WSOP 2010 Thread. Feed your wild side revisited

[TightEnd]

Ivey unlucky with today's seat draw.


He gets Dempsey on his table.

[Girgy85]

Ivey unlucky with today's seat draw.


He gets Dempsey on his table.

Celtic has Ivey txt u yet?

[The Camel]

Amazing scenes.

5 minutes ago the top 6 of the $5k no limit included Pab, Trickett and Dr Dempsey.

[mondatoo]

GOGOGOGO Middy,get the lot

[Rupert]

GL lads!

just saw ronaldinho in encore lobby.  i'm telling everyone

[TightEnd]

Event 16 6 Max $1500 NLH

What can we say about Carter Phillips? He's barely old enough to legally consume alcohol in the United States, but he already has two major wins under his belt -- an EPT title and now a WSOP gold bracelet. Phillips used a combination of good cards, excellent timing and power poker to bulldoze his way through the last 16 players in this field enroute to victory.

It's true that Phillips had to get lucky to win. If his all-in confrontation with Craig Bergeron towards the end of the tournament had gone the other way, Phillips would have become the short stack with about 1.2 million chips and Bergeron would have been the one able to swing the bully stick.

But nobody should take anything away from Phillips. He put himself in a position to get lucky with strong play. Phillip' most impressive hand today may have been his absolutely sick call with just a pair of treys on the turn after Mikhail Lakhitov check-raised all in. Phillips never hesitated when he called. It turned out his hand was in the lead and faded 15 outs on the river to send Lakhitov to the rail.

In what was arguably the youngest final table in WSOP history, it was only fitting that the 21-year-old Phillips should be the player to capture the bracelet. When asked how it felt to be the one to win, Phillips said, "It's more amazing than I ever could have imagined."

For all of his skill, stamina, luck and heart, Phillips banks the champion's share of the prize pool -- $482,774.

1     Carter Phillips           482,774
2    Samuel Gerber       298,726
3    Craig Bergeron       189,661
4    Hugo Perez       124,690
5    Russell Thomas       84,256
6    David Diaz               58,483
7    Thong Tran       41,645
8    Mikhail Lakhitov       41,645
9    Alexander Wilson    30,420
10    Mark Flowers       30,420
11    Matthew Ezrol       22,787
12    Kevin Iacofano       22,787
13    Matt Zoorob       17,488
14    Conrad Monica       17,488
15    Michael Meyers       17,488
16    Jesse Martin       17,488
17    Ryan Snickles       17,488
18    Steven Tabb       17,488
19    Daniel Johnson       13,739
20    Steven Fenic       13,739
21    Feming Chan       13,739
22    Matthew Schulte    13,739
23    Eric Bolinder       13,739
24    Sanghyon Cheong    13,739
25    Dennis Wong       11,045
26    Ray Henson       11,045
27    Milad Jorshari       11,045
28    Nicholas Davies       11,045
29    Bryan Micon       11,045
30    Jordan Morgan       11,045
31    Blake Slade       9,070
32    Vladimir Kochelaevskiy    9,070
33    Lee Childs               9,070
34    Dorlan Schick       9,070
35    Mark Seif               9,070
36    Stuart Barclay       9,070
37    Roger Teska       7,610
38    Chris Viox               7,610
39    Wesley Clark       7,610
40    JP Kelly               7,610
41    Michael Downey       7,610
42    Dash Dudley       7,610
43    Robert Williamson    6,533
44    Chris Bjorin               6,533
45    Jorge Arias               6,533
46    David Sands       6,533
47    Matthew Mercurio    6,533
48    Simon Nguyen       6,533
49    Timothy Adams       5,724
50    Jonathan Duhamel    5,724
51    Darren Elias       5,724
52    Kevin Boudreau       5,724
53    David Olson       5,724
54    Steven Kelly       5,724
55    Jeffrey Chu       5,118
56    William Lin               5,118
57    Anthony Lessel       5,118
58    Cort Kibler-Melby       5,118
59    Kenneth Terrell       5,118
60    Chad Layne       5,118
61    Joseph Stefan       4,669
62    Anthony Licastro    4,669
63    Rui Cao               4,669
64    Rio Gralnick       4,669
65    Matthew Waxman    4,669
66    Tyler Netter       4,669
67    Gabriels Lepore       4,288
68    Angus Lynn       4,288
69    Steven Rice       4,288
70    Vincent Vanderfluit    4,288
71    Dustin Bailey       4,288
72    Scott Barrows       4,288
73    Daniel Quinn       4,288
74    Per Alexander Hildebrand 4,288
75    Ralph Ratchford       4,288
76    Simon Charette       4,288
77    Julien Nuijten       4,288
78    Allan Silberstang       4,288
79    Marc-Pierre Chadi    3,951
80    Steven McNally       3,951
81    Michael Kucinski       3,951
82    Tristan Wade       3,951
83    Christopher Lindh    3,951
84    Evgeniy Zaytsev       3,951
85    Stefan Rapp       3,951
86    Tyler Witteman       3,951
87    Arun Chugani       3,951
88    Stephen Moss       3,951
89    Nathan Huvelle       3,951
90    Lance Harris       3,951
91    James Guinther       3,636
92    Neil Tyler               3,636
93    Eric Buchman       3,636
94    Eduard Scharf       3,636
95    Ronald Grauer       3,636
96    Jerry Yang               3,636
97    Aaron Mermelstein    3,636
98    Tyler Chung       3,636
99    Derek Christensen    3,636
100    Chris Wafula       3,636
101    Samuel Bernstein    3,636
102    Francois Billard       3,636
103    Benjamin Roberts    3,636
104    Andre Akkari       3,636
105    Jamie McCarrel       3,636
106    James Herndon       3,636
107    Jamal Clark               3,636
108    Ronald Lee       3,636
109    Robert Lipkin       3,345
110    David Pederson       3,345
111    Kevin Haw               3,345
112    Al Barbieri               3,345
113    Aaron Steury       3,345
114    Bruce Seaquist       3,345
115    Manish Patel       3,345
116    Judson Dymond       3,345
117    Donald Rubinstein    3,345
118    Francois Balmigere    3,345
119    Justin Filtz               3,345
120    Carl Johnson       3,345
121    Jan Skampa       3,345
122    Jeffrey Palarino       3,345
123    Michael Darling       3,345
124    Steve Yea               3,345
125    Paul Whiting       3,345
126    Basile Blancpain       3,345
127    Brook Whisenant    3,075
128    Richard Robinson    3,075
129    Matthew Hawrilenko    3,075
130    Jeffrey Levine       3,075
131    Hoyt Corkins       3,075
132    James Goldstein       3,075
133    Andrew Dyonisio       3,075
134    Nicholas Petrangelo    3,075
135    Anthony Spinella       3,075
136    Brian Kennish       3,075
137    Ryan Thurlow       3,075
138    Ted Lawson       3,075
139    Andrew Mullens       3,075
140    Joeph Kustosz       3,075
141    Mikhael Saakian       3,075
142    Dominik Kulicki       3,075
143    Steven Dibari       3,075
144    Chad Thomsen       3,075
145    Steven Schartner    2,828
146    Dennis Marinack       2,828
147    Felipa Ramos       2,828
148    Antonio Girardi       2,828
149    Ryhan Hughes       2,828
150    Kevin Kansler       2,828
151    Cyril Jassinowsky       2,828
152    William Mikolay       2,828
153    Rodrigo Sirichuk       2,828
154    Lance Schuchard    2,828
155    Elizabeth Indig       2,828
156    Nabih Zaczac       2,828
157    Christopher Kassela    2,828
158    Thomas Manzella       2,828
159    Marc Davis               2,828
160    Michael Glasser       2,828
161    James St Hilaire       2,828
162    Mark Kohner       2,828

[TightEnd]

Event 17 $5000 NLHE

James Dempsey cashed in 69th

Stuart Rutter cashed 51st

34 remain

$818,000 up top

Top Chip Counts
1    Jeff Williams    960,000
2    Samuel Trickett    810,000
3    Antonio Esfandiari 750,000
4    Amit Makhija    700,000
5    Jason DeWitt    665,000
6    Lennart Holz    579,000
7    David Benefield    565,000
8    Steven Goosen    500,000
9    Anton Nikaj    420,000
10    James Carroll    355,000

Good luck to Sam

Also good luck to Pab, with 320,000

[TightEnd]

Event 18 $2,000 LHE

The day began ten levels ago with 476 players, and limit or not, we're already down to 109. Josh Honegger sits atop the overnight chip counts with 87,000, followed by Daniel "amichaiKK" Makowsky with 74,600. Matt Matros won the first limit hold'em event of the series a few days ago, and with 53,700 in chips, he could make a serious run at number two.

Joe Serock, Bob Lauria, and Matt Glantz also bagged substantial stacks. Joining them for Day 2 will be Maria Ho, Jennifer Tilly, Rob Hollink, Shannon Shorr, and Lex Veldhuis. Daniel Negreanu made a good effort but ultimately busted in time to tend to his stack in the $10k 2-7 Championship. Tom Dwan was here a much shorter amount of time, and Phil Ivey's stack blinded away without a single appearance from the big man.

The 476 players, 30 more than turned out for the same event last year, built a prize pool of $866,322. The last 45 players standing tomorrow will get at least a piece of that, but they'd all love to pick up the $203,000 check that goes with the WSOP gold bracelet.

Top Chip Counts
1    Josh Honegger    87,000
2    Daniel Makowsky    74,600
3    Matt Matros    53,700
4    Matt Glantz    50,700
5    Matt Grapenthien 49,000
6    Andrew Brussard 43,000
7    Joe Serock    42,000
8    Maria Ho    40,000
9    Bob Lauria    40,000
10    Rep Porter    33,800

[TightEnd]

2010 World Series of Poker

Event #19: $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship



    Players Left
        86

    Entries
        101

Top Chip Counts
1    Tommy Vedes    92,000
2    David Baker    80,000
3    Stephen Chidwick 71,500
4    Dario Alioto    63,400
5    Dee Tiller       60,000
6    Greg Mueller    55,000
7    Vladimir Schmelev 53,000
8    Tom Dwan    50,000
9    Erick Lindgren    48,000
10    Daniel Negreanu    48,000

[TightEnd]

Steve Gee was the winner of the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 World Series of Poker.  It marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory.  Gee is a 54-year-old poker pro who now lives in Sacramento, .  He has been playing poker for more than three decades and was one of California’s top cash game Lowball players, long before flop games such as Hold’em became popular.

Gee collected $472,479 for first place.  The nearly half-a-million dollar payout was fitting given the heavy odds stacked against him when he began play three days earlier.  Gee conquered a massive field size of 3,042 players en route to his biggest poker win ever.

This was the second $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event held at this year’s WSOP.  Every weekend three huge No-Limit Hold’em events are played.  Most Fridays include a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament.  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.

The top 324 finishers collected prize money.  The runner up was Matthew Vance, from Lowville, NY.

[TightEnd]

THINKING LIKE A WSOP CHAMPION

by: Nolan Dalla

THINKING LIKE A WSOP CHAMPION

Poker tournaments are won and lost at crucial moments which cannot be foretold.  A big hand can come at any moment.  They just happen.  Some of the most important moments come early in a tournament, allowing a player to double-up or survive.  Other important moments take place during the middle of an event, and serve as a major turning point.  Then, there are crucial moments late in the tournament, often at the final table, which ultimately determine winners and losers.

Good poker players see these crucial moments as opportunities.  Strategic decisions are not merely responses to routine situations but are, in the best scenarios, bold initiatives.  Then, there are really great poker players who not only see opportunities, but create their own turning points out of situations that would otherwise be missed by average poker players.

An excellent example of this concept is the thought process of a 27-year-old professional poker player from Chicago, named Josh Tieman.  He recently won the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Shootout.  The victory gave Tieman his first WSOP gold bracelet.  It was also his tenth time to cash at the WSOP.

Tieman is not a household name (yet), but he has a unique talent that goes above and beyond the poker table, which is the ability to analyze complex situations and craft out-of-the-ordinary courses of action.  Tieman was interviewed shortly after winning his first WSOP gold bracelet, which took place on June 3rd.  What was otherwise a routine post-tournament question and answer session evolved into one of the deeper strategic revelations any WSOP event winner has conveyed in recent memory.

Tieman was asked about some of the key hands that propelled him to victory.  His comments reveal a great deal about how a champion poker player thinks and how he breaks down a hand.  The hand was not particularly memorable for any other reason than Tieman decided to seize an opportunity and make it momentous.  Virtually all other players would have mucked their cards instantly when facing an identical situation, instead preparing for the next hand to be dealt.  But Tieman -- demonstrating a thought process that is was exceptional as it was clever -- maneuvered this one hand to his benefit.  Was it the most important hand of the tournament?  No.  Did it generate Tieman’s biggest pot?  No.  But it was one of several steps on the path that eventually led to his winning a WSOP gold bracelet.

The hand took place on Day Two of the three-day tournament.  He was playing in the second of three rounds of the No-Limit Hold’em Shootout – which meant only the table winner would advance to the next round.  Play was at three handed.  Tieman is quoted verbatim for the remainder of this article:

I think I made my biggest bluff ever in this tournament….In all three rounds (of the Shootout), I basically lost a third of my stack, before even winning a single hand.  The second round was definitely the longest and most grueling.  It started out six-handed and got down to three-handed really quickly.  It was just kind of a weird situation.  I couldn’t get a strong read on one of the players, and I just wasn’t picking up too many hands.

In round two when we were three-handed, it seemed like I couldn’t get anything going.  It felt like I was getting pushed around a little bit.  I wasn’t picking up hands to fight back with.  One player raised me on the button.  He had been playing pretty aggressively.  The player in the small blind flat called, and I decided I was just going to three-bet with whatever I had. 

I had been playing sort of tight, because one player had been calling all of my three-bets.  So, I wasn’t getting any real cards to three-bet with.  So, I just three-bet anyway hoping to take down 20,000 in chips.  The first player folded, and I just thought the second player would fold for sure, because she had been three-betting a ton of hands.  She had been playing well and tight.  But she had been-three betting pretty light and when she didn’t three-bet I figured she’d fold for sure.  But she ended up calling.

I think the flop ended up being playing card: playing card: playing card: , with two diamonds.  She checked.  I bet out small -- maybe a third to half the pot expecting her to fold to that.  But she raised me a little bit more than a mini-raise.

I had playing card: playing card: off-suit.  I had nothing. 

I just sat there thinking for about five minutes thinking what hand she would actually make this play with.  I figured if she had a flush draw she would make a bigger raise, and just re-shove.  I really didn’t think she had anything bigger like A-9 or A,-10 or A-J because I thought she would three-bet those hands before the flop.  You know, I kind of thought maybe she had (pocket) , or , or 10s -- but I didn’t really know why she would mini-raise there.  I was running through all the possible hands she could possibly have, and nothing made sense to me.  So, I was just kind of debating because I didn’t think she had anything.  But I had absolutely nothing.  Before I even really thought it through, I just found myself pushing (all of my stack) in…and was kind of, you know, talking to myself, like…what the bleep are you doing here?  Going all-in with 7 high?
 
She pretty much instantly folded, and that was like a really big pot.  That turned the momentum, because I was just folding, folding, folding three-handed and just getting knocked down and, you know, the other two players had all the momentum.

That really got me some momentum and crippled the other player.  She pushed a few times and was knocked out by the other player.  Then, we went heads up.  I’m really comfortable playing heads up, but it was a really, really long match.  It went a couple hours.  There were some big pots back and forth, but eventually I took it down....There were some huge hands in there.  But I think that was the hand I’m most proud of in the tournament -- moving all in with 7-2 offsuit.

[TightEnd]

rank Kassela Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet

Las Vegas Businessman Wins Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Championship

Defeats Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler Heads-Up and Collects $447,446

Final Table Includes Four Former WSOP Gold Bracelet Winners – Harman, Zolotow, Juanda, Minieri

Russian Vladimir Shchmelev Becomes First Player to Make Three Final Tables

WSOP Hosts Richest Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split Tournament in Poker History
 
For the tournament portal page for this event, including official results, click HERE.

OVERVIEW

Frank Kassela was the winner of the $10,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker.  It marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory.  The successful businessman and serious part-time poker player who recently moved to Las Vegas from Memphis, TN collected $472,479 for first place.  He defeated an all-star final table lineup that included four former WSOP gold bracelet winners – including John Juanda, Steve Zolotow, Jennifer Harman, and Dario Minieri. 

This was Kassela’s second WSOP final table appearance.  His most notable previous accomplishment had been a cash in last year’s $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary No Limit Hold'em Tournament.   

Kassela is a 42-year-old married father of five children.  He started playing poker seriously about 10 years ago.  Kassela has cashed in several tournaments around the country and has now accumulated more than $1.5 million in overall tournament winnings.  However, his lone victory was a win last year at the LA Poker Classic.  Kassela can now proudly claim the title of "2010 Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Champion."

All $10,000 buy-in events on this year's WSOP schedule are officially designed as “Championship” events, since these are the highest buy-in tournaments in each respective form of poker.  Championship events include Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split, Deuce-to-Seven Lowball, Omaha High-Low Split, Limit Hold’em, Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em, H.O.R.S.E., Pot-Limit Omaha, and the No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Championship. 

Only the top 16 tournament finishers collected prize money.  The runner up was Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, the unrelentingly crabby touring pro and combative tournament demagogue, who came as close as ever to winning his first WSOP gold bracelet.  Several former WSOP gold bracelet finishers cashed in this event – aside from Harman (3rd), Zolotow (4th), Juanda (5th), and Minieri (8th).  Other champions included Gary Benson (9th), Blair Rodman (15th), and Toto Leonidas (16th).

This was the richest Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split prize pool in poker history – at $1,598,000.  It eclipsed last year’s previous record by $56,400.  This was only the third million-dollar prize pool ever for any Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split tournament.

THE CHAMPION -- Frank Kassela

The $10,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (Event #15) winner is Frank Kassela, from Las Vegas, NV.  He previously lived in Memphis, TN.

Kassela is 42-years-old.   He was born in Chicago, IL.  His family relocated and he grew up in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite.

At age 25, Kassela moved to Memphis, TN -- were he started a successful business.

Kassela is the owner of Mid-American Specialties, which sells promotional  and specialty products, primarily to government offices.  His company has one office in Dallas and three offices in Memphis.

Kassela says he sleeps very little.  He usually gets about three to four hours of sleep per night.

Kassela began playing poker seriously about 10 years ago.

Kassela moved to Las Vegas recently so he could concentrate more on poker playing.  He could be classified either as a pro or semi-pro, depending on the time of year.  Kassela is playing poker full-time now; however, during other months he spends much of his time concentrating on his business.

Kassela’s favorite poker game is Pot-Limit Omaha.  He is trying to start up a regular mid-to-high stakes Pot-Limit game at various Las Vegas casinos.  Since he has not been successful, he often plays PLO with $2-5 blinds, which is the largest game found on a regular basis.
 
Kassela has already accumulated more than $1.5 million in career tournament winnings.  He has 36 major cashes.  His only tournament victory prior to this win was in a Pot-Limit tournament at the 2009 LA Poker Classic.

Kassela’s first tournament cash was at the 2003 Jack Binion World Poker Open.

Kassela collected $447,446 for first place.  He was presented with his first WSOP gold bracelet.

According to official records, Kassela now has one win, two final table appearances, and five cashes at the WSOP.   His career WSOP earnings now total $550,059.

Following his victory, Kassela joked that he would give his gold bracelet to his 14-year-old daughter.  This brought mock protest from Kassela’s son who sat in the audience and watched his father win his first WSOP title.  After contemplating who would get the bracelet, Kassela agreed that it would be best to win at least one more so each member of the family would receive the prized jewelry.

WINNER QUOTES

On what winning his first WSOP gold bracelet means:  “This feels good!  I feel terrific!  I couldn’t feel better!”

On the meaning of his victory:  “Once you start playing poker, you definitely want to win a World Series gold bracelet.  That’s why you play tournament poker.”

On poker games he likes to play:  “I’m trying really hard to get a regular PLO game going in Las Vegas.  That’s the game I like to play.”

On his self-assessment as a Stud High-Low player:  “I think I play it well.  But it’s not a game I play tons of.  I first started playing it at the Horseshoe in Tunica.”

On tournament strategy:  “Stud High-Low is about the slow accumulation of chips.  You’re not going to get as many chips quickly as you are in Pot-Limit Omaha (and other games).  It’s a building process.  It requires patience.”

On playing heads-up against his friend, poker pro Allen Kessler:  “He was in a really bad spot, chip count-wise, when we got heads up.  He was down about 4 to 1.  In Stud High-Low, that’s just insurmountable, unless you run into some perfect hands.”

On his reputation as a table talker:  “I just like to talk.  I wish I could say it was a strategy.  I just like to run my mouth.”

THE FINAL TABLE

The final table consisted four former WSOP gold bracelet winners – John Juanda (4 wins), Steve Zolotow (2 wins), Jennifer Harman (2 wins), and Dario Minieri (1 win).

This was the most gold-bracelet heavy finale of any final table played so far at this year’s WSOP.  Half of the finalists were former title winners, with a combined total of nine wins between them

Three different nations were represented at the final table: Italy, Russia, and the United States.  There were four Las Vegas residents at this final table – the most of any table so far.

The final table began eight-handed.  This is standard practice in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split.

Final table participants ranged in age from 25 to 65.

The runner up was Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler.  The former owner of a marketing firm from Philadelphia, PA, who now resides in Las Vegas, scored his biggest payout yet in a WSOP event with this finish – worth $276,485.  Kessler finished second in an Omaha High-Low Split event in 2005.  He battled Kassela tough late but could not overcome his serious chip disadvantage in the final stages of the tournament.  This marked his 14th WSOP cash.

The third-place finisher was Jennifer Harman, from Las Vegas, NV.  She is a two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner (2000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball and 2002 Limit Hold’em).  Harman ran out of momentum later and busted out in the tenth hour of play.  With her $173,159 payout, she now has more than $1.6 million in career WSOP earnings.

The fourth-place finisher was Steve Zolotow, from Las Vegas, NV.  Zolotow is a two-time former gold bracelet winner (1995 Chinese Poker and 2001 Pot-Limit Hold’em).  He is affectionately known as the “Bald Eagle,” due to his uncanny resemblance to the menacing feathered species.  Zolotow is originally from New York City, where he once owned a bar and was a fixture on the underground poker scene during the 1960s and 1970s.  At age 65, Zolotow is one of poker’s most eclectic personalities.  He once met Marilyn Monroe.  He (claims to have) fallen asleep in the same bed with Elizabeth Taylor.  With this cash – worth $125,379 – Zolotow crossed the million-dollar threshold in WSOP career winnings.

The fifth-place finisher was John Juanda, from Las Vegas, NV.  Juanda lasted nearly nine hours before busting out when he went card dead late.  Juanda, a four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event champion, collected $97,989.

The sixth-place finisher was Kirill Rabcov, from Moscow, Russia.  He won the 2008 Russian Poker Championship.  This was his fourth time to cash at the WSOP and was his highest finish to date.  Sixth place paid $78,142.

The seventh-place finisher was Vladimir Shchmelev, from St. Petersburg, Russia.  With his third final table appearance through only 15 events, Shchmelev has rocketed out to an early lead in the 2010 WSOP “Player of the Year” race.  He was the runner up in the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship.  Shchmelev also finished seventh in the $10,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud Championship.  With this final table appearance, he becomes the first player to accomplish three-final tables at this year’s series.  He is also the first player in history to make it to three final tables in three designated “Championship” events in a single year.  Seventh place paid $63,456.

Note:  In various media reports, Vladimir Shchmelev has multiple spellings for his last name.  He has been commonly reported as “Schmelev.”  The correct spelling is “SHCHEMELEV.”

The eighth-place finisher was Dario Minieri, from Rome, Italy.  He won the $2.500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit event in 2008.  Minieri has also made three final tables on the European Poker Tour (EPT).  Eighth place paid $52,366.

Gary Benson finished ninth.  He was the first Australian to win a WSOP gold bracelet, a feat he accomplished in 1996.

Jennifer Harman became the second woman to make it to a final table this year.  The first was J.J. Liu, who had a third-place finish.

The final table officially began at 5:30 pm and ended at 4:30 am.  The final table clocked in at exactly 11 hours.

OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS

The top 16 finishers collected prize money.  Aside from those who made the final table, former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Gary Benson (9th), Blair Rodman (15th), and Toto Leonidas (16th).

With his in-the-money finish in this tournament, John Juanda now has 52 career cashes.  This puts him in a tie with Chau Giang for eighth place on the all-time WSOP cashes list.

With his in-the-money finish in this tournament, Steve Zolotow now has 39 career cashes.  This puts him in a tie with Mickey Appleman for 24th place on the all time WSOP cashes list.

The defending champion was Jeffrey Lisandro.  He played in this event and lasted through the second day, but he did not cash.

ODDS & ENDS

This was the richest Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split prize pool in poker history.  It eclipsed last year’s previous record by $56,400.  This was only the third million-dollar prize pool ever for any Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split tournament.

This is the 845th 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).

Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split is a game in which the highest and lowest hands split the pot equally.  However, the lowest hand must first qualify to be eligible for half the pot.  The qualifying low hand must be an "eight-low" or better.  For this reason, the game is sometimes called Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better.

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 to follow, if sitting in the audience.

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.

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

EVENT HISTORY

Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split was the first "split" game ever to be played at the WSOP, when it was first introduced 32 years ago.  In 1976, Doc Green became the first Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Champion.  Interestingly, he won $12,750 for first place that year, which is less than half what the bottom of the payout scale (16th place) earned in this year's event.

Since 1976, the list of event winners reads like a "Who's Who" of poker.  Past winners include Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Mickey Appleman, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Max Stern, Men "the Master" Nguyen, Mike Sexton, Artie Cobb, Vince Burgio, Cyndy Violette, Rich Korbin, Eli Elezra, and Jeffrey Lisandro.

In 1986, this game was inexplicably omitted from the WSOP schedule.  After some protest by Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split enthusiasts, it was re-instituted and has been included on the poker menu every year.  Since 1995, every WSOP has included at least two Eight-or-Better events. This year's WSOP schedule includes two Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split tournaments – this $10,000 buy-in Championship and a $1,500 buy-in event to be played June 14-16.

No player in WSOP history has ever won more than one gold bracelet in this game.

Last year's event attracted 164 entries. Entries increased slightly to 170 players this year.

TOURNAMENT PLAY

The tournament was played over four consecutive days, from June 6-9, 2010.  The tournament was officially listed as a three-day competition, but the final table ran longer than usual and played well into a fourth day.

Here were the starting chip counts when final table play began:

Seat 1 -- Harman:  817,000
Seat 2 -- Zolotow:  560,000
Seat 3 -- Kassela:  372,000
Seat 4 -- Juanda:  644,000
Seat 5 – Shchemelev:  398,000
Seat 6 – Rabcov:  949,000
Seat 7 -- Kessler:  390,000
Seat 8 – Minieri:  652,000

Kassela seized the chip lead about midway through the finale.  He held the chip lead until the final hand was dealt.  That came when Kassela was dealt (playing card: playing card: ) playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: (playing card: ) which made two pair – with no low.  Kessler had (playing card: playing card: ) playing card: playing card: playing card: playing card: (playing card: ) which was good for two pair -- tens and eights (no low).  Kassela scooped and was the winner, which evoked cheers from one lone supporter in the audience, which was Kassela’s son.  Meanwhile, “Chainsaw” Kessler’s merry band of followers shuffled away in despair and disappointment.

Kassela officially becomes the 2010 “Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Champion,” replacing last year’s winner Jeffrey Lisandro.

2010 WSOP STATISTICS
 
(Note:  Event #15 concluded before Event #13)

Through the conclusion of Event #15, the 2010 WSOP has attracted 18,532 total entries; $30,608,300 in prize money has been awarded to winners.

Tournament attendance is up from this same point last year.  Through 15 events, there were 17,195 entries last year.  There have been 18,532 total entries in the same span this year.

Through the conclusion of Event #15 (excluding #13), the nationalities of winners have been:

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

Through the conclusion of Event #15 (excluding #13), the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:

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

Through the conclusion of Event #15 (excluding #13) the ratio of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets is as follows:

Professional Players (10):  Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh Tieman, Peter Gelencser, James Dempsey, Men “the Master” Nguyen, Matt Matros, Simon Watt, Yan R. Chen

Semi-Pros (1):  Frank Kassela

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]

Will leave Event 17 for the conclusion shortly

Meanwhile.....

[TightEnd]

Event 18 $2,000 NLH has reached the final 10


CP instructor Matt matros stands a chance of winning a second bracelet in Limit this WSOP

Top Chip Counts
1    Eric Buchman    390,000
2    Matt Grapenthien 356,000
3    Matthew Matros    325,000
4    Hansu Chu     325,000
5    Brent Courson    325,000
6    Steven Hustoft    293,000
7    Flavio Ferrari    145,000
8    Gary Bogdanski    135,000
9    Daniel Quach    68,000
10    William Jensen    55,000

[TightEnd]

Event 19 $10,000 2-7 Lowball has reached the final two tables


Some big guns fighting over this one


Table #313
Seat 1: George Danzer - 268,500
Seat 2: John Monnette - 142,000
Seat 3: Doug Booth - 241,000
Seat 4: John Juanda - 191,000
Seat 5: Daniel Negreanu - 139,000
Seat 6: Vincent Musso - 315,000
Seat 7: Yan Chen - 104,500

Table #316
Seat 1: Eric Cloutier - 151,500
Seat 2: Eric Kesselman - 313,000
Seat 3: Chad Brown - 81,500
Seat 4: Andy Bloch - 181,500
Seat 5: David Baker - 636,000
Seat 6: Erik Seidel - 220,000
Seat 7: Peter Gould - 31,500