Nolan Dalla

by Nolan Dalla

Schulman Wins Deuceto-Seven for Second Time in Four Years

by Nolan Dalla

Las Vegas, NV (July 17, 2012 – 2:15 am PST) – What started as the fifth-largest live poker tournament in history is now down to the final nine players at the 2012 World Series of Poker.  Nearly two weeks and more than half a million hands after the $10,000 buy-in Main Event Championship initially began, the famed “October Nine” finalists have been determined.

The day’s decisive moment came when Andras Koroknai (Hungary) eliminated Gaelle Baumann (France) who ended up as the tenth-place finisher.  The final hand was dealt at 1:10 am, eliciting frustration for Baumann’s many supporters, while igniting an outburst of screams and cheers from hundreds of spectators swarming the ESPN broadcast stage, including the family and friends of those who about to step into the brightest spotlight of their lives.

by Nolan Dalla

 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship
 Buy-In: $10,000
 Number of Entries: 6,598
 Number of Players Remaining: 4,344

 Total Net Prize Pool: $62,021,200
 Number of Places Paid: 666
 First Place Prize: $8,527,982
 July 9th through October 29th, 2012

  OVERVIEW

 The gold rush is underway!

 The world's richest and most prestigious poker tournament is now going strong at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas.

 The 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship completed the first step of an arduous journey toward the game's ultimate achievement -- poker's undisputed world championship. All three starting flights, designated as Days 1A, 1B, and 1Care now complete. The final starting day ended late Monday night.

 The official number of entrants for this year’s Main Event Championship is 6,598 players. This is the fifth largest live poker tournament in history.

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – NICK SCHULMAN

 Name: Nick Schulman

 Age: 26

 Residence: New York, NY (and Las Vegas, NV)

 Occupation: Professional Poker Player

 WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories: 2

 WSOP Cashes: 16

 WSOP Final Table Appearances: 8

 WSOP Earnings: $1,228,390 Note: Schulman will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he plays poker full-time.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

 Question: This is an event with a lot of history. How does it feel to be grouped with all the greats who have won this event in the past?

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – DOMINIK NITSCHE

 Name: Dominik Nitsche

 Age: 21

 Birthplace: Wittlich, Germany

 Current Residence: Brighton, Great Britain

 Occupation: Professional Poker Player

 Years Attending WSOP: 1

 WSOP Cashes: 4

 WSOP Final Table Appearance: 1

 WSOP Victories: 1

 Note: Nitsche will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he plays poker full-time and has been supporting himself by poker winnings for the past few years.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

 Question: Talk about your rail of supporters, they’re from all over the place!

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – VIACHESLAV ZHUKOV

 The 2012 World Series of Poker $3,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split World Champion is Viacheslav Zhukov from Stary Oskol, Russia.

 Zhukov was also born in Stary Oskol, which is located about 400 miles south of Moscow on the Oskol River.

 Zhukov is a 23-year-old professional poker player. His name is spelled differently in some poker records – most notably as VYACHESLAV ZHUKOV.

 In addition to his native Russian, Zhukov speaks English well. He is close to fluency.

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – GREG MERSON

 Name: Gregory Merson

 Birthplace: Washington, DC

 Current Residence: Laurel, Maryland (also spends much of his time in Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

 Marital Status: Single

 Children: None

 Profession: Professional Poker Player (highly-experienced online player)

 Education: Attended community college and University of Maryland (did not graduate)

 WSOP Cashes: 5

 WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1

 WSOP Wins (with this victory): 1

 First-place prize: $1,136,197

 Note: Greg Merson will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he plays poker full-time and has no other source of income.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – TOMAS JUNEK

 Name: Tomas Junek

 Age: 23

 Birthplace: Prestavlky, Czech Republic

 Current Residence: Vysoke Myto, Czech Republic

 Marital Status: Single

 Children: None

 Profession: Professional Poker Player

 WSOP Cashes: 1

 WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1

 WSOP Wins (with this victory): 1

 WSOP-Related Earnings: $661,022

 Note: Junek will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he plays full-time.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

 (Note that English is the second language of Mr. Junek.)

 Question: Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into poker?

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CHAMPION -- ANTONIO ESFANDIARI

 Question: Antonio, you walked off this stage about a week and a half ago in a very disappointing third place. You were crushed. At that time, could you have possibly thought you’d get to this moment.

 Esfandiari: Yes. I believed it. I declared it. I wanted to win even more since I took third and didn’t win that tournament. I got pretty unlucky when it was three-handed, and so I was determined to come back and win another one.

 Question: On a scale of Antonio Esfandiari’s greatness, how great is this?

 Esfandiari: It’s like 182, feels like. It’s better than sex that’s for sure.

 Question: Talk about the last hand when you’re sweating the last two cards – the flush draw. How hard was your heart beating?

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – WILL JAFFE

Name: Will Jaffe

Age: 25

Birthplace: Southampton, NY (Long Island)

Residence: Bridgehampton, NY (Long Island)

Marital Status: Single

Children: None

Education: Attended College (did not graduate)

Profession: Professional Poker Player

WSOP Cashes: 3

WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1

WSOP Wins (with this victory): 1

WSOP-Related Earnings: $508,791

Note: Jaffe will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records.