World Series of Poker

 MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – YEN DANG

 Name: Yen Dang

 Birthplace: Vietnam

 Age: 29

 Current Residence: Denver, Colorado

 Profession: Professional Poker Player (4 years)

 Previous Occupation: Student (Law School)

 Marital Status: Single

 Children: 1

 Number of WSOP Cashes: 1

 Number of WSOP final table appearances: 1

 Number of WSOP gold bracelet victories (with this tournament): 1

 Best Previous WSOP finish: None

 Total WSOP Earnings: $170,587

 Note: Dang will be classified as a pro poker player in WSOP records, since she plays cash games full-time and has been in the game for about five years.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

 MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – PETER “THE GREEK” VILANDOS

 Vilandos is known as “Peter the Greek” because his proud Greek heritage.

 Vilandos’ real name is Panayote Vilandos.

 Vilandos is a 72-year-old retiree who now plays poker semi-professionally. He has been a fixture at major poker tournaments around the United States for more than 20 years.

 Vilandos arrived as an immigrant from Greece at the age of 27. He had already earned a degree from the University of Athens but decided to go back to school in the United States. He graduated from the University of Houston and earned a degree in electrical engineering.

 Vilandos was a businessman in Houston. He started playing poker for fun. It eventually became a passion to the point he travels around the tournament circuit as a regular.

by Wendeen H. Eolis

  Since the 1970s, enterprising men and women in the poker industry have sought to attract women into the fold (as players and industry professionals), but even the World Series of Poker has shown lackluster success in attracting more than a fractionally increased percentage of women into major competition.

 WSOP Director Ty Stewart says, “We all need to work toward the goal of doing better to move the needle way up on the participation of women at the WSOP.” Stewart is on the prowl for exciting suggestions from industry leaders who share this goal. Additionally, other WSOP personnel say they are mindful of the need to avoid the appearance of endorsement or partnership with organizations or individuals who may have more self-serving purposes.  Beyond the world of women players are women professionals in the poker industry; many have started their management careers in a casino card room, but have seen few opportunities to use their skills in their employers’ broader operations.

On Sunday, the World Series of Poker saw history being made as the largest single day buy-in tournament got underway.  The beginning of the $1 million buy-in Big One for Big Drop saw 48 players spread out over six tables each vying for the biggest prize in poker history - the first prize of $18,346,673.

At the end of the day, there were 37 players moving on to Day 2.  Of the 11 eliminations, 9 of them were poker professionals.  Justin Smith became the first player eliminated, followed by Andrew Robl, Jens Kyllonen, Jonathan Duhamel, early-in-the-day chipleader Paul Phua, Erik Seidel, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Nick Schulman, Eugene Katchalov, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and, suffering the last elimination of the night on the last hand, Giovanni “Malibu” Guarascio.

By Nolan Dalla

 If the 2012 World Series of Poker was a baseball game, this would be the seventh-inning stretch. If it were a football game, it would be the start of the fourth quarter. Indeed, everything comes down to about 15 or so remaining gold bracelet winning moments that will be played over the final few weeks.

 While the poker world will be intensely focused on the Main Event Championship (July 7-16), which is preceded by the $1 Million Buy-In “Big One for One Drop,” several exciting developments over the past week or so bear reflection.

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – GREG HOBSON

 Name: Greg Hobson

 Birthplace: Baker, Oregon

 Age: 33

 Current Residence: Anchorage, Alaska

 Marital Status: Married

 Children: 2

 Profession: Professional Poker Player

 Former Profession: Substitute Teacher

 Education: University of Oregon

 Number of WSOP Cashes: 4

 Number of WSOP gold bracelet victories (with this tournament): 1

 Best Previous WSOP finish: 151st (2009)

 First-Place Prize Money: $256,691

 Note: Hobson will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he plays full-time exclusively and has no other occupation.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – KENNY HSIUNG

 Name: Kenny Hsiung

 Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio

 Age: 29

 Current Residence: Henderson, NV

 Marital Status: Single

 Children: No

 Profession: College Student (University of Nevada-Las Vegas)

 Former Profession: Professional Poker Player

 Education: Attended Ohio State University, now attending UNLV

 Number of WSOP Cashes: 8

 Number of WSOP gold bracelet victories (with this tournament): 1

 Best Previous WSOP finish: 9th (2009)

 First-Place Prize Money: $165,205

 Note: Hsiung will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he plays full-time exclusively and has no other occupation.

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION

 Name: Steven Loube

 Birthplace: Colorado Springs, Colorado

 Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

 Age: 34

 Education: Loube did his undergrad at Georgia Tech and attended the University of Georgia (UGA) for law school. He finished his degree in London, England.

 Profession: Personal Injury Attorney -- owns his own law firm.

 Number of WSOP Cashes: 1

 Number of WSOP gold bracelet victories (with this tournament): 1

 Best Previous WSOP finish: This marked Steven’s first WSOP in-the-money finish.

 First-Place Prize Money: $267,345

 Hobbies: When Loube isn’t playing cards or working, he can be found playing Call of Duty.

 
INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – MICHAEL “THE GRINDER” MIZRACHI

 The winner was Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi, from Miramar, Florida (USA).

 Mizrachi is 30-years-old. He was born in Miami, FL.

 Mizrachi is a professional poker player. He has been playing full-time since 2004. Prior to playing poker, Mizrachi was a college student. He entered college and was studying to become a doctor, but decided to pursue a poker career instead, after performing so well early in his career.

 Mizrachi is married. He has three children.

 Mizrachi’s father is of Iraqi-Jewish decent. Mizrachi and most of his family are fluent in Hebrew.

MEET THE LATEST WSOP CHAMPION – JOEY WEISSMAN

 Name: Joey Weissman

 Birthplace: Syosset, NY

 Age: 24

 Current Residence: Boca Raton, FL (however, also staying in Las Vegas and elsewhere)

 Marital Status: Single

 Children: No

 Profession: Professional Poker Player

 Previous Occupation: College Student

 Number of WSOP Cashes: 3

 Number of WSOP gold bracelet victories (with this tournament): 1

 Best Previous WSOP finish: 44th (2011)

 First-Place Prize Money: $694,609

 Note: Weissman will be classified as a professional poker player in WSOP records, since he playa full-time exclusively and has no other occupation.

 INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER – JOEY WEISSMAN