By Nolan Dalla
The World Series of Poker never ceases to provide its share of thrilling moments, record-smashing numbers, and even controversies. Following a lackluster opening during the first week of gold bracelet events, the WSOP shifted into overdrive during the next several tournaments, as a number of memorable moments took place.
Perhaps the biggest story has been Phil Ivey’s return to poker prominence. Recall that in 2011, Ivey chose not to attend, nor play in any WSOP events. The eight-time gold bracelet winner and high-stakes player many consider to be the best in the world returned with a vengeance to the Rio, making no less than three final table appearances within a six-day stretch. While gold bracelet number nine has eluded Ivey up to this point (he’s finished 2nd, 3rd, and 7th), his overall performance was still strong enough to lead all other players in the “WSOP Player of the Year” point race at the Event #26 mark (there are 61 events this year).
Other storylines from this year’s series include the re-appearance of several old faces quite familiar to poker fans. During the past five years or so, the ranks of in-the-money finishers have been heavily populated by players in their 20s, many of whom were new to the live poker scene (albeit with lots of online poker experience).
However, this year’s WSOP has produced numerous deep runs by players who enjoyed their best runs a decade ago – names like Scotty Nguyen (a second-place finish), Mike Sexton (three top- 16 finishes), Layne Flack (three final table appearances), and many others. It remains to be seen if some of the older players can reverse a changing tide in recent years, which has been the dominance of so many great younger pros.
Speaking of the young versus the old, at press time, the Seniors World Poker Championship has just gone underway. The tournament established for players age 50 and up set an all-time one-day starting record as the largest tournament in poker history. Yes, that means all events, everywhere. A door-busting 4,128 players packed the Rio for opening day, and were welcomed by senior patriarch “Oklahoma Johnny” Hale, who provided his traditional roll call of names in remembrance of all the past poker greats.
Overall attendance numbers for gold bracelet events are quite close to the high mark set last year. Through the first 30 events, tournament attendance is only about 3.5 percent behind the record figures set in 2011. Cash game action is actually up. Deep Stack tournaments and satellites are about the same as in 2011. So, reports of WSOP attendance being on the decline were quite premature.
As the midpoint of the WSOP approaches, the weeks ahead should have many more spectacular moments as well. Stay tuned.
Marathon Man: Aubin Cazals Collects Gold Bracelet and $480,564
The $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max debuted in this years WSOP, with a virtually unknown poker player, Aubin Cazals winning first place— $480,564 in prize money. Cazals, 21, and already an online poker pro, resides on the island nation of Malta. In addition to the prize money, Cazals was also presented with his firstever WSOP gold bracelet– symbolizing poker’s highest achievement. However, this tournament is more likely to be remembered for its historic ramifications, and even some controversy that impacted play during what was expected to be the final day.
It all began 8,000 miles away. “Mixed Max” made its Las Vegas debut, following a highly-successful inaugural showing at 2011 WSOP Europe, held last October in (Cannes) France–ironically, the birthplace of the winner. Also known as “No-Limit Hold’em” (Split-Format), the tournament requires participants to play three distinct configurations of no-limit spread over (what was to be) four consecutive days and nights.
First day matches were played nine-handed. Second day matches were played six-handed. Third and fourth day matches–and alas, what bled into an unscheduled fifth day—were played heads-up. The final 32 players were seeded according to brackets, and ultimately played down to a winner. The inaugural gold bracelet event attracted a higherthan- expected turnout. The tourney drew 409 entrants, more than three times the number that participated in the similar version spread last year at WSOP Europe. However, just when things were sailing along smoothly, an unforeseen series of developments sidetracked what was to be the fourth and final day.
It all started on Sunday afternoon, when Aubin Cazals sat down to face Warwick Mirzikinian in the heads-up semi-final. Across the room, the other semifinal match (between Joseph Cheong and Hugo Lemaire) played out in just a couple of hours. Meanwhile, Cazals had absolutely no idea he was entering the first stage of what would turn out to be a record-breaking test of endurance.
One hour passed. Then two, then three, then four! By sundown—seven hours into the duel—players and spectators began inquiring about the previously held record for the longest headsup match in tournament poker history. The answer is-- 7 hours and 6 minutes: That’s the precise amount of time it took David “Chip” Reese to defeat Andy Bloch in the final stage of the $50,000 buy-in Poker Player Championship, held six years ago.
By 10 pm, everyone inside the tournament arena—and a worldwide audience following the action online—knew they were witnessing something that had never happened before. As things turned out, the old record of seven hours was a mere sprint compared to the brain-mashing 9 hour and 25 minute marathon death match that took place in the Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas on Sunday. By the time Cazals finally extinguished the fire that was once Mirzikinian’s hopes and spirit, players, spectators, and even staff, were camped around the final table like a late-night marshmallow roast.
As things turned out, the de-facto heads-up match went “only” five hours— a walk in the park—and ended when Cazals made trip kings versus Cheong’s pocket fours on the final hand. Cheong later admitted he misread a false tell on his opponent, never guessing that Cazals was so strong with the kings in a pre-flop re-raising war. Cheong’s consolation prize amounted to a less-than-satisfying payout. The reported figure Cheong “won” was $296,956 for second place. But in the runner-up’s mind, he “lost” about nearly two-hundred grand, the difference in prize money between 1st and 2nd.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #6 5/31-6/3/12
NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM MIXED MAX
BUY-IN $5,000
PLAYERS 409
PRIZE POOL
$1,922,3001. Aubin Cazals . . . . $480,564
2. Joseph Cheong . . . $296,956
3. Warwick Mirzikinian $162,443
4. Hugo Lemaire . . . . $162,443
5. Marvin Rettenmaier $68,151
6. Fabrizio Baldassari $68,151
7. Randy Haddox . . . . . $68,151
8. Adam Geyer . . . . . . $68,151
9. Anthony Gargano . . $24,390
10. Daniel Buzgon . . . . . $24,390
Andy Bloch Finally Gets His Elusive First Gold Bracelet
At last! Andy Bloch breathed a colossal sigh of relief when he finally won what had been an elusive accolade of near-mythical proportions. He finally won his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet, following 18 years of hammering away in the world’s most prestigious tournaments, and ultimately suffering the perennial heartache of disappointment after disappointment at each and every WSOP since 1995.
No doubt, Bloch’s most painful moment took place six years ago, in one of the most epic confrontations in poker history. Bloch faced legendary poker icon, David “Chip” Reese, heads-up in the inaugural $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship, which was nationally televised on ESPN. Bloch had the great Reese all-in and drawing slim a few times. But Reese managed to survive, and eventually won what turned out to become the longest heads-up match in WSOP history—clocking in at a mind-numbing seven hours.
But Bloch erased all that. He woke up from a nightmare. Literally on the exact same spot at the Rio Las Vegas where Reese had slain Bloch in 2006, leaving him bracelet-less again. This time, the roles were reversed and Bloch got to feel what it was like to drag the final pot of a WSOP tournament.
Bloch won the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud tournament, which included a stellar final table lineup of rivals that made the victory all the more poignant. His comeback finale included two former gold bracelet winners, David Williams and Barry Greenstein, playing the roles of extras in Bloch’s triumphant biopic— their golden amulets of previous accomplishment, no doubt, ringing in Bloch’s ears each time a new hand was dealt and chips were bet.
But in the end, which came at 10 pm in front of a small circle of intimate friends and well-wishers, Bloch was the victor and vanquisher of all the demons of WSOPs past— finally righting the recurrent wrong that had plagued his otherwise astral tournament career like a mustard stain on a tuxedo.
“Now, no one can say “Andy Bloch is the best player to never win a gold bracelet,” Bloch said moments after the victory. “That is really annoying because there are so many great other players too, who have not won. I’ve been coming here for 18 years now. I never thought it would have taken so long.”
The radiant new poker champion collected $126,363 in prize money. However, this victory wasn’t so much about dollars as it was about shedding a monkey and slaying a ghost.
Bloch’s victory gives him his first WSOP title, to go along with 28 cashes, 8 final table appearances, and more $2,411,554 million in WSOP earnings, to date.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #7 5/31-6/2/12
7-CARD STUD
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 367
PRIZE POOL
$495,4501. Andy Bloch . . . . . . $126,363
2. Barry Greenstein . . $78,038
3. Stephen Su . . . . . . . $50,332
4. David Williams . . . . $36,470
5. Huu Vinh . . . . . . . . . $26,813
6. Lee Goldman . . . . . $20,001
7. Caroline Hermesh . $15,135
8. Scott Abrams . . . . . $11,618
9. Joseph Ranciato . . . . $9,046
10. Fabrice Soulier . . . . . $9,046
71-Year-Old Alabaman Tops Record Field of 967 Players—Largest in Poker History
Topping a record 967-player field in the eighth gold bracelet event of this year’s World Series of Poker, Herbert Tapscott is the winner of the largest live Omaha High-Low Split poker tournament ever held.
The 71-year-old financier from Hartselle, Alabama, collected $264,400—one of the largest Omaha High-Low Split prizes in poker history. He was also presented his first WSOP gold bracelet, the game’s ultimate prize. Remarkably, this marked Tapscott’s first time ever to cash in a WSOP event in Las Vegas—proving once again that it’s never too late to triumph on poker’s grandest stage.
Tapscott’s previous career results include two cashes on the WSOP Circuit a few years ago, and winning a gold ring in the $550 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at Harrah’s Tunica in January 2010. But nothing came close to the thrill of victory experienced by Tapscott as he scooped the final pot of the tournament in front of a packed gallery of spectators.
Gavin Griffin, a poker pro from Ladera Beach, California, finished as the runner-up. He barely missed what would have been his second WSOP gold bracelet victory, eight (seemingly endless) years after his first win, when, at 22, he became the youngest winner in WSOP history (at the time). Instead, Griffin has to settle for $163,625 as a consolation prize.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #8 6/1-3/12
OMAHA HI-LO SPLIT
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 967
PRIZE POOL
$1,305,4501. Herbert Tapscott . $264,400
2. Gavin Griffin . . . . $163,625
3. Ashley Butler . . . . $102,373
4. Can Kim Hua . . . . . . $74,306
5. Michael Kleist . . . . . $54,855
6. John Racener . . . . . . $41,121
7. Thayer Rasmussen . $31,278
8. Raymond Davis . . . . $24,111
9. Bryan Jolly . . . . . . . $18,837
10. Wes Self . . . . . . . . . . $14,908
Yes Ash Kan!
Ashkan Razavi, a 30-year-old professional poker player from Maple Ridge, BC (Canada), won his first WSOP gold bracelet at the Rio in Las Vegas. His moment of triumph came in the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em title, for which he collected a whopping $781,398 in prize money.
Razavi’s victory was as challenging as it was welldeserved. He overcame the largest turnout the WSOP has seen in four years (for a $1,500-level buy-in event), outlasting a monster-sized field of 3,404 entries, in what turned out to be a grueling four-day grind.
The ultimate payoff came on the last day, when Razavi defeated a formidable final-table lineup that included some seasoned veterans as well as hungry newcomers to the WSOP final table scene. One of the most notable of the nine finalists was Amanda Musumeci, who continues to solidify her reputation as one of tournament poker’s brightest up-and-coming new stars.
Musumeci burst upon the scene in last year’s WSOP Main Event Championship, when she finished 62nd. The Philadelphia poker pro then proved she was no flash-in-the-pan by cashing ten times on the WSOP Circuit, this past season. She collected a memorable consolation prize at this final table: a runner-up finish and a payday amounting to $481,398 in prize money in what many will consider to be another breakthrough advance for the young pro.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #9 6/3-6/12
NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,5000
PLAYERS 3,404
PRIZE POOL
$4,595,4001. Ashkan Razavi . . . $781,398
2. Amanda Musumeci $481,643
3. Derrick Huang . . . $347,228
4. Ryan Olisar . . . . . . $252,379
5. Duy Ho . . . . . . . . . $185,378
6. Brian Rast . . . . . . . $137,632
7. Greg Mueller . . . . . $103,258
8. Benjamin Reinhart . $78,259
9. Dien Le . . . . . . . . . . $59,969
10. Aviraham Lovton . . $46,413
“Angry John” is All Smiles after Winning Second Title in Two Years
John Monnette, a 30-yearold professional poker player from Palmdale, CA, has won his second WSOP gold bracelet, making victory look far too easy. He won the $5,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud World Championship, collecting $190,826 in prize money.
Monnette found himself competing amidst as stacked a field as has been seen in any recent WSOP event, as nearly half of the total field were former gold bracelet holders. In fact, half of the players that cashed—eight of 16—were former title holders.
But Monnette wasn’t fazed a bit. He obliterated a final table lineup that included five-time winner, Jeffrey Lisandro (also the 2009 “WSOP Player of the Year”) and another former champion, Perry Friedman. However, Monnette’s toughest adversary proved to be Huu Vinh, from Huntington Beach, CA, who was making his second final table appearance in a stud event. He finished fifth in the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud tournament, which ended three days earlier.
Contrary to his table image, Monnette was the player that was all smiles at the end of the night. The chiseled and seemingly serious man, who peers have often referred to as “Angry John”, breezed through a final table in about five hours, considerably less time than some estimates that predicted an all-nighter.
In addition to the three finalists, Monnette, Friedman, and Lisandro, five other former gold bracelet winners cracked the money—including Eugene Katchalov, Cyndy Violette, Max Pescatori, Mike Sexton, and Nick Schulman. This was Sexton’s third top-16 cash at this year’s WSOP—which leads in the unofficial “deep run” category. Also of note was Katchalov’s ninth-place finish. He won this event last year.
The latest champion, Monnette, won his first gold bracelet in last year’s $2,500 buy-in Eight-Game Mix. He has been playing full time since the age of 22. His first WSOP in-the-money finish was in 2005. Monnette’s latest victory gives him his second WSOP title, to go along with 22 cashes, and $833,408 in career WSOP earnings. He’s also the reigning “Seven-Card Stud World Champion,” at least until next year.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #10 6/3-5/12
7-CARD STUD
BUY-IN $5,000
PLAYERS 145
PRIZE POOL
$681,5001. John Monnette . . . $190,826
2. Huu Vinh . . . . . . . . $117,913
3. Timothy Finne . . . . $73,847
4. Perry Friedman . . . . $53,470
5. Jeff Lisandro . . . . . . $41,789
6. Mark Dickstein . . . . $33,325
7. Bryn Kenney . . . . . . $27,062
8. Raymond Dehkharghani $22,332
9. Eugene Katchalov . $18,693
10. Lee Goldman . . . . . $18,693
Poker Professional from Netherlands becomes fourth Dutch-Born Champion at the WSOP
By Lukas M. Willems
The World Series of Poker has crowned another champion: 24-year-old Vincent Van Der Fluit. With the victory, Van Der Fluit became (only) the fourth Dutch-born World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner.
He bested a 970-person field in the $1,500 PotLimit Omaha Event #11. First prize awarded him more than $265,000, and the most coveted trophy in poker—a WSOP bracelet.
2010 and 2011 were forgettable years at the WSOP for this highly-decorated online pro. He recorded four cashes, but his deepest run came in a $2,500 Mixed Hold’em event when he finished 15th for $14,936. In his own words, he never really got close. Thankfully, 2012 started out drastically different— Event #11 was the first tournament he played, and he made it count, cashing in on gold.
“I had two very frustrating summers; then this year, I land in my first event and win it. It’s sort of a weird contrast,” Van Der Fluit said, after his victory.
After only three and a half hours of final table play, Van Der Fluit faced 2012 WSOP Circuit PotLimit Omaha champion Charles Tonne, heads up. The pair began their duel almost even in chips, and it appeared as if the lightningfast pace that characterized play to that point would slow. But in true PLO fashion, the heads-up battle lasted barely 30 minutes, and Van Der Fluit was the last man standing.
“I actually have a buddy coming in at 6 o’clock and I thought he might be able to rail me, but it’s already done,” Van Der Fluit joked, following his victory. “In PLO the money tends to go in more quickly.”
Joining Van Der Fluit and Tonne at the final table was professional poker player, Tristan Wade. Wade is a 14-time WSOP in-themoney finisher, and won a bracelet at the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe. His bid for bracelet number two came up short when he was eliminated in third place, earning $102,690.
Event #11 was the third tournament at the 2012 WSOP to feature a variation of Omaha. Event #3, a $3,000 heads-up event, boasted a no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha mix. Additionally, Event #8 was a $1,500 Omaha hi-low split-8 or better tournament. Those tournaments were won by Leif Force (first WSOP gold bracelet) and Herbert Tapscott (first WSOP gold bracelet), respectively.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #11 6/4-6/12
POT LIMIT OMAHA
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 970
PRIZE POOL
$1,309,5001. Vincent van der Fluit $265,221
2. Charles Tonne . . . . $164,132
3. Tristan Wade . . . . . $102,690
4. Damien Lhommeau $74,536
5. Alex Dovzhenko . . . $55,025
6. Rodney Brown . . . . $41,249
7. Brian Garbe . . . . . . $31,375
8. Calvin Anderson . . . $24,186
9. David Schnettler . . . $18,896
10. Galen Kester . . . . . . $14,954
23-Year-Old Poker Pro Wins Eight Straight Matches— Earns First WSOP Victory
Brian Hastings, a 23-yearold professional poker player from Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, has won his first WSOP gold bracelet. He won the $10,000 buy-in Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, collecting $371,498 in prize money.
But this victory wasn’t at all about the money. “I’ve had much bigger scores than this online,” Hastings confided to reporters, moments after his victory. “But there’s only one gold bracelet, and this means more than the money to me.”
Indeed, Hastings typifies an inner-circle of young superstars who have come to dominate the game in recent years. This is especially true for No-Limit Hold’em. Hastings is one of a small clique of chic twenty-somethings, stoked with six- and seven-figure bankrolls, who typically buy into games in dollar amounts greater than the cost of an average house. Hastings once (or perhaps, twice) reportedly won a pot of over a million dollars online, which he now looks upon pretty much as just another (good) day at the office. Now, Hastings’ “office” is in Vancouver, BC (Canada).
The Pennsylvania native jetted up to the great white north last year in an effort to preserve his bankroll, and continue his success as an online poker pro. He recently bought a home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida—which is primarily to be used, he says, as a jumping off point to the Bahamas.
“I plan to go over to the Bahamas every so often, and stay there for a week or two, and play online,” Hastings explained. “It’s a convenient place to stay in the U.S. in a way, but also continue to do what I do. So, while current federal laws prohibit online poker from taking place inside the United States, Hastings has very cleverly managed to have his cake and eat it too—living within the U.S. and essentially “commuting” to work in places like Canada and the Caribbean. Yet, while Hastings is a near legend in the online world, his status as a live tournament player is one of near anonymity—which suits the former college student just fine. His two previous cashes in WSOPrelated events show an eighth-place finish last year at WSOP Europe. Hastings also posted an 11th-place finish at West Palm Beach during last season’s WSOP Circuit. Nice results—but nothing to brag about. So, in a sense, prior to this event, Hastings wasn’t simply under the radar, he wasn’t even on the screen, at least in the public consciousness.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #12 6/5-7/12
HEADS-UP NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $10,000
PLAYERS 152
PRIZE POOL
$1,428,8001. Brian Hastings . . . $371,498
2. Jason Mo . . . . . . . . $229,722
3. Brock Parker . . . . $130,606
4. Tommy Chen . . . . $130,606
5. Chris Moore . . . . . . . $56,380
6. Jeffrey Gross . . . . . . $56,380
7. Andrew Robl . . . . . . $56,380
8. Michael Drummond $56,380
9. Vanessa Selbst . . . . . $20,674
10. Amritraj Singh . . . . $20,674
Semi-Retired Philadelphia Physician Diagnosed with Big Win
There’s an old saying which goes....”Never play poker with a man named ‘Doc.” At the World Series of Poker, apparently no one listened.
David “Doc” Arsht, a 66-year-old physician from the Philadelphia area, stunned the poker world by winning his first WSOP gold bracelet. Doc’s memorable moment took place at the Rio in Las Vegas, where he won the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em title, collecting $211,921 in prize money.
The semi-retired urologist emptied out a poker bladder that initially contained 730 entrants, ultimately erecting poker’s most coveted prize late on the third and final day of competition. The runner-up was Stephen Hung, who also enjoyed his deepest penetration ever in a WSOP tournament. The El Cerrito, CA, part-time poker player, collected second place prize money amounting to $130,921. The urologist’s victory was streamed live on WSOP.com.
The top 81 finishers collected prize money. One of the more notable in-themoney finishers included Roland Israelashvili—who is among the leaders in combined WSOP and WSOP Circuit cashes over the past five seasons. The Russianborn New Yorker took 10th in this tournament, and now has 21 WSOP cashes to go along with 26 visits to the pay window in WSOP Circuit events.
Among the former gold bracelet winners inthe-money were Jennifer Harmon-Traniello (18th) who enjoyed her 27th cash (fourth all-time among female players). Humberto Brenes, Costa Rica’s most famous poker player, took 35th place—good for cash number 64 which ranks fifth all-time. Eric Buchman also made a nice run, finishing 42nd, and Brett Jungblut also managed to crack the top 81.
Men “the Master” Nguyen hit the money for the third time at this year’s WSOP—which means he’s picked up one step on all-time cashes leader, Phil Hellmuth (who cashed twice, to date). Nonetheless, Nguyen (with 75 career cashes) is still a heavy underdog to draw even or surpass Hellmuth, now sitting comfortably on 87.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #13 6/5-7/12
LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 730
PRIZE POOL
$985,5001. David Arsht . . . . . . $211,921
2. Stephen Hung . . . . $130,903
3. Al Barbieri . . . . . . . . $84,388
4. Donald Auger . . . . . $61,820
5. Glenn Englebert . . . $45,953
6. Ben Landowski . . . . $34,620
7. Jeff Weiss . . . . . . . . $26,401
8. Alex Queen . . . . . . . $20,370
9. Lori Kirgan . . . . . . . $15,886
10. Roland Israel . . . . . $12,535
In Final Swan Song before U.S. Army Enlistment, Seattle Man Collects WSOP Gold Bracelet and $311,174
Brandon Schaefer, a 31-year-old, former professional poker player from Seattle, WA, won his first WSOP gold bracelet at the Rio in Las Vegas. He won the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Shootout title— officially listed as Event #14—collecting $311,174 in prize money.
Schaefer topped a strong mix of amateurs, semi-pros, and pros totaling 1,138 entrants, ultimately winning poker’s most coveted prize on the third and final day of competition. Oddly enough, this was the first and only tournament Schaefer planned to play at this year’s WSOP, although those plans could change now that he’s essentially on a giant freeroll for the next few weeks, before next going off to a much more challenging mission ahead.
On June 15th, Schaefer is scheduled to report to a U.S. Army base in Alabama, where he will immediately begin training as a helicopter pilot. He enlisted in the military nine months ago, following a seven-year stint as a professional poker player. Schaefer now has a six-year commitment to the U.S. Army, and yearns to serve his country proudly as well as see the world as an aviator.
The runner up was Jon Cohen, a 24-year-old poker pro from Denver, CO, who also enjoyed his best run ever in a WSOP tournament. He collected second place prize money amounting to $192,559.
This was a very different kind of poker tournament requiring a very different set of skills and strategies. It was the first of two No-Limit Hold’em Shootouts on this year’s WSOP schedule. Shootouts emphasize short-handed poker skills. This generally requires competitors to play cards out of the standard range of starting-hand requirements. It also makes post-flop skill paramount to victory. In a sense, each round is a “final table” for all the competitors since the objective is to accumulate chips and eliminate opponents. A shootout tournament means players advance based on winning a series of table matches. The shootout format is single elimination. The number of matches depends on the number of tournament entries. In this event, the winner was required to win each in a series of consecutive matches. The first match was played on Wednesday. The second match, made up of all the first round winners, was played on Thursday. The last day included two tables of 12 players, who then played down to ten players, and then ultimately down to the winner.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #14 6/6-8/12
LIMIT HOLD’EM SHOOTOUT
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 1,138
PRIZE POOL
$1,536,3001. Brandon Schaefer . $311,174
2. Jonathan Cohen . . $192,559
3. Adam Kagin . . . . . $120,329
4. Layne Flack . . . . . . . $87,446
5. David Chase . . . . . . $64,555
6. Michael Corson . . . $46,393
7. Jeff Madsen . . . . . . . $36,308
8. Brandon Steven . . . $28,375
9. Justin Schwartz . . . $22,168
10. Dylan Horton . . . . . $17,544
From Tears to Cheers: Adam Friedman Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet
Adam Friedman, a 30-year-old professional poker player, originally from Ohio (and now living in Las Vegas), won his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet. The thrilling moment of triumph took place at the Rio, in Las Vegas. Friedman won the $5,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split World Championship, collecting $269,037 in prize money.
Friedman prevailed amongst a stacked field totaling 212 entrants— including many of the world’s best tournament players. He ultimately won poker’s most coveted prize later than anyone could have expected, on what turned out to be a fourth day of competition. The runner-up was former gold bracelet winner, Todd Brunson, who showed absolutely no satisfaction with his consolation prize, amounting to $166,269. Brunson’s disappointment was amplified by having the chip lead during much of the heads-up showdown against Friedman.
Friedman was raised near Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in business and marketing. Oddly enough, Friedman stumbled into poker as a profession quite accidentally. He won a seat playing online poker into the 2005 WSOP Main Event Championship, where he finished in 43rd place. Little did he know that his life would change from that instant forward.
After winning nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars on what many may have considered a fluke, Friedman decided to take several months off and test himself at the tables in order to see if he really could make something out of poker. For the next seven years, Friedman managed to grind out a decent living. He took the game seriously and treated it as a business. He moved to Las Vegas. He also continued to improve his game.
Friedman now says he is “light years” ahead of where his poker skills were seven years ago. He also conveyed that poker requires an everlasting commitment to improvement.
Like many professional and amateur players alike, who arrive with high expectations at the WSOP, Friedman hoped to make a major breakthrough this year. Now, he has done precisely that. He has not only won a WSOP gold bracelet. He has not only earned a huge six-figure score. He has proven to himself and the world that he can indeed compete among the very best—and even beat them. In a sense, there is nothing more satisfying than that.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #15 6/6-8/12
7-CARD STUD HI-LO SPLIT
BUY-IN $5,000
PLAYERS 212
PRIZE POOL
$996,4001. Adam Friedman . . $269,037
2. Todd Brunson . . . . $166,269
3. John Monnette . . . $109,444
4. Nikolai Yakovenko . $79,831
5. Sven Arntzen . . . . . . $59,395
6. Zimnan Ziyard . . . . $44,967
7. Phil Ivey . . . . . . . . . $34,595
8. Bryn Kenney . . . . . . $27,012
9. Brian Twete . . . . . . . $21,392
10. Jesse Martin . . . . . . $21,392
Matt Matros and the Education of a Poker Player
At the rate Matt Matros is winning gold bracelets, he may very well become the all-time WSOP victory leader in the next decade.
He has won a WSOP gold bracelet for the third consecutive year, which places him into an ultra-elite club of champions.
Only six players in history have achieved this milestone. Following previous wins posted in both 2010 and 2011, Matros’ golden trifecta was completed in the $1,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event. The calm and quiet New Yorker, known for his intense focus and scholarly demeanor at the table, collected $454,835 in prize money. He topped a formidable starting field totaling 1,604 players to end up at the final table on the ESPN Main Stage, where his victory was broadcast live over the Internet on WSOP.com.
Matros, a 35-year-old professional poker player with interests that go way beyond the game, won his second career WSOP gold bracelet late at last year’s series, in the $2,500 buy-in, Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No Limit) championship. The year before, Matros won his first gold bracelet when he beat out 624 opponents in the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event.
Matros grew up on Long Island, New York. He earned a degree in mathematics from Yale University, and a Masters degree in fine arts from Sarah Lawrence University.
Over the years, he has applied his considerable talents to many things, including 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 held elsewhere, 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 23 times. In 2008, Matros cashed in the WSOP Main Event championship, finishing 78th out of 6,844 players. Two years ago, he cashed in the Main Event again, taking 539th place out of 7,319 entries.
Matros’ triumph pushes him across the million dollar mark in career WSOP earnings, which currently stands at $1,350,031.
Since Matros is now in the midst of a consecutive yearly win streak, perhaps WSOP schedule makers should starting cutting the number of events by one each year. It might be easier just to ship him a gold bracelet and save everyone else the time and trouble of having to compete in what is becoming the “Matt Matros Benefit Tournament.”
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #16 6/7/12
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM 6-HANDED
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 1,604
PRIZE POOL
$2,165,4001. Matt Matros . . . . . $454,835
2. Mark Radoja . . . . $281,502
3. Ramey Shaio . . . . . $182,521
4. Gordon Vayo . . . . . $121,262
5. Robert Muzzatti . . . $81,202
6. Mark Darner . . . . . $56,300
7. Matt Glantz . . . . . . . $40,059
8. Mike Matusow . . . . . $40,059
9. Jonathan Currle . . . $29,665
10. Eli Cohen . . . . . . . . . $29,665
“The Pink Panter”— Frankenberg Wears and Wins with his Lucky Pink Pants
Some people are simply born to succeed in whatever they do. Andy Frankenberger is such a man.
Consider the remarkable story of the Major League Baseball game that Frankenberger attended several years ago. The Boston Red Sox were playing the New York Yankees. One of 60,000 fans crammed into Yankee Stadium that day, Frankenberger caught a foul ball. No big deal, right? Then, he caught another. That’s right—two foul balls in one game. Not just any game, a Yankees-Red Sox game.
To put this into some perspective: most fans—even season ticket holders— would rarely snap up more than a single ball in an entire baseball season, if that. But as we said, Andy Frankenberger lives a charmed life.
This is not to say he’s lived an easy life, nor has he skated through whatever self-imposed challenges he’s faced—whether it was getting his education, an early career on Wall Street, or playing poker at the highest level.
Frankenberger is one of the latest World Series of Poker gold bracelet winners—make that two-time winners. He won the $10,000 buy-in PotLimit Hold’em World Championship, overcoming several chip disadvantages along the way, not the least of which was against the player many call the best in the world.
Frankenberger collected the hefty sum of $455,899 in prize money. However, the notion of nearly a half-million dollars awaiting him in the cashier cage seemed almost an afterthought, as Frankenberger beamed beneath the bright lights of the ESPN television stage, proudly displaying the luminous treasure from his second WSOP victory. No doubt, the 39-yearold professional poker player is one of this year’s most intriguing personalities. A native New Yorker, Frankenberger actually grew up in Massachusetts, and later lived in Siberia (yes, as in Russia) for one year, as an exchange student. He learned to speak Russian fluently, and remains conversant in the language. Frankenberger attended and graduated from Duke University, earning his degree in economics.
Following graduation, Frankenberger took his ambition and energy to Wall Street, and succeeded as an equity derivatives trader. He loved his job, and he made a lot of money. Then, during the absolute pinnacle of his success as a trader, Frankenberger did the unthinkable.
He quit.
Frankenberger’s decision to leave a highly-successful and lucrative career on Wall Street reveals a lot about the man he is, and what he most values in life. Frankenberger explained his decision this way: He could have hung around for another year or two and continued to make a lot of money. But he felt he was not growing as a person. He sought new challenges.
After taking some time off and exploring the world, Frankenberger began playing tournament poker. He played in several mid-grade tournaments around the country. Much to his surprise and delight, he quickly discovered an affinity for the game. He also discovered a new passion. Indeed, the lessons he had learned from his previous life—of risk management, maintaining emotional control, and complex problem solving, served him well at the poker table. Two years ago, Frankenberger started playing full-time on the tournament circuit. He traveled around to major tournaments. He won two major events in 2010, in the process earning an honor as the World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year. But as impressive as Frankenberger’s rapid ascent seemed, he had yet to prove himself on poker’s grandest stage.
That all changed last year in a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event when Frankenberger won his first WSOP title and the whopping sum of $599,153 in prize money.
But incredibly, for all his seemingly instant success there were still detractors.
Annoyed at a playing style that can only be described as unorthodox, Frankenberger’s unique methodology flew in the face of just about every poker principle. He seems to bet when others thought he should fold. He’d raise or fold when others thought he should call.
Of course, the “others” of this Frankenberger morality tale—loud and as obnoxious as they were and are—remain mostly cyberanonymous, behaving like jealous schoolboys after seeing the other guy get the girl and the gold.
And so, preposterous as it may sound, despite winning multiple major tournaments including a WSOP gold bracelet a year ago, Frankenberger still thought he had something left to prove. He got his chance to do just that in the most challenging test (in the grandest arena) possible.
Frankerberger could not have written a more perfect script to not only quiet his critics, but kick them in the groin, and then laugh all the way to the bank. He final tabled one of the toughest tournaments of the series, and then managed, in gradual succession, to topple Hoyt Corkins, Daniel Weinman, Matt Marafioti, Shaun Deeb, Manuel Bevand, Alexander Venovski, Ali Eslami, and then finally.......drum roll please.... Phil Ivey.
Indeed, with all eyes focused on “the man,” Frankenberger dug in, dug down, and played the heads-up match of his life.
He was down to Ivey a few times during the duel, but still managed to scratch and claw back. Finally, Frankenberger got it all in after the flop with a pair of aces. Ivey found himself on a draw for his tournament life. It was Ivey that needed to get lucky. But, that wasn’t going to happen. Not against Frankenberger. Not on this night. Not with stakes this high.
Alas, a second gold bracelet now belongs to Frankenberger—representing two WSOP victories.
Which again brings up an incredible story. Did you ever hear about the guy who went to a Yankees-Red Sox game and caught two foul balls?
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #17 6/8-10/12
POT LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $10,000
PLAYERS 179
PRIZE POOL
$1,682,6001. Andrew Frankenberger $445,899
2. Phil Ivey . . . . . . . . $275,559
3. Ali Eslami . . . . . . . $199,623
4. Alexander Venovski . $147,345
5. Manuel Bevand . . . $110,731
6. Shaun Deeb . . . . . . . $84,668
7. Matt Marafioti . . . . $65,840
Hellmuth Wins 12th– A Record Smashing Night at the WSOP
Phil Hellmuth Jr. is the greatest poker player in the history of the universe. And if there’s any doubt about that, just ask Phil himself. But talking the talk is one thing, and walking the walk is quite another.
Hellmuth not only walked the walk in the most recent WSOP tournament, held at the Rio Las Vegas–he circled the field and did a victory lap, ultimately dominating one of the most stacked WSOP final tables in recent memory. Consider that there were six former gold bracelets winners among the top eight finishers, with 20 combined victories. Hellmuth won the $2,500 buy-in Seven-Card Razz tournament, which concluded late on a Sunday night, in front of a packed gallery of spectators surrounding the Pavilion stage. In a fitting bit of irony, just a few feet away from final table action were virtually all the remaining gold bracelets to be given away at this year’s WSOP positioned in a teasing and tantalizing manner, as if to say to “go ahead, make your day.”
Half of the sardined stargazers appeared to be cheering for Hellmuth. The other half (okay, maybe more) were cheering against Hellmuth. No surprise there. Hellmuth is used to his detractors: He even relishes the role of villain. All great athletes and legendary sports teams divide the public’s rage and fancy, but there was one thing everyone in the crowd could agree upon–that the Rio was the place to be at this very special moment in the poker universe. Each spectator was one of a few hundred lucky souls, witnessing poker history being made by one of the most skilled craftsmen at the very top of his game. This conquest marked Hellmuth’s record-smashing 12th WSOP gold bracelet, the most by any player in history. He collected $182,793 in prize money– which for reasons any poker fan understands. was the very last thing on the great one’s mind as the precious amulet was uncased from the display and positioned around the poker king’s saintly wrist. For Hellmuth– the special significance attached to this victory–and the number 12–was the perfect symbol of a stellar career which shows no signs of recess.
Hellmuth now holds a comfortable–and some might say insurmountable– two-bracelet lead over his two closest rivals, poker legends Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan, who each have ten wins. Given his age, (which is now 47) one must presume Hellmuth isn’t quite finished yet, nor is he ready to hang it up and call it a career.
If any suspense remained about Hellmuth’s next big score in poker, it wasn’t so much if, but when he would finally hit the magical milestone of one-dozen WSOP wins. Yet, what is most surprising about his latest victory, is that it came from playing a game not normally associated with Hellmuth’s undisputed reputation as a Hold’em master.
Indeed, all of Hellmuth’s 11 previous gold bracelet wins had taken place in one form of Hold’em or another–Limit, Pot-Limit, and No-Limit, you name it. Of those, his most memorable win was clearly his initial triumph, which took place in the 1989 Main Event Championship, where he defeated nemesis Johnny Chan in heads-up play, and launched what would become an international dynasty that eventually transcended the green felt. Year by year as he stacked bracelet upon gold bracelet and earned cash after cash, Hellmuth built what would become a pyramid of self-worship manifested in a “bad boy” image, and a marketing empire that catapulted him into (arguably) the most famous poker player in the world.
By the mid-2000s, Phil Hellmuth wasn’t merely a poker champion. He had become a living, breathing, crying, screaming, fistpumping, whining, moneymaking, individual “brand”, and sideshow carnival all unto himself, relishing every victory and defeat while the public wallowed in the movement of his shadow. Along the way to hyper super-stardom, there were sweetheart deals from those bearing gifts. All sought the occasion to snuggle at the altar of the Phil Hellmuth business empire. First, it was a major online poker site. Then, a phone company came calling. Next, a brand of beer wanted Hellmuth’s face on their cans, thereby giving brew guzzlers some esoteric delight in emptying a 16-ounce tall boy, and then pulverizing a mini-pint of aluminum emblazoned with the “Poker Brat’s” face with a single stomp. After that, it was a clothing line. The macabre of absurdity had finally been reached. Ralph Lauren. Christian Dior. Phil Hellmuth. Could dog food and diapers be too far behind?
But as the endorsement deals and dollars consistently rolled into the kingdom, as the sycophants continued to pump up the Hellmuth ego balloon the size of a zeppelin, something seemed to happen to Phil Hellmuth– the poker player. You know, the player–the great talent that had won and won and won and won again when the stakes were highest and things counted the most. Hellmuth’s performance didn’t exactly slide, but there was a period when he wasn’t able to quite match the glorious accomplishments of yesteryear. Six years ago, for instance, he fell behind Johnny Chan in the gold bracelet chase. The gaps between wins began to reach multiple years. He did manage to seize the alltime wins lead for the first time, in 2007–arguably his second-greatest triumph. But in the three-year span afterward, while the business deals were whirling, the best finish Hellmuth could muster was a thirdplace showing in 2008. By the start of the 2011 WSOP last year, there was also the problem that appears to be the immovable elephant in the room for every oldschool poker pro, including Hellmuth–namely, the young twenty-something revolution.
All of this made Hellmuth’s four final-table appearances last year “must see” poker theatre. In each of his final matches, Hellmuth faced a series of brutally tough lineups that included some of the best tournament specialists in the world. By the time the series came to a close, Hellmuth had cemented a record that is staggering to ponder, yet at the same time, dubious in the alternate universe of Hellmuth-think. For the first time in history, a player finished second three times. Second place might be acceptable to many players, but not Hellmuth. Anything other than first place is “unacceptable,” he once famously said.
Finally, five years to the very day when the great one had won gold bracelet number 11–one had to wonder if Hellmuth would again fall short. All that stood between Hellmuth and perennial ecstasy was a poker pro named Don Zewin, who, in a bamboozling bit of bitter irony, finished third in the 1989 world championship, won by Hellmuth 23 years ago. The two poker combatants–polar opposites in terms of disposition and imagery–traded chips back and forth like two prizefighers deadlocked in a tie during the middle a championship fight. Then, with everything on the line and the entire poker world watching and waiting, out of nowhere–it happened. It all came so quickly. Suddenly, Zewin was all-in. Hellmuth had his opponent on the ropes. The crowd rose to its feet. There were screams and shouts. Then, there was one final card, and Hellmuth ultimately triumphed, which was a finalfisted glove to the hopes of the challenger.
Hellmuth won. Everyone else lost. All was right again on Planet Hellmuth. Proper balance had returned to the universe.
The circus never ends. It’s the greatest poker show on earth.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #18 6/8-10/12
7-CARD RAZZ
BUY-IN $2,500
PLAYERS 309
PRIZE POOL
$702,9751. Phil Hellmuth Jr . . $182,793
2. Don Zewin . . . . . . . $113,024
3. Brandon Cantu . . . . $74,269
4. Scott Fischman . . . . $54,248
5. Brendan Taylor . . . . $40,167
6. Barry Greenstein . . $30,150
7. Michael Chow . . . . . $22,945
8. Jeff Mistiff . . . . . . . . $17,693
9. David Rosenau . . . . $13,827
10. Scott Abrams . . . . . $13,827
His Kind of Gold: Cliff Goldkind Bags $559,514 in WSOP Debut
Cliff Goldkind, a 24-year-old student from Potomac, Maryland, made his debut victory in the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em competition, classified as Event #19. He collected the whopping sum of $559,514 in prize money, in addition to the most coveted trophy on poker–a WSOP gold bracelet. The tournament was played over a three day period, starting with 2,302 entrants. The final table of nine players concluded Monday evening, in the relatively rocket-fast time of less than four hours. The runner-up was Kenii Nguyen, playing the role of poker’s court jester. The incessantly talkative Nguyen wore a colorful joker hat during most of the tournament. He earned a very respectable $347,036 in prize money–his biggest score ever.
The new poker champion, Goldkind, was born in Tampa, Florida. He lived in Israel for a number of years, and served in the Israeli Army. In fact, he was honorably discharged just four months ago.
Remarkably, this marked the first time Goldkind has ever cashed in a WSOP tournament. He did manage to final table a WSOP Circuit event held two months ago, but nothing compared to the astounding breakout victory achieved by this WSOP first-timer.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #19 6/9-14/12
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 2,302
PRIZE POOL
$3,107,7001. Clifford Goldkind . $559,514
2. Kennii Nguyen . . . $347,036
3. Adria Balaguer . . . $245,197
4. Patrick Smith . . . . $176,299
5. Gregg Wilkinson . . $128,441
6. Justin McGill . . . . . $94,815
7. David Peters . . . . . . $70,886
8. Barry Shulman . . . . $53,669
9. Gary Burks . . . . . . . $41,145
10. Ismael Bojang . . . . . $31,916
Ben Scholl Knows His Limit-ations
Benjamin Scholl’s debut victory took place in the $5,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event #20), which is the highest buy-in tournament of its kind. He collected the handsome sum of $206,760 in prize money, in addition to the most coveted trophy in poker–a WSOP gold bracelet.
The tournament was played over a three-day period, starting with 166 entrants. The turnout was one of the smallest fields of the year, perhaps illustrative of a gradual decline in popularity of Limit Hold’em in recent years. Ironically, there was a time that Limit Hold’em used to be the dominant form played in the United States. Now, No-Limit games are far more popular.
The final table of nine players was played on a Monday evening which extended well past midnight and concluded in about eight hours. The runner up was Andrew Prock, a software designer originally from Minneapolis, MN and now living in Foster City, CA. Scholl is a 26-year-old financial analyst from Trappe, Pennsylvania, and born in York, PA. He graduated from New York University, and works as a trader with the same powerhouse financial firm that produced fellow-gold bracelet winners Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman.
Scholl previously cashed just two times at the WSOP. The first was a big one: he took fourth place in an event back in 2009, worth $150,000. By his estimate, he’s played about a dozen events since then, resulting in just one min-cash.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #20 6/9-11/12
LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $5,000
PLAYERS 166
PRIZE POOL
$780,2001. Benjamin Scholl . . . $206,760
2. Andrew Prock . . . . $127,773
3. Jeff Shulman . . . . . . $92,562
4. Jesse Martin . . . . . . $68,322
5. Raymond Dehkharghani $51,344
6. Matt Glantz . . . . . . . $39,259
7. Matthew Woodward $30,529
8. Nicholas Derke . . . . $24,139
9. Ayman Qutami . . . . $19,395
10. Samuel Golbuff . . . . $15,830
Michael Gathy–the 2,798 to 1 Shot
Walking into the World Series of Poker tournament this year was like taking the first step in what everyone knew would be a lengthy marathon. The odds against winning were overwhelming, indeed. Like, thousands to one.
Playing tournament poker at the highest level over a 36-hour period during which the objective is to accumulate every single chip initially dispersed amongst 300 or so poker tables seemed like an impossibility --- a test both physical and mental.
For Michael Gathy, it was no problem whatsoever. The 23-year-old professional poker player from Brussels, Belgium, rose high above the secondlargest tournament field of the year (to date). He was the last player sitting at the conclusion of a very long game, the man with every single chip from that first day comfortably nestled in neat rows, stacked like chocolate bars, beaming with pride at the realization he had just etched his name into the annals of poker history.
Gathy’s victory is all the more impressive and defiant of the odds when you consider that midway through the final table, he doubled up poker pro Eric Baldwin in a pivotal hand, and was left with just a handful of chips. Armed with almost no ammunition at a final table (with some tough competition) Gathy still managed to pull off the come-from-behind win. Gathy won his first WSOP gold bracelet in the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #21), collecting $440,829 in the process. Nearly half a million dollars for three days trapped inside the Rio tournament room–or 440 times his original investment. Not a bad deal at all. He topped a massive field, totaling 2,799 entrants, ultimately winning poker’s most coveted prize late on the third and final day of competition.
The final hand was a breeze for Gathy. He was dealt pocket tens against the ultimate runner-up, Jamie Armstrong, holding pocket nines. The higher pocket pair held up, and a Belgian was suddenly the latest poker champion.
The top 297 finishers collected prize money. The final table of nine included two gold bracelet winners– John Esposito, a.k.a. “Espo” and Eric Baldwin. Also of note was Martin Staszko’s in-the-money finish (116th). He was the runner up in last year’s WSOP Main Event Championship. This was his first time to cash since that time. Another notable casher was European Poker Tour founder, John Duthie (195th place).
Gathy’s victory gives him his first WSOP title in what was his first time ever to cash at the WSOP. He also becomes only the second champion ever from the nation of Belgium. The first Belgian winner was Davidi Katai, who won the $2,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold’em event back in 2008.
Alas, many people know Belgium for beer and chocolates, but now it shall also be known for producing multiple WSOP gold bracelet winners.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #21 6/10-12/12
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000
PLAYERS 2,799
PRIZE POOL
$2,519,1001. Michael Gathy . . . $440,829
2. Jamie Armstrong . $273,776
3. Noah Vaillancourt $193,089
4. John Esposito . . . . . $139,457
5. Eric Baldwin . . . . . $101,948
6. Eric Davis . . . . . . . . $75,422
7. Jean-Louis Santoni . $56,453
8. Jason Manggunio . . $42,749
9. Joshua Field . . . . . . $32,748
10. Dan Smith . . . . . . . . $25,367
26-Year-Old Las Vegas Poker Pro Wins Deuce-To-Seven Triple-Draw Lowball Championship
You’ve probably figured out that this Lowball game is mostly played by old men with more poker years under their belts than broken marriages. A younger person doesn’t stand a chance in this game; a first-time player would be drawing stone-cold dead. Only a fool would think of entering this tournament, unless he had about decades of poker experience, and nicotine-laced skin bronzed in the backrooms of Gardena.
Oh wait. Randy Ohel just won this tournament. Uhhh... Never mind. Let’s start this all over again, shall we?
Randy Ohel, a 26-year-old professional poker player from Las Vegas, has won the $2,500 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven TripleDraw Lowball (Limit) title, collecting a $145,247 in prize money, and his first gold bracelet.
Ohel topped a strong field totaling 228 entrants, ultimately winning poker’s most coveted prize late on the third and final day of competition. He topped a final table that included some of the games most respected and accomplished pros. Of special note was Benjamin Lazer’s runner-up finish–in what was, remarkably, his first WSOP event ever.
The final heads-up duel between Lazar and Ohel was a doozy. The chip lead was estimated to have changed 14 times. At one point, Ohel was down by a 16 to 1 margin, and a half hour later, he was ahead by the 3 to 1 advantage. Then, 30 minutes later, the positions were reversed again. Four more hours passed, and the chip lead swung back and forth like a pendulum, teetering on utter madness.
Finally, Ohel came back from a third deficit of about 15 to 1, and managed to win a stunning victory that left everyone gathered around the final table in an odd mix of ecstasy and unabashed exhaustion. The total bout went 6.5 hours–making it one of the longest duels in the history of any limit match. Indeed, whether you love the game, hate it, or have never even heard of Lowball, this was a fabulous heads-up showdown featuring two competitors who both deserved to win.
The rest of the finale included David Baker, Farzad Bonyadi (3 wins), Jason Lavallee, and Shawn Buchanan. As much as this stellar lineup seemed destined to feature well known stars in the finale, instead it was two relatively unknown players who stole the show, putting on the poker performance of the year, to date. New champ, Ohel, is originally from Coral Springs, FL. He’s been playing poker full time for the past four years. His total combined tournament winnings up to this point amounted to about $200,000 in live play.
However, he nearly doubled that amount with this victory. The top 24 finishers collected prize money. One of the more notable in-themoney finishers included Julie Schneider’s 11th-place finish. She is the wife of former “WSOP Player of the Year” Tom Schneider.
Julie has posted a solid track record in her own right, with four WSOP cashes, including a thirdplace finish in this same event three years ago. Two other notable cashers were Barry Greenstein (12th) and Berry Johnston (17th). Both are members of the Poker Hall of Fame. This was Greenstein’s 55th time in the money. Johnston has cashed 63 times, which ranks in the top ten. Ohel’s victory gives him his first WSOP title, to go along with four cashes, and $165,742 in career WSOP earnings.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #22 6/10-12/12
DEUCE-TO-7 TRIPLE DRAW LOWBALL
BUY-IN $2,500
PLAYERS 228
PRIZE POOL
$518,7001. Randy Ohel . . . . . . $145,247
2. Benjamin Lazer . . . $89,714
3. David Baker . . . . . . . $59,925
4. Farzad Bonyadi . . . $40,987
5. Jason Lavallee . . . . $28,585
6. Shawn Buchanan . . $20,332
7. Von Altizer . . . . . . . $14,725
8. Layne Flack . . . . . . . $14,725
9. Josh Arieh . . . . . . . . $10,970
10. Nam Le . . . . . . . . . . $10,970
A Fairy Tale Ending: Simon Charette Wins $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Event
“Second place last year hurt. I cried for about an hour. Now I’ve won, and I’m still going to probably cry for about an hour. It’s interesting how it doesn’t change, yet it’s completely different.” This was the epiphany of Simon Charette after his victory in Event #23 at the 2012 World Series of Poker. The 25-year-old poker pro has experienced the ups and downs of the poker seesaw.
He beat out 2,711 players last year in Event #48 and had the 2,712th player allin and needing to catch a card for his tournament life twice. Lady luck reared her ugly head toward Charette’s opponent, and she eventually closed the door on Charette’s hopes of a gold bracelet. Charette finished second for $404,235. But that wasn’t enough.
He came to the final table of Event #23: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em SixHanded at the 43rd Annual World Series of Poker knowing he was good enough to win–knowing he should have won a year ago.
When the last river card was dealt, Charette did what he knew he could do all along. The emotions were apparent as he laid his head on the table, much as one might do in defeat, but this was in the aftermath of victory.
It’s interesting how it doesn’t change, yet it’s completely different. Tournament poker is a marathon, requiring mental toughness, and emotions that can withstand being pulled in all directions–often times at the flip of a card. When the time comes, it’s important for players to bask in the glory of their victory. Charette, wise beyond his years, realizes just how special it is to be in the winner’s circle on the biggest stage in poker. “The best player in the world could easily play a lot of tournaments and never win a big one,” Charette said. “To come second, and then first… this is the best moment of my life. I’m finally validated as a poker player.”
Charette, a professional poker player, says his true passion lies in film and screenwriting.
“Now that I’ve got the bracelet, I’m hoping that my mind can just settle on poker. I don’t need to win a tournament right now. I can spend time writing and doing creative stuff. I think that’s really what I was put on this earth to do,” Charette said after his victory.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #23 6/11-13/12
NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM 6-HANDED
BUY-IN $3,000
PLAYERS 974
PRIZE POOL
$2,522,5201. Simon Charette . . . $567,624
2. Artem Metalidi . . . $350,806
3. Luis Rodriguez . . . $222,511
4. Eddie Blumenthal . $146,053
5. Foster Hays . . . . . . . $98,756
6. Bertrand Grospellier . $68,738
7. Scott Montgomery . . $49,124
8. Andrew Lichtenberger $49,124
9. Joseph Urgo . . . . . . $36,198
10. Freddy Deeb . . . . . . $36,198
Las Vegas Poker Pro Prevails in Omaha High-Low Split World Championship
When Phil Ivey wins a poker tournament, the headline always reads–PHIL IVEY WINS! When someone else wins, the headline all too often reads–PHIL IVEY LOSES!
On Thursday afternoon, in the midst of the 2012 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, a first-time gold bracelet winner managed to write his own headline in bold block letters–JOE CASSIDY WINS A GOLD BRACELET!=- Phil Ivey was nowhere in sight.
Also out of sight was the ultimate runner-up, another mega-superstar, Scotty Nguyen–who proved to be no match for Cassidy in the final heads-up match.
In what was unquestionably the brassiest of all final tables played so far this year, Cassidy demolished a playing session that included not only Phil Ivey and Scotty Nguyen, but also Mike Matusow, Meng La, and four relative newcomers to the ESPN Main Stage– including Greg Jamison, Elie Doft, Bart Hanson, and Ryan Lenaghan.
No doubt, Ivey’s third final table appearance within a six-day window was the talk of the WSOP when cards initially flew into the air at the start of the third day of competition. By that stage of the tournament, the initial field size of 256 players–each posting the $5,000 entry fee in order to play in the biggest buy-in Omaha High-Low Split tournament of the year–had been reduced to a small cast of supremely skilled characters, with Ivey unquestionably playing the starring role.
The final table area was filled to capacity and standing-room-only during much of the day and night, despite a playing session that dragged out until 3 am.
The match went so long, that once Ivey bit the dust in third place, the two finalists agreed to postpone the ultimate showdown for an unscheduled fourth day.
It’s inconceivable to think of a scenario where either 1998 world poker champion, Scotty “the Prince” Nguyen (owner of five gold bracelets), or Mike “the Mouth” Matusow (with three gold bracelets), would ever be overshadowed at any final table. But that’s precisely what happened when Ivey strolled quietly and confidently into his all-too familiar kingdom and took his seat, determined to toss the disappointment of two previous crash and burns onto the ash heap of public consciousness, and win what he hoped would be a ninth gold bracelet, thus moving him into a tie with late great poker legend, Johnny Moss.
No doubt, the runner-up had something to prove as well. Still stung somewhat by what many in poker considered to be a tainted victory that happened four years ago in the ultra-prestigious 2008 Poker Players Championship, when Scotty Nguyen won his biggest cash prize of his life and achieved his second-greatest career accolade–a night marred by Nguyen’s boisterous and less-than-gentlemanly conduct–the far more subdued Nguyen, on this stage, hoped to make a bold return to the winner’s circle in an event he had won two times previously.
But Joe Cassidy had something to prove, as well. And he did just that. Cassidy proved, once and for all, that he could not only play with the very best under the pressure of the poker world’s eyes watching, he could also defeat the very best at their own game.
As things turned out, it was Ivey, Nguyen, Matusow, and many more, that ended up as extras, mere footnotes in a grand show that had only one real star–and that was Joe Cassidy.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #24 6/11-13/12
OMAHA HIGH-LOW SPLIT
BUY-IN $5,000
PLAYERS 256
PRIZE POOL
$1,203,2001. Joe Cassidy . . . . . . $294,777
2. Scotty Nguyen . . . . $182,213
3. Phil Ivey . . . . . . . . $136,046
4. Meng La . . . . . . . . $102,260
5. Gregory Jamison . . $77,342
6. Elie Doft . . . . . . . . . $58,873
7. Bart Hanson . . . . . . . $45,084
8. Mike Matusow . . . . . $34,748
9. Ryan Lenaghan . . . $26,940
10. Andreas Krause . . . $21,020
Trifecta for Mienders– Third WSOP Cash a Charm
Brian Meinders certainly knows his limitations: Hold’em limitations, that is. More precisely, Limit Hold’em.
Meinders pulled off poker’s equivalent of a triple play over the past three days, winning a steady progression of increasinglymore difficult sit n’ go-type matches en route to an ultimate victory that resulted in a World Series of Poker championship, manifested in his first-ever gold bracelet. Mienders won the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout tournament (Event #25), which took place on the Pavilion man stage at the Rio in Las Vegas. The central New Jersey-based poker player enjoyed his highest profile victory ever, following two previous deep runs in previous WSOP events.
Meinders’ first WSOP cash was three years ago, when he took eighth in an event, good for a $55,000 payout. Then, he finished second in another event held in 2010, good for another $145,000. This year, he has only one cash (so far)–and this was it. Tack on another $116,118 in prize money to a poker nest egg that now has more than $300,000 in just three deposits. The bottom line is–Meinders makes his cashes really count.
The cumulative succession of three cashes and three final table appearances–posting 8th, 2nd, and 1st–unquestionably represents an uptick in results that may indicate Meinders has his best days still ahead. Aside from poker, Meinders has a serious love of languages. He studied for a few years at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and became proficient enough in Latin that he now teaches the subject at a private school. However, Meinders is just as passionate about poker, and now tends to call one of the biggest poker rooms in Atlantic City his “office.”
The top 63 finishers in this event collected prize money. The final table included at least two notable faces–including two-time gold bracelet winner Brock Parker (5th), as well as tournament journeyman Victor Ramdin (4th). In fact, this was Ramdin’s 13th time in the money since the start of last year’s WSOP– which ties him with Shawn Buchanan for most cashes over the past last two years. Coincidentally, Buchanan cashed in this event as well. The tournament began on Tuesday with 366 entrants. Among the former gold bracelet winners who cashed were Matt Matros, Greg Mueller, and Tex Barch.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #25 6/12-14/12
LIMIT HOLD’EM SHOOTOUT
BUY-IN $1,500
PLAYERS 366
PRIZE POOL
$494,100
Brian Meinders
1. Brian Meinders . . . $116,118
2. Darin Thomas . . . . . $71,704
3. Christopher Vitch . . $51,861
4. Victor Ramdin . . . . $37,897
5. Brock Parker . . . . . $27,986
6. Preston Derden . . . . $20,886
7. Matthew Schreiber . $15,747
8. Sean Rice . . . . . . . . . $11,992
9. Ian Johns . . . . . . . . . . $9,225
10. Chris Hartman . . . . . $7,164
23-Year-Old Poker Pro Prevails in Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Austin “Gabe” Scott has mixed emotions about a day that was great in one respect, and terrible in another.
First–the bad news: Scott’s beloved basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, appeared in their first-ever NBA finals, only to lose a close game on their home court, and become the underdog in the remainder of the championship series. Indeed, the Thunder proved to be a heartbreaking disappointment.
Then, there’s the good news. Make that, very good news. On the same day, Gabe Scott won a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. He also collected $361,797 in prize money. This is just a guess, but something says that Scott might be able to live with the “split.” Hey, you win some, and you lose some, right?
Alas, Scott won a thrilling victory in the $3,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. The 23-year-old poker pro overcame a significant chip disadvantage during the later stages of competition, and managed to defeat a formidable final table lineup that included several outstanding international players, including Vadzim Kursevich (Belarus), Huykeim Nguyen (Germany), and Thomas Pettersson (Sweden). Also in the final table hunt were Brett Richey, Scott Stanko, Tom Chambers, Romik Vartzar, and two-time gold bracelet winner Russ “Dutch” Boyd.
This was Scott’s second time to cash in a WSOP event. Proving this year’s victory was no fluke, he final tabled the same event in 2011, finishing in eighth place.
RIO ALL SUITES HOTEL
WORLD SERIES OF POKER
EVENT #26 6/12-14/12
POT LIMIT OMAHA
BUY-IN $3,000
PLAYERS 589
PRIZE POOL
$1,607,9701. Austin Scott . . . . . . $361,797
2. Brett Richey . . . . . $223,492
3. Vadzim Kursevich $158,530
4. Scott Stanko . . . . . $114,530
5. Khiem Nguyen . . . . $83,180
6. Tom Chambers . . . . $61,521
7. Romik Vartzar . . . . $46,117
8. Dutch Boyd . . . . . . . $35,038
9. Thomas Pettersson . $26,966
10. Jon Hoellein . . . . . . $21,016
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