appearance.

 

·        The eighth-place finisher was , from Los Angeles, CA.  The poker celebrity won her WSOP gold bracelet playing Omaha High-Low Split in 2004.  She ranks first among women on the all-time cashes list in WSOP history.  Duke also cashed in the previous Omaha High-Low Split event, which concluded last week.

 

·        The ninth-place finisher was Yueqi “Rich” Zhu, from Rowland Heights, CA.  This was his fourth WSOP final table appearance and 21st time to cash at the WSOP.

 

·        The defending champion from 2008 was , from Paris, France (also Las Vegas, NV).  He entered this tournament, but did not cash.
 

[tikay]

Other In-the-Money Finishers --

 

·        Other former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Ville Wahlbeck (13th), Ted Lawson (15th), Toto Leonidas (17th), and Alex Kravchenko (18th). 

 

·        Daniel Negreanu now ranks 29th on the all-time WSOP cashes list – with 37.  He has now cashed four times at this year’s WSOP and has made two final tables.

 

·        Annie Duke currently ranks 30th on the all-time WSOP cashes list – with 35. 
 

[Colchester Kev]

 Ville Wahlbeck (13th),  (15th),  (17th), 


Multiple entries allowed ??  LOL

[tikay]

Note the game is generally deemed to be "too difficult to follow on TV".

Odds and Ends --

 

·        The tournament was played over three consecutive days.  On Day Three, the final table was dealt out on ESPN’s feature table.  The secondary table, located nearby, hosted the other finale played on the same day, which was the Ladies World Poker Championship.  Most days at the WSOP this year will include two final tables.

 

·        This was the second-largest Omaha High-Low Split prize pool in poker history.  In fact, only two previous events had ever surpassed the million-dollar mark -- the $5,000 buy-in championship held at the 2006 WSOP and the $10,000 buy-in championship last year.

 

·        In 1983, the fist Omaha-High tournament was introduced at the WSOP.  The first Omaha High-Low Split tournament was played in 1990.  During the 1990s, the WSOP schedule included both Omaha-High and Pot-Limit Omaha events.  Since then, Omaha-High has gradually faded in popularity (the game was removed from the WSOP schedule after 2003), while Omaha High-Low Split continues to generate a steady following.

 

·        Only four players in WSOP history have won two gold bracelets in Omaha High-Low Split.  They are Thang Luu, Scott Clements, Scotty Nguyen, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

 

·        Brent Carter and Berry Johnston are currently tied for the lead in the “Most Omaha Cashes” category in WSOP history – with 20.

 

·        Omaha High-Low Split is also sometimes called “Omaha Eight-or-Better,” because the low hand must qualify with a rank of eight or lower.

 

·        This is the second of three Omaha High-Low Split events on the 2009 WSOP schedule.  However, Omaha is also included in the rotation of several mixed-game categories.

 

·        All 57 tournaments on the 2009 WSOP schedule (plus WSOP-Europe) are categorized as “gold bracelet” events.  However, this is also known as a World Championship event.  This means the winner of this event is the Omaha High-Low Split world champion.  Starting last year, all $10,000+ buy-in tournaments were designated as official World Championships.

 

·        Omaha High-Low Split is typically not broadcast on television.  The game is difficult to televise and follow (for most viewers).   However, given the star-studded finale, an exception was made as Bluff Media and ESPN 360 decided to feature the Omaha finale on the live online broadcast.  Twenty more events are scheduled, which are split between ESPN 360 and Bluff Media.