With Todd Brunson, Layne Flack, Dennis Phillips, Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Ylon Schwartz and Chad Brown, who account for 23 WSOP bracelets, 298 WSOP cashes, five Circuit rings and almost $24 million in career earnings, the Choctaw main event field was a star-studded cast.
But none of these poker luminaries made it to the final table. Instead, the title went to 44-year-old Abraham Araya, a laid-off airline flight mechanic, who has more than made up for his job loss with his poker winnings. He won Choctaw’s T.J. Cloutier Poker Challenge last October for $83,659. Now he won $270,380. “Right now I can’t believe it. It didn’t sink in yet,” Araya said moments after his victory. “I can’t tell you how amazing this feeling is. It’s four or five years salary for an airline flight mechanic.”
When play was fourhanded, Jack Miller moved all-in with K-J and was called by Daniel Lowery’s A-7. A six-high straight ran out on the board, but Lowery’s seven gave him a higher straight and knocked Miller out in fourth place, which was good for $92,252.

by 'Oklahoma' Sarah Hale
 
 In my last column, I offered five tips for success when improving your poker game and playing for profit. Here are five more guidelines that are sure to make you a force to be reckoned with on the felt!

 6. Never play with scared money.

For those without New Year’s plans this year, don’t worry. For those who had them, it may be time to make a change.

 That’s because the World Series of Poker and the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles are joining forces for the first time for an official WSOP Circuit stop at the famed venue. There will be 12 official ring events on the schedule and a total of 34 different poker tournaments being contested. The event begins January 1, and runs through January 19. “With the WSOP Circuit Tour breaking records at every stop, it was finally the right time to come to Los Angeles for a signature mid-season event,” said WSOP executive director Ty Stewart. "We’re pleased to enter a multi-year agreement with the Bicycle Casino for what is certain to be one of our largest annual events."

Tuan Phan Wins Main Event at Harrah’s AC ...in His First WSOP Circuit Tournament Ever! Tuan Phan overcame a big field of 618 entrants—the largest turnout of any main event held during the eight seasons the WSOP Circuit has been played Atlantic City—to win his first ever WSOP circuit event. Phan collected $188,830 in prize money for his biggest payday as a poker player.

 “I can’t believe this,” Phan said afterward, as he high-fived several supporters cheering on the rail. Phan, a 30-year-old paralegal, from Vienna, VA, arrived at the final table with a huge chip lead and proceeded to knock out eight out of the last nine players.

 Chicago’s Bryan Schultz flew 2,000 miles to book his first major tournament win at the World Series of Poker circuit main event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe in Northern Nevada, outlasting 326 other players who each posted a $1,600 entry fee. Schultz took home $111,812, but it was no walk in the park, with the odds were stacked against him from the start. Not only did Schultz manage to defeat several former WSOP gold bracelet and WSOP Circuit gold ring winners, he also made a dramatic final table comeback—both at a full table and when play was heads up.

by Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire

The 1981 World Series of Poker main event was the first poker tournament poker I watched on television. Fifteen years ago I sat in my apartment in New York City, flipping through the slim pickings of late-late night television and eventually stopped on ESPN2. I watched the final table of the 1981 main event, which was hosted by legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy.

 I had never seen a poker tournament before. I sat in awe and wonderment at the action as Stu Ungar held on to win his second main event in a row after he beat out Perry Green, a furrier from Alaska. Ungar faded a field of 75 players—nine tables—to win $375,000.

[Las Vegas, Nevada]  “This is the greatest day of my life. I cannot believe it – it is all so unreal,” so commented Pius Heinz, the twenty-two-year-old German who shortly before midnight emerged as winner of the 2011 WSOP Main Event, the first German winner. He will take home $8,715,638 and the coveted bracelet.

It wasn’t supposed to turn out that way. The odds-on favorite was Ben Lamb, the player of the year, who has won more than $5 million in 2011. But Lamb was the first eliminated in the final three-man contest, his King-Joker wilting before the pair of sevens held by the thirty-five-year-old Czech Martin Staszko.

By Lou Krieger