WSOP 2010 Thread. Feed your wild side revisited

[outragous76]

Loving the 'third world soccer match' line that's up there with Dalla's infamous 'literally all hell broke loose' line.

Middy has chips in event 17   22/250  with $818k ftw

wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

but how was that quote worthy of the above?

[TightEnd]

Catch up time


Cup of Tea - check

Six tabs open - check

Stats antenna sharpened for Jaffa Cake - check

[TightEnd]

Event 13

Here is the unofficial final table in the Brammer/Carter event.

Seat 1: Jared Hamby (526,000 in chips)
Seat 2: Daniel Thomas (700,000)
Seat 3: Matthew Vance (1,800,000)
Seat 4: Jeffrey Gross (399,000)
Seat 5: Daniel Duong (300,000)
Seat 6: Mats Gavatin (330,000)
Seat 7: Nicholas Heather (950,000)
Seat 8: David Baker (1,900,000)
Seat 9: Kyung Han (650,000)
Seat 10: Steven Gee (1,580,000)

Chris Brammer 14th $21,000

Dan Carter 20th $13,000

Jack Powell 31st $11,000

Well done  great stuff

[TightEnd]

Event 15 the $10,000 7cs Hi Lo is 5 handed, as follows

Top Chip Counts
1    Frank Kassela    1,880,000
2    Allen Kessler    920,000
3    Jennifer Harman  910,000
4    Steve Zolotow    895,000
5    John Juanda    495,000


cashers so far

1               447,446
2          276,486
3          173,159
4          125,379
5          97,989
6    Kirill Rabtsov       78,142
7    Vladimir Schmelev   63,457
8    Dario Minieri        52,366
9    Gary Benson       43,833
10    George Lind       43,833
11    Sergey Altbregin       37,297
12    Alessio Isaia       37,297
13    Marco Johnson       32,439
14    Christopher George    32,439
15    Blair Rodman       28,221
16    Toto Leonidas       28,221

[TightEnd]

Event 16 $1,500 NLHE 6 Max

18 left from 1663 starters

Top Chip Counts
1    Carter Phillips    820,000
2    Mikhail Lakhitov    820,000
3    Kevin Iacofano    730,000
4    Michael Meyers    640,000
5    Mark Flowers    525,000
6    David Diaz            465,000
7    Matthew Ezrol    465,000
8    Russell Thomas    460,000
9    Conrad Monica    420,000
10    Hugo Perez    310,000


JP Kelly finished 40th for $7,000+

[TightEnd]

Event 17 $5,000 NLH

225 left 792 began

and look...

Top Chip Counts
1    Chino Rheem    185,000
2    Jeff Williams    172,400
3    David Miscikowski 165,100
4    Sam Trickett    159,000
5    Mike Gracz    131,800
6    Dan Martin    129,000
7    Antonio Esfandiari 128,000
8    Mohsin Charania    125,100
9    Jason DeWitt    121,000
10    James Weekes    116,000

Tom Middleton is also in the hunt with 75,000 and a position in the 20s

Barney Boatman and James Akenhead also through

Eye watering payouts for this

1               818,959
2          505,725
3          328,762
4          241,472
5          179,866
6          135,718
7          103,594
8          79,957
9          62,350


Lets hope we have another Brit sweat coming in this

[TightEnd]

Yan R. Chen Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet

High Stakes Lowball Specialist Chen Collects $92,817 in Prize Money

California Poker Pro Has the Lowdown on Lowball

New Deuce Lowball Tournament Draws Strong Crowd -- 250 Entrants

OVERVIEW

Yan R.Chen was the winner of the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball event at the 2010 World Series of Poker.  It marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory.  The poker pro from Irvine, , collected $92,817 for first place.  This was Chen’s third WSOP final table appearance within the past two years.  He had a third-place finish in a similar Lowball event held last year, and a fifth-place showing in the Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Championship.  In fact, he cashed four times last year.

Chen was born in China.  He came to the United States to attend college, and after graduation continued his education at Columbia Law School.  He is a 45-year-old married father of two boys.  He started playing poker seriously about 12 years ago.  Chen, who specializes in high-stakes lowball cash games in and around Los Angeles, has several high finishes at various tournaments in California and Nevada.  But this was his first major tournament victory.

This was the first $1,500 buy-in Lowball tournament with the Deuce-to-Seven Draw variant held at the WSOP.  Turnout proved to be a success as there were 250 entries – a relatively large field given that this form of poker is rarely played inside most card rooms.  Aside from the WSOP, there are virtually no Deuce-to-Seven Lowball events played anywhere – except a few of the mega-casinos in the Los Angeles area.  Those games tend to be played for very high stakes – with Chen usually sitting in as one of the players.

The top 28 finishers collected prize money.  The runner up was former WSOP gold bracelet winner Mike Wattel (1999 Omaha High-Low Split), from Mesa, AZ.  Several former WSOP gold bracelet finishers cashed in this event, including Alexander Kravchenko (7th), Chris Bjorin (13th), Erik Seidel (14th), Keith Lehr (16th), and Jose-Luis Velador (24th).

It’s also noteworthy that Peter Gelencser, from Budapest, Hungary, cashed in this tournament.  He finished in 23rd place.  Gelenscer is fast establishing himself as a top Lowball player.  He won the No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball “Triple” Draw gold bracelet four days ago.

THE CHAMPION– Yan R. Chen

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball champion (Event #14) is Yan R. Chen, from Irvine, .

Chen is 45-years-old.   He was born in Xi’an, China.

Chen first came to the United States to finish college, after spending his first three years at a university in China.  He graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, earning a degree in political science.  Chen went on to attend law school at Columbia University in New York City.  He dropped out.

Chen went through a self-described transitional phase during his 20's in which he said he was “trying to find (himself).”  One afternoon about 13 years ago, Chen was playing low-stakes poker in a casino in Los Angeles.  He was playing $10-20 Limit Hold’em.  In a wild game, Chen got caught up in the action when he called multiple raises sitting in late position with 5-3 off-suit.  He ended up flopping trip-fives and won the hand against two big pocket pairs.  When the cards were shown, Chen became the target of instant ridicule and was subject to a slew of profanities.  Chen was so humiliated that he decided to spend a considerable amount of time studying poker and trying to improve as a player.  Chen spent the next six months playing and learning.  Over that period of time, Chen says he “found himself,” and has been making it as a poker pro ever since.

Chen, who is married and is the proud father of two boys, specializes in high-stakes Lowball cash games.

On his third day of playing Lowball Deuce, Chen lost $70,000.  He again refocused his energy on trying to improve as a player and gradually became not only a winning player, but one of the best Lowball cash-game players in the world.

Chen’s most common cash game today is No-Limit Lowball Deuce, with $200-400 blinds and a $100 ante.

Chen credited Lowball legend Billy Baxter with brining No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven to the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.  He reveres Baxter and considers him to be the best Lowball player of all-time. 

Chen cashed four times at last year’s WSOP.  This marked his first cash in 2010.

Chen made it to the final table of this event (at the $2,500 buy-in level) last year, finishing in third place.  That event was won by Phil Ivey.

After Ivey’s victory last year, he was quoted as saying Yan Chen was his toughest opponent.

Chen’s first time to cash at the WSOP was in 2006.

Chen collected $92,817 for his first-place finish.  He was presented with his first WSOP gold bracelet.

According to official records, Chen now has one win, three final table appearances, and seven cashes at the WSOP.

Despite making two final table appearances in Deuce Lowball tournaments the past two years, Chen also confided he was the first player knocked out of last year’s $10,000 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Lowball World Championship.

The game Deuce-to-Seven is sometimes called “Kansas City Lowball.”  In an interesting coincidence, the champion of this event received his degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

WINNER QUOTES

On why Lowball games appeal to him more than other forms of poker:  “A good poker game requires a balance.  For example – I’m not putting down other games – but No-Limit Hold’em, especially tournaments, rewards aggression.  But aggression is only one component of the full set of skills that are required for a balanced game.  Lowball requires a very balanced set of skills.  You can’t just try to run over the game.  You cannot.  You can do that less in this game than in any other game.  But you also can’t just sit around and wait for a hand.  So, you have to be creative.  Lowball allows a certain amount of creativity.  It allows a certain amount of aggression.  It rewards patience.  This is a game of nuances.  It is not a game of raw power.  Once people are exposed to poker and achieve a certain skill level, I believe people will like this game.”

On what winning his first WSOP gold bracelet means:  “This feels special.  The gold bracelet is the most coveted hardware in poker.  It’s special to finally win one.”

On why he decided to leave law school, abandon a conventional career, and instead focus on poker:  “I was trying to find my own direction in life.  I never did, until I found poker.”

On why he’s done quite well in recent Lowball tournaments at the WSOP:  “Not all poker games come to me naturally.  Somehow Lowball seems to come to me naturally.  Lowball just comes to me more naturally than other forms of poker.”

On what was different last year when he finished fifth, versus this year which resulted in a victory:  “Cash games play different than tournaments.  Last year, I played at the final table (of this event) like it was a cash game.  I tried to make some adjustments. But I did not know how.  It was a learning experience.  I feel that I made some adjustments, and it worked out.”

On major influences in his poker career:  “I want to mention Billy Baxter.  He brought the game to the Commerce (Casino).  Before that, I had been playing Limit Triple Draw.  When people mention Lowball, they have to think of Billy Baxter.  He’s the consummate champion.  He’s my idol.”

THE FINAL TABLE

The final table consisted of two former WSOP gold bracelet winners – Mike Wattel and Alexander Kravchenko.

Three different nations were represented at the final table -- England, Russia, and the United States.

The final table began seven-handed.

Final table participants ranged in age from 24 to 45.

The runner up was Mike Wattel.  He just missed what would have been a second WSOP gold bracelet victory.  Wattel’s first WSOP cash took place 11 years ago, when he won the Limit Omaha High-Low event in 1999, which was played at Binion’s Horseshoe.  Wattel, who lives in Mesa, AZ, collected the consolation prize of $57,375 for second place.  This was his 24th time to cash at the WSOP.  This finish catapulted Wattel over the million-dollar mark in WSOP winnings.  He also has 14 final table appearances.

The third-place finisher was Nicholas Binger, from Las Vegas, NV.  It was his 12th time to cash at the WSOP.  He now has nearly a quarter-million in winnings at the Rio, after collecting $37,857 for this performance.  Binger also has accrued some 40 cashes overall in major tournaments.  His favorite game is Deuce-to-Seven Lowball.

The fourth-place finisher was Derric Haynie, from Lincoln, .  This was his second time to cash at the WSOP, after finishing in-the-money in the No-Limit Hold’em Shootout last year; $25,389 was paid to Haynie, who was recently married.  Haynie has numerous big finishes in online poker tournaments.

The fifth-place finisher was Todd Thuan Bui, from Sacramento, .  He cashed for the fifth time at the WSOP.  This was his highest finish yet.  Fifth place paid $18,096.

The sixth-place finisher was James Bord, from London, England.  This was his fourth time to cash at the WSOP and marked his highest Las Vegas finish ever.  Sixth place paid $12,997.

The seventh-place finisher was Alexander Kravchenko, from Tver, Russia.  He is one of Russia’s top players.  Kravchenko won an Omaha High-Low Split gold bracelet in 2007.  He also final tabled the Main Event championship that year, finishing fourth.  Kravchenko collected $9,568.

The final table officially began at 3:00 pm and ended at 10:15 pm.  The final table clocked in at 7 hours, 15 minutes.

OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS

The top 28 finishers collected prize money.  Aside from those who made the final table, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Chris Bjorin (13th), Erik Seidel (14th), Keith Lehr (16th), and Jose-Luis Velador (24th).

Erik Seidel now has 59 career WSOP cashes.  He moved back into a fourth-place tie with Berry Johnston on the all-time cashes list.

Chris Bjorin now has 52 career WSOP cashes.  He moved one spot ahead of John Juanda into a tie with Chau Giang for eighth place on the all time cashes list.

ODDS & ENDS

This is the 843rd gold bracelet event in World Series of Poker history.  Note:  This figure includes every official WSOP event played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded.  It also includes the 11 gold bracelets awarded at WSOP Europe (to date).

The final table was played on the ESPN Main Stage.  Despite plenty of open seating, spectator interest in the event was scarce, due largely to the Draw Lowball format being relatively difficult for spectators to follow from their seats.

The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory (or some hours later when the tournament runs past midnight).  The ceremony takes place inside The Pavilion, which is the expansive main tournament room hosting all noon starts this year.  The ceremony begins at the conclusion of the first break of the noon tournament, usually around 2:20 pm.  The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played.  The entire presentation is open to public and media.  Video and photography are permitted by both public and members of the media.

Chen requested that the national anthem of the United States be played at his WSOP gold bracelet ceremony.

WSOP LOWBALL RECORDS

Poker Hall of Fame inductee Billy Baxter holds every conceivable record in the Lowball category.  He has dominated this form of poker in a manner that is unprecedented for any player in any game in history.  Perhaps only the late poker legend Bill Boyd, who enjoyed similar domination in Five-Card Draw poker (which is no longer spread at the WSOP), can rival Baxter’s mastery of a single game.

All of Billy Baxter’s seven WSOP gold bracelets were won playing various forms of Lowball.

Billy Baxter holds 16 WSOP cashes in Lowball events, the most of any player in this form of poker.  To give some perspective of Baxter’s excellence, the current second-place leaders in Lowball career cashes are Bobby Baldwin and “Oklahoma Johnny” Hale, each with 9.
 
EVENT HISTORY

Deuce-to-Seven Lowball made its tournament debut at the 1973 WSOP.  The game is rarely played anywhere except at the very highest levels.  It’s rarely spread inside public card rooms -- either as cash games or tournaments.  In fact, the WSOP is one of the few places where this poker variant is offered.  The game was tacked onto the WSOP schedule because it was the preferred game of many high-stakes cash game players.

The very first Deuce-to-Seven Lowball champion was Aubrey Day.  Since then, the Deuce-to-Seven gold bracelet has been won by a royal court of poker champions, including Jack Straus, Sailor Roberts, Billy Baxter, Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin, Sarge Ferris, Stu Ungar, Dewey Tomko, Seymour Lebowitz, Bob Stupak, John Bonetti, Freddy Deeb, Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, O’Neil Longsen, Barry Greenstein and others.

Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball means the worst, or lowest-ranked, hand wins the pot.  The very best possible 2-7 lowball hand is 2-3-4-5-7 of mixed suits.  An ace counts as a high card.  Flushes and straights count against the player.  While a wheel (A-2-3-4-5) is the perfect hand in standard lowball, in Deuce-to-Seven it is usually a losing hand since the straight counts against the player. 

In the “Triple-Draw” variant of this game, players may draw up to three times to make their hand.  This tournament employed a “Single-Draw” format.

This same game was played at last year’s WSOP, but the buy-in was $2,500 (instead of $1,500 this year).  The lower buy-in boosted attendance from 147 last year to 250 at this year’s event.

There is some difference of opinion as to where and when this game originated. Since the 1930s, variations of Lowball have been spread throughout California and Nevada.  According to poker theorist David Sklansky, Limit 'Double-Draw' Lowball was first spread at the (now defunct) Vegas World during the early 1980s.  Others cited a game called “Ten-Handed Triple-Draw Lowball” as the forbearer of Triple Draw, which was played at 'Amarillo Slim's' Super Bowl of Poker tournaments in Reno and Lake Tahoe during the period 1979 through 1984.  Since 10-handed poker could only accommodate perhaps three or four players at most due to the number of cards needed to complete a hand, reducing the number of cards (to five) enabled more players to sit in the game.

TOURNAMENT PLAY

The tournament was played over three consecutive days, from June 5-7, 2010.

The final hand of the tournament came when Yan Chen’s playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: crushed Mike Wattel’s playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: . 

2010 WSOP STATISTICS
 
(Note: Event #13 is not included because it has not completed)

Through the conclusion of Event #14, the 2010 WSOP has attracted 15,320 total entries.  $26,272,500 in prize money has been awarded to winners.

Through the conclusion of Event #14, the nationalities of winners have been:

United States (7)
Canada (2)
England (2)
Hungary (1)
New Zealand (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #14, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:

United States (4)
Vietnam (2)
Canada (2)
England (2)
Hungary (1)
New Zealand (1)
China (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #14, the ratio of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets is as follows:

Professional Players (9):  Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh Tieman, Peter Gelencser, James Dempsey, Men “the Master” Nguyen, Matt Matros, Yan R. Chen

Semi-Pros (0):  None

Amateurs (3):  Duc Pham, Aadam Daya, Pascal Lefrancois 

Note:  A “pro” is defined as a player who makes the majority of his/her income from playing poker.  However, there is some debate as to whether players who have lucrative industry deals and backing should really be termed as professionals.  A “semi-pro” is defined as a player who derives some measure of income from playing poker over a reasonable period of time.  However, many semi-pros have non-poker related business interests which provide a majority of earnings.  “Amateurs” are players who have other means of support and do not play poker for income -- either part-time or full-time.  Each winner is judged on a by case basis.

[TightEnd]

Matros the Magnificent!

New York Poker Pro Matt Matros Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet

Dedicated Poker Pro and Teacher Collects $189,870 in Prize Money

Matros Earns a Career Breakthrough Victory in Limit Hold’em Battle

Matros Overcomes Huge Chip Disadvantage at Final Table – Goes from Eighth to First
 
For the tournament portal page including all official results for this event, click HERE.

OVERVIEW

Matthew Matros was the winner of the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 World Series of Poker.  It marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory.  The Brooklyn-based poker pro collected $189,870 for first place, and earned the self-satisfaction of finally triumphing at the world’s most prestigious tournament series, following a decade-long commitment to poker and the study of game theory.

Matros grew up on Long Island, New York.  He earned a degree in mathematics at Yale University.  He also received a Masters degree in fine arts from Sarah Lawrence University.  Over the years, he has applied his considerable talents to computer science, writing, and teaching.  Matros is the author of “The Making of a Poker Player,” which chronicles his early years transitioning from student/employee into a full-time poker pro.  Matros previously cashed in several major tournaments, including the New England Poker Classic (NEPC), World Poker Tour (WPT), and the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).  He also final tabled the second year of the Tournament of Champions (TOC) back in 2001.

Matros has also done quite well at the WSOP, finishing in-the-money 15 times.  In 2008, Matros cashed in the WSOP Main Event championship, finishing 78th out of 6,844 players.
 
This year's Limit Hold'em competition drew 625 players.  The top 63 finishers collected prize money. 
 
The runner up was Ahmad Abghari, a real estate investor from Los Angeles.  Former WSOP gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event included – Matt Keikoan (30th), Anthony Rivera (43rd), Andre Boyer (47th), and Phil Ivey (53rd).

THE CHAMPION  – Matt Matros

The $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em champion (Event #12) is Matt Matros, from Brooklyn, NY.

Matros is 33-years-old.   He was born in West Hampton, NY, which is located on Long Island.

Matros is married.

Matros graduated from Yale University with a degree in mathematics.  He later received an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence University.

Matros is a true renaissance man.  He is a writer, teacher, and poker player – with numerous interests and ambitions.  Matros wrote a revealing biography called “The Making of a Poker Player” (published in 2005), which chronicles his early years transitioning from student/employee into a full-time poker pro.

Matros is currently working on a novel.  It is not about poker.  He says he hopes to finish the book within the next year.

Matros worked as a software engineer before deciding to pursue a poker career.

Matros was a dedicated poker player long before the poker boom.  He final tabled the second year of the Tournament of Champions (2001).  He later cashed in several other major tournaments, including the New England Poker Classic (NEPC), World Poker Tour (WPT), and the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).   

Matros has been playing poker seriously since 1999 and has relied on poker for the majority of his income since 2002.

Matros has accumulated nearly $1.5 million in overall career tournament winnings.

Matros collected $189,870 for first place.  He was presented with his first WSOP gold bracelet.

According to official records, Matros now has one win, three final table appearances, and 15 cashes at the WSOP.   His career WSOP earnings now total $528,525.

Matros has many close supporters who are well-known poker pros.  The list includes Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Andy Bloch, Jerrod Ankenman, Bill Chen, Robert “Action Bob” Hwang, Spencer Sun, Matt Hawrilenko, and Terrance Chan (who finished third in this event).

Matros has regularly attended poker community events including BARGE (Las Vegas), FARGO (Foxwoods), and ATLARGE (Atlantic City).  The annual gathering attracts a few hundred of poker’s brightest and most dedicated pros, semi-pros, and aspirants.  The BARGE community includes notable poker players such as Andy Bloch, Greg Raymer, Terrance Chan, Bill Chen, Jerrod Ankenman, Steve Brecher, Gavin Smith, and several others.

Matros was a regular player in a private poker tournament played at the home of 2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer when he lived in Connecticut.  The tournament was known as the Fossilman Invitational Heads-Up Poker Tournament (FIHUPT).  Matros boasted that he once finished second in Raymer’s tournament.

WINNER QUOTES

On how the tournament played out:  “I feel great.  I caught great cards today.  Actually, I lost a lot of big pots.  So, I was very happy I was able to come back a few times from being short on chips.  At one point, I was eighth in chips.  So, it was a combination of good cards, and minimizing losses and maximizing wins and basically running good and having the cards fall my way.”

On playing against his friend, Terrance Chan (who finished third):  “Having Terrance lose some big pots helped also.  He is an extraordinarily-gifted Limit Hold’em player.”

On his 10-year pursuit of a WSOP gold bracelet:  “I’ve really wanted to try and keep playing to try and win a bracelet.  It’s been my goal for a long time, which would put the cap on some accomplishments.  I made a lot of final tables at the WSOP and WPT and had some deep cashes in the Main Event.  What I had been lacking was the victory, so to come in first place here is really gratifying.”

On the preparation for becoming a winning poker player:  “I started studying the game in 1998.  I really focused and studied Limit Hold’em.  So, this is really the culmination of eleven and a half years of work.”

On what his first tournament victory means:  “It’s definitely a monkey off my back.  But I do not know if this is going to motivate me to play more poker or spend more time writing now, or maybe split my time.  But I think I can look at my resume now and say I’ve got all the pieces checked off.  I really had not had the signature victory, until now.”

On what poker means to his life:  “Poker is one of my two passions, writing being the other one.  I’ve been splitting my time between working on a novel which might not ever get published.  The writing world is much tougher than the poker world.  The poker world is tough – so that is really saying something.”

On how he expects his closest family members to react to his victory:  “My dad will be the most excited person on the planet tonight.  My wife is going to say, ‘It’s nice that you won; now when are you coming home?  She has her priorities right.  She will be happy that I won.  But she will be more happy when I get back home.”

THE FINAL TABLE

The final table consisted of no former WSOP gold bracelet winners, which guaranteed a first-time champion.

Four different nations were represented at the final table – Canada, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United States.

The final table began nine-handed.

Final table participants ranged in age from 23 to 54.

The runner up was Ahmad Abghari, from Los Angeles, .  He is originally from Iran.  Abghari made his second WSOP career cash in this event, worth $117,272.

The third-place finisher was Terrance Chan, from Vancouver, BC.  He is a former high-tech consultant who formerly worked for a major online poker site.  He now plays poker professionally.  Chan finished second to Hoyt Corkins in a 2007 WSOP finale.  He is widely-acknowledged as one of poker’s top Limit-game specialists – both live and online.  Chan now has 13 WSOP cashes and nearly half-a-million dollars in earnings following his $83,185 payout in this tournament for third place.

The fourth-place finisher was Georgios Kapalas, from Athens, Greece.  He cashed for the second time this year and earned $59,838.  Kapalas has previously cashed in a number of European poker tournaments, most notably three tour stops on the European Poker Tour (EPT).

The fifth-place finisher was Adrian Dresel-Velasquez, from Sacramento, .  He is originally from Nigeria.  Dresel-Velasquez is an ex-Peace Corps volunteer who worked in Guatemala.  He formerly served as the Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin.  Fifth place paid $43,647.

The sixth-place finisher was Jason Potter, from Tulsa, OK.  He is a poker pro who recently won an event at the Los Angeles Poker Classic.  His goal was to win a WSOP gold bracelet, but he had to settle for $24,198 for sixth place instead.

The seventh-place finisher was Jameson Painter, from Goodfield, IL.  This marked his third time to cash at the WSOP and was his third final table appearance.  He now has an 8th, a 7th, and a 5th-place showing over the past two years.  Seventh place paid $24,198.

The eighth-place finisher was Roberto Truijers, from Oostvoorne, Holland.  He was born in Spain.  Truijers works in real estate.  He made his third WSOP cash spread over the last three years and collected $18,385 in prize money.

The ninth-place finisher was Mark “Milkman” Burford, from Gloster, LA.  He earned his nickname by working as a dairy farmer prior to taking up poker as a profession.  This was Burford’s first time to cash at the WSOP.  He collected $14,149.
 
The final table officially began at 5:05 pm and ended at 12:30 am.  The final table clocked in at 7 hours, 25 minutes.

OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS
 
The top 63 finishers collected prize money.  Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Matt Keikoan (30th), Anthony Rivera (43rd), Andre Boyer (47th), and Phil Ivey (53rd).

Last year’s winner was Thomas Alenius, from Stockholm, Sweden.  He did not enter this event.

ODDS & ENDS

This is the 842nd gold bracelet event in World Series of Poker history.  Note:  This figure includes every official WSOP event played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded.  It also includes the 11 gold bracelets awarded at WSOP Europe (to date).

The final table was played on the ESPN secondary stage.  The Main Stage hosted the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em finale, which went on simultaneously.

The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory (or some hours later when the tournament runs past midnight).  The ceremony takes place inside The Pavilion, which is the expansive main tournament room hosting all noon starts this year.  The ceremony begins at the conclusion of the first break of the noon tournament, usually around 2:20 pm.  The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played.  The entire presentation is open to public and media.  Video and photography are permitted by both public and members of the media.

Matros requested that the national anthem of the United States be played at his WSOP gold bracelet ceremony.

EVENT HISTORY

During the 1990s, WSOP Limit Hold’em tournaments routinely attracted the largest fields of any tournament anywhere in the world.  Several years, this tournament had twice number of entrants as the Main Event.  It was traditionally offered as the kick-off event over the first weekend of the WSOP.

Limit Hold’em made its debut at the 1983 WSOP.  The first Limit Hold’em world champion was Tom McEvoy. He went on to win the Main Event that same year.

The start of Limit Hold’em’s popularity can be traced back to California’s legalization of flop games (including Texas Hold’em) in 1988.  Prior to the late 1980s, Limit Hold’em was spread in only a few small Las Vegas casinos and underground games, located mostly in the American South.

Limit Hold’em was the king of all games during most of the 1990s, except in the Northeastern United States, where Seven-Card Stud was the dominant form of poker.  In fact, finding a No-Limit Hold'em game was next to impossible anywhere – except at the most prestigious events such as the WSOP and the Hall of Fame (now defunct).  In 2003, things started to change. No-Limit Hold'em quickly became the most popular form of poker played -- not only in the United States but worldwide.  Today, Limit Hold'em tournaments are relatively uncommon except in the biggest poker markets.  Confirming fears that Limit Hold'em’s popularity remains stagnant, turnout for this year's $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em championship declined for the fifth consecutive year (albeit very slightly).  The 2006 tournament attracted 1,069 entries. In 2007, the number declined to 910 players.  In 2008, the tally was 883.  There were 643 entries last year.  This year, the final number was 625.

The list of former Limit Hold’em champions at this level is quite an illustrious group.  Former Limit Hold’em champions include – Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, Humberto Brenes, Johnny Chan, Mickey Appleman, David Chiu, Jay Heimowitz, and Farzad Bonyadi.

TOURNAMENT PLAY

The tournament was played over three consecutive days, from June 5-7, 2010.

Matt Matros arrived at the final table eighth in chips out of nine players.

Matros seized the chip lead when play became three-handed.  He never lost his lead once he gained the chip advantage.

The final hand of the tournament came after Matros had used his big stack to grind down his final opponent, Ahmas Abghari to a small stack.  Matros was dealt playing card: playing card: versus Abghari’s playing card: playing card: .  After making an initial pre-flop raise with the suited big cards, Abghari found himself pot committed, even after missing the flop.  He was all in and watched helplessly as Matros won the tournament with a final board showing playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: .  The winning hand was two pair – queens and eights.   

2010 WSOP STATISTICS

Through the conclusion of Event #12, the 2010 WSOP has attracted 15,070 total entries; $25,935,000 in prize money has been awarded to winners.

Through the conclusion of Event #12, the nationalities of winners have been:

United States (7)
Canada (2)
England (2)
Hungary (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #12, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:
United States (5)
Vietnam (2)
Canada (2)
England (2)
Hungary (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #12, the ratio of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets is as follows:

Professional Players (:  Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh Tieman, Peter Gelencser, James Dempsey, Men “the Master” Nguyen, Matt Matros

Semi-Pros (0):  None

Amateurs (4):  Duc Pham, Aadam Daya, Pascal Lefrancois, Simon Watt 

Note:  A “pro” is defined as a player who makes the majority of his/her income from playing poker.  However, there is some debate as to whether players who have lucrative industry deals and backing should really be termed as professionals.  A “semi-pro” is defined as a player who derives some measure of income from playing poker over a reasonable period of time.  However, many semi-pros have non-poker related business interests which provide a majority of earnings.  “Amateurs” are players who have other means of support and do not play poker for income -- either part-time or full-time.  Each winner is judged on a by case basis.

[TightEnd]

Simon Says, “I Won a Gold Bracelet!”

Simon Watt Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet

Watt Collects $614,248 in Prize Money

Add New Zealand to the List of WSOP Gold Bracelet-Winning Nations

Giant-Killer Simon Watt Slays Star Tom Dwan in Thrilling Heads-Up Match

For the official event portal page, including official results, click HERE
 
OVERVIEW

Simon Watt was the winner of the third $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship at this year’s World Series of Poker.  Watt is a 27-year-old software developer from Auckland, New Zealand.  With his thrilling victory in the 11th gold bracelet event on this year’s schedule, Watt became the first New Zealander in history to win a WSOP title.

Watt is an accomplished part-time player who previously won the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) championship in his hometown of Auckland in 2009.  But this WSOP win was a huge personal triumph, both in terms of prestige and prize money.  Watt collected $614,248 in prize money – not bad for three days of poker playing.

The runner up was Tom Dwan, who has soared in recent years to become one of poker’s most mythological figures.  There was considerable public interest in the outcome of this finale, since many top poker pros are reported to have six-and seven-figure side bets against Dwan winning a gold bracelet at this year’s WSOP. 

The final table was a wild and festive affair.  All gallery seats were filled to capacity, while hundreds more stood and watched the action.  Except for the “November Nine” finale, this was one of the largest crowds ever to watch a WSOP final table; all this, despite an ending time which stretched out to 3:00 am on an early Monday morning following a Sunday afternoon start.
 
The tournament was played from June 4-6 and attracted a huge field totaling 2,563 players.  The top 270 finishers collected prize money.  Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Blair Hinkle (96th), Robert Cheung (142nd), Ted Lawson (180th), Brett Jungblut (186th), Erick Lindgren (191st), Jerry Yang (195th), Minh Nguyen (204th), and Steve Zolotow (237th).

THE CHAMPION – Simon Watt

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion (Event #11) is Simon Watt, from Auckland, New Zealand.

Watt is 27-years-old.   He was born in New Zealand.

Watt works as a software developer.

Watt has been concentrating more on poker since winning a major tournament in Auckland last year.

Watt has only one other recorded major tournament cash -- which was a win at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) championship in Auckland.  That victory took place last year.

Watt collected $614,248 for first place.  He was presented with his first WSOP gold bracelet.

According to official records, Watt now has one win, one final table appearance, and one cash at the WSOP.   His career WSOP earnings now total $614,248.

Watt was cheered by just one player in the audience, his friend from New Zealand – named Joe Ellis.

Watt usually plays poker at the Sky City Casino in Auckland, New Zealand.

Watt becomes the first WSOP gold bracelet winner in history from the nation of New Zealand.

WINNER QUOTES

On what winning his first WSOP gold bracelet means:  “I’m not sure yet.  It’s very special, obviously.”

On playing in a carnival-like atmosphere at the final table:  “It was amazing.  It was strange.  It would have been crazy enough to just make the final table.  But to play against Durrrr (Tom Dwan) heads-up made it much better.”

On the reaction he expects to his win back in his home country of New Zealand:  “My parents were initially not too keen on my playing poker, especially my mother.  This should help.”

On being the dragon slayer in the match against Tom Dwan and the large crowd’s intense interest in Dwan’s performance:  “It did not bother me at all.”

On when he realized he might win the gold bracelet, while playing:  “It crosses your mind a little bit.  But you just have to concentrate on the hands and try and forget how much money you are playing for.”

On his plans the remainder of this year’s WSOP:  “I plan on playing in the event tomorrow.”

THE FINAL TABLE

The final table consisted of only one former WSOP gold bracelet winner – Jason Young.

Three different nations were represented at the final table -- Germany, New Zealand, and the United States.

The final table began nine-handed.

This was one of the youngest final tables in WSOP history.  The senior player was age 31.  The remaining players were 22, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 27, and 28.

The runner up was Tom “Durrrrr” Dwan, from Edison, NJ.  He is one of the world’s top poker pros -- in both online and live action.  He frequently plays for what has been described as “nosebleed” stakes.  Dwan has encountered both sides of million dollar swings on multiple occasions in online matches and big cash games.  This was his fifth time to cash at the WSOP and was his highest finish to date.  Dwan collected $381,885.

The third-place finisher was David Randall, from Westerville, OH.  This was his first WSOP in-the-money finish.  Randall earned $270,299.

The fourth-place finisher was Austin McCormick, from Chesterfield, MO.  He has cashed seven times on the WSOP Circuit.  But this marked his first time to cash at the WSOP.  McCormick received $194,939.

The fifth-place finisher was poker pro Jason Young, from Suffern, NY.  He won the Shootout event at the WSOP in 2008.  Young added $142,346 in prize money to his bankroll and now has more than $600,000 in career WSOP earnings.

The sixth-place finisher was Shane Smith, from Hiram, GA.  This was his first time to cash at the WSOP.

The seventh-place finisher was Marvin Rettenmaier, from Stuttgart, Germany.  He is a college student.  This was Rettenmaier’s first WSOP in-the-money finish, which paid $78,681.

The eighth-place finisher was Kyle Winter, from Carson City, NV.  Winter will begin law school next year at Gonzaga.  He picked up some extra tuition money in this tournament, worth $59,547.

The ninth-place finisher was Eric Ladny, from Trenton, NJ.  He received $45,603.

The final table officially began at 6 pm and ended at 3 am.  The final table clocked in at nine hours.

OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS

The top 270 finishers collected prize money.  Aside from those who made the final table, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Blair Hinkle (96th), Robert Cheung (142nd), Ted Lawson (180th), Brett Jungblut (186th), Erick Lindgren (191st), Jerry Yang (195th), Minh Nguyen (204th), and Steve Zolotow (237th).

This was Jerry Yang’s first time to cash in a WSOP event since winning the 2007 WSOP Main Event championship.

The defending champion was Mike Eise, from Troy, MO.  He did not enter this event.

ODDS & ENDS

This is the 841st gold bracelet event in World Series of Poker history.  Note:  This figure includes every official WSOP event played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded.  It also includes the 11 gold bracelets awarded at WSOP Europe (to date).

The final table was played on the ESPN Main Stage.

Poker has reached the stage where a 2,000-player field no longer causes much of a stir.  Consider that the first live poker tournament to ever break the 2,000-player barrier was the 2004 WSOP Main Event.  Since then, 19 WSOP events have been played with 2,000+ player fields.  This is the fourth 2,000+ player field, so far in 2010.  At least seven tournaments this year are expected to crack that figure -- which would be the most ever in WSOP history. 

Last year's same event – which was the third $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event on the 2009 WSOP schedule – attracted 2,638 entries. Entries were very close to the same this year, with 2,563 entrants.  Six of 11 WSOP events completed so far have increased participation over last year’s numbers.

The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory (or some hours later when the tournament runs past midnight).  The ceremony takes place inside The Pavilion, which is the expansive main tournament room hosting all noon starts this year.  The ceremony begins at the conclusion of the first break of the noon tournament, usually around 2:20 pm.  The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played.  The entire presentation is open to public and media.  Video and photography are permitted by both public and members of the media.

Watt requested that the national anthem of New Zealand be played at his WSOP gold bracelet ceremony.

EVENT HISTORY

An alternative lower buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament (less than $10,000) has been included as part of the WSOP schedule every year since 1973.  Over the years, these buy-in amounts have ranged from $1,000 up to $5,000.  However, more $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments have now taken place at the WSOP over the past 40-years than any other event.

Last year there were seven $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournaments on the 2009 WSOP schedule.  This game and buy-in level has consistently proven to be the most popular draw on the schedule in recent years, aside from the Main Event.  However, with the expansion of $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, attendance for the $1,500's is expected to drop slightly from last year, since many players chose to play in the lower buy-in events.

The 2010 WSOP is hosting huge No-Limit Hold’em events every weekend.  Most Fridays include a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament.  Then, a $1,000 buy-in event takes place on Saturday and Sunday (two flights/starting days).  Each Monday includes another $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event.  All Day One starting times are noon.

TOURNAMENT PLAY

The tournament was played over three consecutive days, from June 5-7, 2010.

The final hand of the tournament came when Simon Watt held about a 5 to 1 chip lead over Tom Dwan.  Watt had playing card: playing card: versus Dwan’s playing card: playing card: .  The board came playing card: playing card: As playing card: playing card: playing card: .  Watt’s aces-full-of-nines ended up as the winning hand.

While perhaps 500-600 spectators ringed the final table as the final hand was dealt out, Watt had only one close friend in the audience.  The room fell deathly silent the instant Watt won, and was an eerie pall to what was otherwise a long finale filled with huge emotional and financial swings.

Immediately following his runner-up finish, Tom Dwan departed the final table area and did not speak to media.

Given intense interest in the outcome of this finale, Watt became a champion who not only collected $614,248 for himself, but may have been the catalyst in what some estimate to be an eight-figure financial swing between several top poker pros.

2010 WSOP STATISTICS

Through the conclusion of Event #11, the 2010 WSOP has attracted 14,445 total entries; $25,091,250 in prize money has been awarded to winners.

Through the conclusion of Event #11, the nationalities of winners have been:

United States (5)
Canada (2)
England (2)
Hungary (1)
New Zealand (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #11, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:

United States (3)
Vietnam (2)
Canada (2)
England (2)
Hungary (1)
New Zealand (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #11, the ratio of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets is as follows:

Professional Players (7):  Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh Tieman, Peter Gelencser, James Dempsey, Men “the Master” Nguyen

Semi-Pros (0):  None

Amateurs (4):  Duc Pham, Aadam Daya, Pascal Lefrancois, Simon Watt 

Note:  A “pro” is defined as a player who makes the majority of his/her income from playing poker.  However, there is some debate as to whether players who have lucrative industry deals and backing should really be termed as professionals.  A “semi-pro” is defined as a player who derives some measure of income from playing poker over a reasonable period of time.  However, many semi-pros have non-poker related business interests which provide a majority of earnings.  “Amateurs” are players who have other means of support and do not play poker for income -- either part-time or full-time.  Each winner is judged on a by case basis.

[Karabiner]

Is there no way of preventing  coming up in the text every time California is abbreviated ?

 

[TightEnd]

Is there no way of preventing  coming up in the text every time California is abbreviated ?

 

Yes, manual editing.

Give me a spare 30 minutes and I will, later

[Dewi_cool]

Event 17 $5,000 NLH

225 left 792 began

and look...

Top Chip Counts
1    Chino Rheem    185,000
2    Jeff Williams    172,400
3    David Miscikowski 165,100
4    Sam Trickett    159,000
5    Mike Gracz    131,800
6    Dan Martin    129,000
7    Antonio Esfandiari 128,000
8    Mohsin Charania    125,100
9    Jason DeWitt    121,000
10    James Weekes    116,000

Tom Middleton is also in the hunt with 75,000 and a position in the 20s

Barney Boatman and James Akenhead also through

Eye watering payouts for this

1               818,959
2          505,725
3          328,762
4          241,472
5          179,866
6          135,718
7          103,594
8          79,957
9          62,350


Lets hope we have another Brit sweat coming in this

i have this for event 17

1      Steven Goosen     229,000
2    Brian Smith    208,400
3    Chino Rheem    185,800
4    Jeff Williams    172,400
5    Nico Behling    168,100
6    James Dempsey    165,800
7    David Miscikowski Greg    165,100
8    Trickett Samuel    159,000
9    Thorsten Schafer    146,200
10    Paul Foltyn    133,000

[dino1980]

Tighty mentioned in one of his posts about the statistics Andy Ward is compiling on three seperate tiers of players at this year's WSOP: TV Pros, Euro Pros & 2+2 and co.

Randomly whilst looking on sharkscope today I noticed they're now tracking live events including the WSOP 2010. So anyone who wants to see how much Negreanu and Ivey are currently down or see just how much Dr Dempsey, Rutter, Channing etc are up by can have a look. It obviously isn't going to be as accurate as Andy's research - for example Praz is listed both as Praz Bansi and Pramesh Bansi - but nonetheless might be a uiseful resource.

Haven't been on sharkscope for ages so this may have been covered elsewhere already. For anyone wondering you hit the dropdown menu which usually contains the name of the poker site & the live events are at the top of that little drop down menu.

[TightEnd]

Event 17 $5,000 NLH

225 left 792 began

and look...

Top Chip Counts
1    Chino Rheem    185,000
2    Jeff Williams    172,400
3    David Miscikowski 165,100
4    Sam Trickett    159,000
5    Mike Gracz    131,800
6    Dan Martin    129,000
7    Antonio Esfandiari 128,000
8    Mohsin Charania    125,100
9    Jason DeWitt    121,000
10    James Weekes    116,000

Tom Middleton is also in the hunt with 75,000 and a position in the 20s

Barney Boatman and James Akenhead also through

Eye watering payouts for this

1               818,959
2          505,725
3          328,762
4          241,472
5          179,866
6          135,718
7          103,594
8          79,957
9          62,350


Lets hope we have another Brit sweat coming in this

i have this for event 17

1      Steven Goosen     229,000
2    Brian Smith    208,400
3    Chino Rheem    185,800
4    Jeff Williams    172,400
5    Nico Behling    168,100
6    James Dempsey    165,800
7    David Miscikowski Greg    165,100
8    Trickett Samuel    159,000
9    Thorsten Schafer    146,200
10    Paul Foltyn    133,000

thanks Dewi, your chip counts were obv published after I looked this morning

Your list is better, gl to Pab and Flushy too......

[brummieboy]

Gl all, Middy 82k and Rutter 62k still well in it as well.