July 2007 Archives

Amidst all of the hype generated by the WSOP, it is easy to forget about the other great events going on in the world of poker. This year's Bellagio Cup will be aired as episode 3 in season 6 of The WPT. The event was a $10,000 buy in and featured a field of 535 entrants filled with talent. Many notables finished deep in the money including Steve Dannenmann (33), David Benyamine (26), David Chiu (14), and the young and agressive Nam Le (8). In the end it came down to a heads up battle between Kevin Saul and Mike "The Mouth" Matusow.

With the blinds at 40k/80k and a 10k ante, Matusow had 2.5 million in chips to Saul's 8 million. Saul raised to 220k with QQ and Matusow called with 7c 8c. The flop brought a ten of hearts with a 5 and 6 of clubs, giving Matusow and up and down straight draw with a flush draw. Both players got their money in with Matusow yelling out to let the crowd know that he had gotten his money in as a favorite (in this situation Matusow's hands is a slight favorite over the QQ). The turn and river brought neither a club, 4, or 9, giving Saul his first WPT win. Saul took home $1,342,320 while Matusow collected $671,320 for his efforts. Though young, Saul has been on the tournament circuit for a few years. He took home over $100,000 last November for his 2nd place finish in event 10 of the World Poker Finals. In this event, Saul was chipleader at the end of day 1a and never relinquished his lead. In addition to the prize money and the glory, Saul receives a free $25,000 entry into the WPT final.

-Benjamin Ryan

Jerry Yang started the final table as the 2nd low chip stack with only 8,450,000 in chips. It didn't take him long to kick things into gear as he shockingly (ruining my prediction) busted Philip Hilm in 9th. Hilm was chip leader going in but saw the rail first as his pair with a flush draw did not hit against Yang's paired aces. Yang was a man on a mission knocking out 7 of the other 8 final table players. There were a number of memorable moments at the final table including Hevad Khan's elimination. Khan called a raise from Yang and before the flop was displayed across the felt he declared "I'm all in in the dark". The flop came king high, but it not deter Yang from calling with his pocket jacks. Khan did not pair his ace or queen and was sent home in 6th place (just missing the coveted millionaires club as he took home $956,243). Yang was not the only story of the final table as Alex Kravchenko managed to go from under 11 million in chips to over 30 million in less than a half hour. Kravchenko's rush ended however as he finished in 4th place, taking home $1,852,721.

Heads up came down to a battle between Yang, and professional poker player Tuan Lam. The last 2 years of the WSOP have featured very short heads up bouts that lasted only a few hands. This year, Lam held on for over 2 hours before Yang's pocket 8s (coincidentally the same hand Greg Raymer won with in 2005) held up against Lam's AQ suited. I heard a report that criticized Lam's approach to heads up for not being aggressive enough. Lam is known as an excellent heads up player and the report I saw made the point that he did not utilize that edge. While I did not watch the final table, I have read through reports of the hands and various commentaries. Given what I've read, my take is that this criticism is unfair. The first thing that must be understood is that no matter how big your edge is heads up, without chips it can't be utilized. The shorter your stack, the more reliant you are on the cards. Lam started heads up with only $23,025,000 to Yang's $104,450,000. With Blinds at $400,000/$800,000 and a $100,000 ante, 23 million does not allow for a lot of maneuvering. Secondly, as Phil Gordon pointed out in his commentary, Yang was not getting off of hands easily.

It all began for Yang when he put down 225 dollars to satellite his way into the Main Event. The Laos native is a father of six children and a psychologist. Aside from winning with class and dignity, Yang was generous enough to pledge 10% of his winnings to The Make A Wish Foundation, The Ronald McDonald House, and Feed The Children.

Below are the results from the 2007 WSOP Main Event Final Table:

Jerry Yang -- $8,250,000
Tuan Lam -- $4,840,981
Raymond Rahme -- $3,048,025
Alex Kravchenko -- $1,852,721
Jon Kalmar -- $1,255,069
Hevad Khan -- $956,243
Lee Childs -- $705,229
Lee Watkinson -- $585,699
Philip Hilm -- $525,934

Congratulations to Tom Schneider who was crowned the 2007 WSOP Player of The Year

-Benjamin Ryan

The Stacks:

This year's final table is sure to play out very differently than last year's. Last year it was Jamie Gold's tournament to lose as he entered the final table as a massive chip leader. This year, Philip Hilm, Tuan Lam, and Jon Kalmar all begin final table play within 2 million chips of each other. The most recognizable name in the field is Lee Watkinson, who won his first WSOP bracelet last year in the $10,000 buy-in PL Omaha event. Watkinson is a patient and calculated player who begins the final table with short of 10 million in chips, but he is certainly not out of striking distance.

Player Bios:
Poker seems to attract a myriad of personalities. This final table is filled with players with a variety of backgrounds and unique stories. While Lee Watkinson and Raymond Rahme are likely to let the cards do the talking, young Hevad Khan is likely to be heard on the outskirts of Vegas if he wins a big pot. Khan has been known to play as many as 26 online sit 'n goes (small tournaments) at once. If he were to win he would break Phil Hellmuth's current record as the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event. Raymond Rahme is the first player from Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa) to make a final table at the WSOP Main Event. Tuan Lam is a professional poker player who moved from Vietnam to Canada when he was 19 years old. Jerry Yang is a psychologist, while Alex Kravchenko is a businessman in his home country of Russia. Kravchenko also has an impressive poker resume including a gold bracelet in event 9 of this year's WSOP. John Kalmar reminds us all that "it ain't over 'til its over". Kalmar, who admits to being nearly broke before the beginning of the Main Event had planned on returning to his home country of England but opted not to when he found that the price of the flight was too high. He decided to enter the last super-satellite for the Main Event and won himself a seat. Now he sits 3rd in chips at the final table with a guarantee that he will go home with at least $525,000. Philip Hilm owned a business that fell into bankruptcy, and caused him to fall upon hard times financially. A few years back he discovered poker and has become a successful online player. Lee Childs holds a BBA in computer information systems but aspires to play poker professionally. This performance is sure to give him a bankroll with which to get the ball rolling.

Final Table Pay-outs:

This year's prize pool is lower than last year's due to the drop in entries. Last year, Gold won 12 million for his first place finish.

1st: $8,250,000 2nd: $4,840,981 3rd: $3,048,025
4th: $1,852,721 5th: $1,255,069 6th: $956,243 7th $705,229
8th: $585,934 9th: $525,934

Predictions:

With such a tight field it is very difficult to confidently predict any one player to win. It is important to watch out for Hevad Khan. His agressive style could lead to an early exit, or a fast accumulation of a lot of chips. Some have speculated about Rahme's age (62) and whether it will negatively impact his play. True indeed, the WSOP Main Event is a test of stamina and endurance, but this is the final table. No matter how old he is, he will muster up the energy for the day. While people will certainly have their eyes on Lee Watkinson, he'll need to catch a good run of cards to have a shot. I don't see Watkinson making moves in hopes to get back into the thick of things. I imagine he'll look for good spots, and if the cards go his way he certainly has a shot. It should be interesting to watch the battle between Philip Hilm and Tuan Lam. Both players are not afraid to put their chips in the middle, and it will be interesting to see whether or not the two big stacks go at each other early, or wait for the smaller stacks to do battle before they kick it into gear. Lam showed his grit when he correctly called down Scotty Nguyen's bet of 3.5 million with pocket 10s on the river with a board that showed two kings and a jack. Though I don't know much about Kalmar's game, his chip stack certainly makes him a force to be reckoned with. Those who believe in fate might view his road to the final table as a sign that he is destined to win. Though I could take the easy way out and keep talking about how much of a toss up picking the winner is, I will take a stance and put my money on Philip Hilm. I am not choosing him just because he is the chip leader, as his lead is not significant enough to guarantee anything. I am choosing Hilm because of his success in short-handed play. Much of his online success has come from playing heads up. It is crucial for solid heads up players to be able to adapt their play to the style of their opponents. At a table that is sure to feature a variety of styles, Hilm will likely know when to put the pedal to the metal, as well as when to ease off. The cards will certainly play the biggest role in determining this year's winner, but all things equal, I would give the edge to Hilm. Best of luck to all of the players in what is sure to be an exciting finale to the 2007 World Series of Poker.

-Benjamin Ryan

Philip Hilm 22,070,000 chips
Tuan Lam 21,315,000 chips
Jon Kalmar 20,320,000 chips
Raymond Rahme 16,320,000 chips
Lee Childs 13,240,000 chips
Lee Watkinson 9,925,000 chips
Hevad Khan 9,205,000 chips
Jerry Yang 8,450,000 chips
Alex Kravchenko 6,570,000 chips

Above are the chip counts of the players that made the 2007 WSOP Main Event final table. It was a roller coaster for '98 champion Scotty Nguyen who at one point won a pot of 8.1 million from Tuan Lam, only to lose a pot of 11.46 million to Lam shortly there after. Nguyen put it all in against chip leader Philip Hilm with a flush draw but did not hit, leading to his exit in 11th place. Nguyen received over $476,000 for his performance. Bill Elder and Daniel Alaei finished in 23rd and 25th respectively, each taking home $333,490. Steve Garfinkle just missed the final table, finishing in 10th and taking home $476,926.

David Tran 10,280,000
Philip Hilm 9,950,000
Ray Henson 8,250,000
Hevad Khan 7,585,000
Kevin Farry 7,400,000
Scott Freeman 7,360,000
Lee Childs 6,520,000
Jerry Yang 5,090,000
Kenny Tran 4,955,000
William Spadea 4,575,000
Tuan Lam 3,600,000
Lee Watkinson 3,500,000
Stefan Mattsson 3,260,000
Raymond Rahme 3,100,000
Ron Kluber 3,070,000
Bill Edler 2,680,000
Jon Kalmar 2,665,000
John Armbrust 2,600,000
Peter Darvill 2,430,000
Hoa Nguyen 2,205,000
Bob Slezak 2,115,000
Jason Welch 2,115,000
Steven Garfinkle 2,115,000
Jeff Bryan 2,100,000
Mikkel Madsen 2,080,000
Christian Togsverd 2,030,000
Daniel Alaei 1,995,800
Scotty Nguyen 1,960,000
Ryan Elson 1,785,000
Paulo Loureiro 1,645,000
Alex Kravchenko 1,555,000
Jason Koshi 1,175,000
Roy Winston 1,071,000
Allan King 1,000,000
Kevin Kim 610,000
Robin Bergren 520,000

Some big names were lost on day 5 as Gus Hansen went out in 61st, followed by John Spadavecchia in 60th. Brandon Adams finished in 69th. Though Huck Seed and Humberto Brenes were eliminated, the field has a lot of notable names left with Scotty Nguyen, Lee Watkinson, Daniel Alaei, and Bill Edler still remaining. As we head into day 6 there will be 36 players remaining. 37th place finisher Ayaz Mahmood took home $237,865 for his performance.

Dag Martin Mikkelsen 3,740,000
Charis Anastasiou 2,672,000
Richard Harris 2,662,000
Avi Cohen 2,392,000
Jeff Tunkel 2,323,000
Alex Kravchenko 2,274,000
Hevad Khan 2,200,000
Ryan Elson 2,137,000
Paul Spitzberg 1,963,000
Sven Niklas Heinecker 1,908,000
Tuan Lam 1,900,000
Lee Watkinson 1,860,000
Nicolas Atlan 1,837,000
Adam White 1,820,000
Kevin Farry 1,800,000
Scott Freeman 1,793,000
Josh Evans 1,792,000
Julian Gardner 1,777,000
Philip Yeh 1,775,000
Raymond Rahme 1,763,000
Paulo Loureiro 1,761,000
Stefan Mattsson 1,704,000
Lee Childs 1,657,000
Hoa Nguyen 1,645,000
Gus Hansen 1,604,000
Jeff Banghart 1,600,000
Markus Gonsalves 1,596,000
Ronald Kluber 1,559,000
Matt Keikoan 1,556,000
Huck Seed 1,546,000
John Kalmer 1,536,000
John Spadavecchia 1,428,000
Rep Porter 1,426,000
Roy Winston 1,420,000
Cory Carroll 1,415,000
Kirk Morrison 1,393,000
Francis Cagney 1,318,000
Jeff Weiss 1,253,000
Reagan Silber 1,232,000
Daniel Alaei 1,219,000
Tom Peterson 1,200,000
David Tran 1,187,000
Philip Hilm 1,183,000
Scotty Nguyen 1,175,000
Jeff Bryan 1,152,000
Jerry Yang 1,150,000
Floyd Clark 1,146,000
Humberto Brenes 1,140,000
Cody Slaubaugh 1,139,000
Justin Sadauskas 1,115,000

While Dag Martin Mikkelsen leads the way with 3,740,000 chips, he has a difficult road ahead as there is some tough competition nipping at his heals. Lee Watkinson and Julian Gardner both improved their position as they ended the day in 12th and 18th respectively. Gus Hansen is close behind in 25th place with over 1.6 million, while 1996 Main Event champion Huck Seed stands in 30th place. John Spadavecchia, winner of a 2006 WSOP Circuit Event is in 32nd, trailed closely by young star Daniel Alaei. Scotty Nguyen, winner of the 1998 WSOP Main Event is now in 44th place, while the always exuberant Humberto Brenes is in 48th.

Dario Minieri 2,398,000
Jeff Weiss 1,533,000
Jon Kalmar 1,410,000
Hevad Khan 1,319,000
Kenny Tran 1,175,000
Steven Jacobs 1,127,000
Brock Parker 1,089,000
Robert Neitrayan 1,058,000
William Spadea 1,057,000
Nicolas Atlan 1,057,000
Gus Hansen 1,044,000
Phillip Liou 975,000
Rep Porter 974,000
Senovio Ramirez III 947,000
Clint Schafer 940,000
Andrew Barnes 932,000
Jimmy Blevins 855,000
Jon Moonves 854,000
Jim Lucas 836,000
Connor Tate 800,000
Isaac Haxton 791,000
Jeff Banghart 789,000
Kirk Morrison 772,000
Francois Safleddine 748,000
Evan Marshall 742,000
Jerry Yang 738,000
Bart Hanson 738,000
Lee Watkinson 737,000
Dagmartin Miikkelsen 734,000
Justin King 714,000
Kristian Obbarius 704,000
Sven Abelsson Runing 703,000
Suerre Sunbo 702,000
Richard Weisman 696,000
John Bird 686,000
Scott Freeman 683,000
Bjorn-Erik Glenne 679,000
Elie Said 677,000
Mao Qiu 675,000
Bill Edler 673,000
Ryan Lawrence 671,000
Christian Togsverd 666,000
Justin Rollo 661,000
Pete de Best 649,000
Tuan Lam 642,000
Matt Stout 639,000
Paul Spitzberg 629,000
Chris Lovelace 627,000
Kevin Kim 620,000
Justin Sadauskas 618,000

Day 3 featured the surge of Dario Minieri who sits in first place with 2,398,000 chips. Minieri is trailed most closely by Jeff Weiss, who has over 800,000 chips less than Minieri. Lee Watkinson has risen to 737,000 and is in good position in 28th place. Bill Edler has 673,000 and currently sits in 40th place. Huck Seed is still in good shape with 586,000, while Julian Gardner is also right in the mix with 550,000. There are now 337 players remaining in the tournament.

Gus Hansen 622,300
Hevad Khan 592,500
Brent Sheirbon 549,300
Markus Gonsalves 512,400
Robert Nehorayan 505,700
Richard Weisman 495,400
Bill Edler 486,700
Sorel Mizzi 457,100
Christian Toth 452,900
Andy Philachack 451,500
Patrick Huse 431,100
Ryan Lawrence 429,500
Kevin Kim 422,600
Rick Munro 417,600
Shawn Chaconas 407,800
Kit Manoez 405,700
Art Cole 405,700
Jeremy Joseph 400,200
Carl Olson 391,700
Matt Keikoan 383,300
Travis Belles 374,000
Imran Ahmad 369,600
Julian Powell 358,800
Rami Boulfai 357,900
Andrew Barnes 355,600
Ben Lamb 355,500
Francois Safieddine 354,800
Kelly Jo McGlothlin 346,600
Mao Qiu 345,000
Robin Bergren 344,100
Dario Minieri 343,700
Joe Pharo 340,500
Christian Abele 327,700
Ed Betlow 327,000
Andre Wagner 325,800
Fabrice Soulier 325,700
Tommy Burandt 320,300
Chad Brown 320,000
Billy Willis 314,700
Kevin Farry 314,000
Zachary Clark 312,600
Marc Naalden 311,900
Senovio Ramirez 310,300
Petri Pollanen 310,200
Hal Lubasky 307,900
Ed De Haas 306,500
Ayaz Mahmoop 304,400
Clint Schafer 300,600
Adam White 298,100
Hasan Habib 296,700

As the fields get ready to condense, it will be Gus Hansen leading the climb to the top as he sits in 1st place with over 622,000 in chips. Though many of the biggest names in poker have been shown early exits, there are still a lot of sharks left. Bill Edler is not far off the pace with over 480,000 in chips, while Chad Brown (38) continues to prove that he is one of the most consistent performers in tournament poker. Professional Hasan Habib rounds out day 2B's top 50 with just under 300,000 in chips.

Jeff Banghart 570,100
Jeff Weiss 550,000
Jon Monves 549,800
Bradley Ellis 509,400
Yuan-I Hsieh 489,900
Kenny Tran 484,900
Alex Melnikow 480,100
Connor Tate 440,000
Cory Carroll 419,900
Jerry Yang 415,500
Nicolas Atlan 410,800
Tom Peterson 410,800
Avi Cohen 400,600
Amanda Baker 398,300
Raymond Rahme 394,200
Daniel Elizondo 390,800
Mikkel Madsen 387,000
Steven Jacobs 365,600
Kenny Rundh 347,500
Hoa Nguyen 347,400
Andrew Manser 347,200
Cliff Josephy 346,400
Rep Porter 338,100
Matt Shepsky 321,800
Kevin Chan 317,300
Jared Hamby 315,100
Cyrus Farzad 315,000
Dapo Fadeui 313,400
Dagmartin Mikklesen 313,000
Chris Overgard 307,900
Christian Togsverd 306,700
Diego Cordovez 303,300
Karga Holt 303,100
Jac Arama 302,800
Ryan Elson 301,400
Luis Velador 301,000
Scott Epstein 294,900
George Dunst 292,500
Theodore Park 285,800
Huck Seed 280,500
Steve Crockett 277,600
Todd Phillips 275,000
Steven Prentky 270,800
Thomas Koo 270,600
Alex Michaels 268,100
David Flusfeder 265,800
Kenneth Smith 265,800
Stephen O'Dwyer 262,000
Bart Hanson 259,900
Karim Vegas 258,800

Day 2A is comprised of half of the remaining field. Those who survive day 2A have the following day off as the other half plays day 2B. Then the field condenses into one. Most Notably, Huck Seed is currently in 40th with over 280,000 chips.

Josh Evans 240,000
Mickey Mills 180,000
Cindy Longoria 166,000
John Tabataba 161,500
Ben Lamb 160,000
Matt Keikoan 155,000
Dan Heimiller 153,000
Ted Forrest 150,000
Mike Laing 145,000
Anthony Reategui 140,000
Raymond Lau 140,000
Zak Alameddine 136,300
Kyle Wilson 130,000
J.T. Fulton 125,000
Chip Jett 123,000
Sorel Mizzi 122,000
Goevry Gilles 120,000
Thor Hansen 114,000
Fabio Monteiro 111,000
Julian Powell 110,000
Antanas Hambardzhiev 110,000
Matt Brady 110,000
Michael Lynn 108,000
Vlado Matinkovic 100,000
Hooman Nikzad 100,000
Chris Grigorian 96,000
Danny Smith 95,000
Michael Binger 94,000
Nathan Adler 93,500
Mike Carroll 88,000
Jimmy Dahlquist 88,000
Karlo Lopez 86,000
Carlos Mortensen 85,000
James English 82,000
Alfredo Salinas 80,000
Chau Ngu 80,000
Bill Edler 80,000
Court Harrington 80,000
Jens Bergsdorf 80,000
Jonathan Michaels 80,000
Kevin O'Brien 76,000
Brandon Gerson 76,000
Ralph Perry 74,000
Jason Stern 74,000
Maria Ho 71,000
Kyle Morris 70,000
Matt Russell 66,000
Yosh Nakano 65,000
Gus Hansen 65,000
Ron Ware 64,000

2006 NBC Heads Up Champion Ted Forrest got off to a healthy start as he sits in 8th with 150,000 in chips. Chip Jett stands in 18th while Thor Hansen, who final tabled this year's $5000 buy-in limit hold'em tournament (event 18) stands in 18th place. Michael Binger continues his incredible run at the 2007 WSOP (28th) while 2001 Main Event Champion Carlos Mortenson is currently in 33rd with 85,000. In 49th, tournament phenom Gus Hansen has 65,000 chips.

Jeff Norman 281,300
Thomas Barnard 248,900
Carl Olson 226,100
Michael Ium 193,800
Juan Fernandez 188,100
Daniel Alaei 187,700
Philip Hilm 177,700
Christoffer Baar 177,700
Chuck Kelley 164,800
Richard Weisman 157,600
Frank Schram 156,200
Darrell Dicken 155,400
Rodney Knight 154,100
Kit Manoel 150,500
James Scott 146,100
Mitch Garshofsky 144,900
Jeff Rodriguez 143,800
Ronald Philpott 140,000
Steven Wilk 138,300
Twan Nguye 136,800
Matthew Olim 134,800
Michael Massey125,700
David Gurevic 125,000
Scott Creasey 122,000
Nigel O'Donoghue 120,400
Kevin Hong 120,300
Armenak Kizirian 119,700
Mark Sanchez 118,800
Lee Watkinson 118,100
Andrew Barton 117,400
Jeff Parker 116,400
Steve Silvenstein 115,500
Ricardo Nuno 114,300
Hien Tran 112,700
Phillip Lowery 112,700
James McClendon 111,700
Sombat Sangjinda 110,800
Andre Wagner 109,700
Philip Campbell 109,600
Gerald Martello 108,300
Arthur Cole 108,100
Mattern Arnuad 106,600
Jeremy Harkin 106,200
Kyle Kloeckner 103,200
George Vazanellis 103,100
Jim Geary 102,900
Avi Mukherjee 102,600
Arthur Azen 101,500
Peter Cryan 100,900
J.C. Tran 100,200

This field featured Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken surging to the front as he now stands in 12th place. Dicken is a young online player known for his agressive play. He has made it deep in numerous tournaments over the last year including last year's Tournament of Champions. Lee Watkinson sits in good position in 29th while JC Tran rounds out the top 50 in 50th place.

Dag Martin 236,000
Jeff Banghart 186,200
Albert Strickland 180,700
George Dunst 168,900
Lewis Pilkington 166,000
John Sacha 163,400
Sven Anders Johnsson 161,100
Jason Welch 160,500
Frank Bluemlein 152,400
John Duthie 151,300
Daniel Makowsky 148,300
Mike Spalliero 148,000
Rep Porter 147,600
Andrea Buzzigoli 147,200
Andrew Manser 143,500
Scott Seiver 140,800
David Pham 140,000
Carl Henriksson 139,500
Bradley Duck 138,600
Curtis VanGilder 136,400
Michael Simhai 133,000
Bob Robbins 130,100
Chris Viox 129,700
Scotty Nguyen 129,000
Hoa Nguyen 126,500
Bob Poole 126,000
Morten Mertner 125,800
Jonathan Tore 124,000
Arturo Morales 124,000
William Spadea 122,800
Scott Bohlman 120,800
Todd Phillips 119,600
Berry Johnston 118,500
Levi Nicolas 117,900
Cliff Josephy 117,700
Hopfner Moritz 116,800
Joseph Kozlowsky 113,100
Jaime Montero 113,000
John Strzemp 111,500
Vandy Krouch 110,100
Michael Zinna 109,400
Bryan Swanson 108,100
Phillip Green 108,000
Jan Sorensen 108,000
Ut Nguyen 107,700
Gregg Jaffy 106,500
James Kilarjian 106,400
Daniel Attie 105,900
Max Casal 105,300
Dapo Fadeyi 104,300

Day 1B concluded with a number of well known names in the top 50 including David "The Dragon" Pham, Scotty Nguyen, and Berry Johnston. Berry Johnston has been playing in the WSOP for decades and is among the all-time leaders in tournament cashes.

Tinten Olivier 270,500,
John Dutchak 209,600
Stephen Austin 205,000
Michael Tureniec 203,900
Aurelio Arcano 166,000
Kitai Davidi 164,700
Scott Yeates 163,200
Dane Lomas 161,800
Andrius Tapinas 159,100
Alex Michaels 155,500
Adam Weiss 151,400
Cyrus Farzad 150,000
Adam Richardson 149,700
Tuan Lam Kitchener 148,400
Andras Kovacs 145,900
Matt Shepsky 145,400
Alexander Dietrich 142,400
Jeff Weiss 142,000
Casey Chldress 142,000
Francis Cagney 133,100
Ronald Crosswell 130,100
Ray Henson 128,000
Lars Bonding 128,000
Kevin Han 127,000
Justin Rollo 125,500
Mark Cole 125,100
Steven Jacobs 124,700
Ricky Rodriguez 124,300
Joseph Fallows 123,700
Daniel Tarnopol 121,800
Julian Gardner 120,900
Brandon Adams 120,400
James Williams 120,000
Jason Peed 119,600
Tom Lanham 118900
Alan Schein 117,500
Ismail Yilmaz 116,300
Edgar Montero 116000
Ken Evanowski 115,400
Randall Amiel 113,900
Kenny Rundh 113,700
Scott Watkins 113,200
Brock Parker 110,500
Deborah Hinton 110,100
Kevan Casey 109,400
Todd Lundwall 109,200
Conor Tate 109,000
Matthew Stout 108,400
Marty Wolf 107,100
Allan King 107,000

Notably Julian Gardner finished day 1A in 31st while Brandon Adams finished up his day in 32nd place.

Contrary to the belief of many, the WSOP Main Event will not grow incessantly in size every single year. Last year's WSOP featured 8,773 entries while this year saw a sharp decrease to only 6,358. But before people start reading deeply into this as evidence of the "end of the poker boom", take a few minutes to put things in perspective. One of the main ways that players gain entry into the Main Event is through online satellites. While players were still capable of qualifying through these satellites, it is unquestionable that the bill against internet gambling influenced the size of the field. It is also important to realize that the number of WSOP Main Event entrants does not completely reflect the status of poker popularity. The 2007 WSOP (including the main event) actually set a new record as it attracted 54,288 total registrants. So even if the main event does not have 10,000 players this year, let us not read too deeply into its implications. After all, this is the 2nd biggest tournament field in the history of poker.
This year's tournament will have 4 day 1s: days 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d. Initially the plan was to play only 3 day 1s, but the addition of a slew of late entries led to the adding of one extra. There are 6 levels for day 1, with blinds starting at 50/100 and finishing at 400/800 with a 100 ante. All levels last 90 minutes. After day 1 is completed, there will be 2 day 2s, 2a and 2b. After that, the fields will combine into one large field and play down to the final table. The following blog entries will focus on giving the chip counts of the leaders after each day of the tournament.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 51 Buy in: $1,000 Game: SHOE

SHOE tournaments feature a combination of seven card stud, limit hold 'em, Omaha high-low, and stud eight or better. This year's winner was professional poker player Dao Bac, who took home $157,975 for the victory. Chip Jett finished in 3rd place, while poker author Michael Craig finished in 7th, reaching his 2nd final table at the 2007 WSOP.

Event: 52 Buy in: $1,000 Game: NL Hold'em w/ Re-buys

It was a tournament dominated by the young guns as 23-year-old Michael Graves won a bracelet and $742,121. Young stars David Williams, Daniel Alaei, and Steve Billirakis all went deep, while Jordan Morgan just missed the final table finishing in 12th. Phil Hellmuth just reached the money finishing in 95th. Michael Binger also tied the record for most WSOP cashes in a year as his 56th place finish marked his 8th cash of 2007.

Event: 53 Buy in: $1,500 Game: Limit Hold'em Shootout

Professional player Ram Vaswani has made noise in past WSOP events, but has never managed to the seal the deal. That all changed this year as his victory in the 2007 Limit Hold'em Shootout netted him $217,438. Notably Victor Ramdin finished in 9th place while Brian Haveson got 10th. (The format of shootout tournaments is described in the recap of event #21)

Event: 54 Buy in: $5,000 Game: NL Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball w/ Re-buys

The NL 2-7 Lowball tournament, like the $50,000 HORSE event tends to attract fields filled with pros. This year was no different as 78 of the world's best came out to showcase their skills. In the end, it was Eric Seidel who came away winning his 8th bracelet. Seidel's victory netted him $538,835 and the right to silence the critics who question whether or not he "still has it". In an epic heads up battle that lasted about 90 minutes, Seidel came back from over a 2-1 chip deficit against the extremely talented Chad Brown. Other final table competitors included Shahram "Sheiky" Sheikhan, Andrew Black, $50,000 HORSE winner Freddy Deeb, and Todd Brunson.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 46 Buy in: $1,000 Game: Seven Card Stud Hi/lo

Winning a WSOP bracelet is a difficult task, but winning 2 in the same year is nothing short of outstanding. This year, Tom Schneider accomplished that very feat by taking down event 5, and following it up with a victory in the seven card stud hi/lo event. Winning $147,713 for his effort, Scheider has now netted over $300,000 at this year's WSOP. Scotty Nguyen finished in 4th place. Nguyen had finished 2nd to Eli Elezra in the $3,000 buy in 7 card stud hi/lo event, showing that his 7 stud hi/lo game is quite impressive.

Event: 47 Buy in: $2,000 Game: NL Hold'em

Blair Rodman has been playing in the WSOP for decades but has never managed to come home with a bracelet. That all changed in the $2,000 buy in tournament as Rodman took home $707,898 for the win. As has been the case throughout the 2007 WSOP, this NL Hold'em tournament had over 2,000 entires. Professional Roland De Wolfe finished in 6th place.

Event: 48 Buy in: $1,000 Game: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) with Re-buys

Rafi Amit, winner of the 2006 $10,000 buy in Omaha event, has now won a bracelet 2 years in a row. Outlasting a field of 546 including 7th place finisher Andy Bloch, Amit won $227,005 for his victory.

Event: 49 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em

Chandrasekhar Billavara plays the role of the comeback kid as he goes from last in chips at the final table to win event 49 of the 2007 WSOP. He takes home a hefty $722,914 for his performance. Professional Greg "FBT" Mueller finished in 8th taking home $55,914.

Event: 50 Buy in: $10,000 Game: PL Omaha

Although Doyle Brunson decided to play a lighter schedual in the 2007 WSOP, he made it out for the highly anticipated $10,000 buy in Omaha event. Looking for his 11th bracelet, Doyle charged through the field and even made it to the final table finishing in 6th place. 3rd place belonged to Patrick Antonius who many consider to be one of the most dangerous players in all of poker today. At the end of the day however, it was Robert Mizrachi who put on his first WSOP bracelet. Brother of Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, and a young pro with a few final tables to his name, Mizrachi outlasted a field of 314 talented players to win $768,889.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 41 Buy in: $1,000 Game: NL Hold'em (Seniors Only)

The WSOP Senior's tournament requires that entrants be at least 50 years old. This year the event had its best showing ever with nearly 1900 entries. First place went to Ernest Bennett who won $348,423.

Event: 42 Buy in: $1,500 Game: PL Omaha Hi/lo

24-year-old Lukasz Dumanski outlasts a field of 687 to win $227,454. Chad Brown, the former actor turned announcer who has made quite a name for himself in the poker world, finished in 5th place.

Event: 43 Buy in: $2,000 Game: Limit Hold'em

Saif Ahmad wins $217,329 as his first cash at the WSOP is a victory. Ahmad went heads up with William Jensen with a nearly equivalent stack. Ahmad went on a tear heads up finally sealing the deal by hitting running cards to a straight. Online player Justin (looshle) Pechie finished in 4th place, taking home just under $60,000.

Event: 44 Buy in: $2,000 Game: Limit Omaha Hi/lo split

Frankie Odell outlasted a field filled with many of the toughest pros to win $240,057. The animated Marcel Luske made his first final table appearance of the 2007 WSOP finishing in 4th. Stuart Patterson came in 8th, and John Juanda was one spot off from the final table finishing in 10th place.

Event: 45 Buy in: $5,000 Game: NL Hold'em 6-handed

Tournament circuit veteran William Edler finally wins his first WSOP bracelet and $904,672 to go along with it. Edler had to face tough competition late as the final table included 2006 WSOP main event final table finisher Erik Friberg (3rd) and Dutch Boyd (5th). Other notable finishers included Tony Guoga (10th), Ram Vaswani (14th), and Phil Hellmuth (31st).

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 36 Buy in: $5,000 Game: Omaha Hi/Lo

Young Canadian Professional John Guth outlasted a field filled with pros as he took down event 36 winning $363,216. Guth, who had never cashed in a WSOP event before, knocked out Mike Matusow, Todd Brunson, and Annie Duke on his way to the final table. John "Sir Scoopalot" Guth was a 2-1 chip favorite when heads up play began against 2nd place finisher Robert Stevanovski.

Event: 37 Buy in: $2,000 Game: PL Hold'em

Alaskan tournament grinder Greg Hopkins won his first WSOP bracelet and a first place prize of $269,274. Although the final table was not filled with any top pros, T.J. Cloutier finished in 11th place. Cloutier has not finished at any final tables to this point in the 2007 WSOP, but has cashed in the top 20 in multiple events.

Event: 38 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em

Nearly 2,800 players came out for event 38, but in the end Robert Cheung was the last man left standing. Cheung, who began playing only a few years ago, won $673,628 for his performance. As if outlasting such a big field is not impressive enough, Cheung had cashed in two other WSOP events within the same week. Sixth place finisher Chris Bjorin has now made 3 final tables in the 2007 WSOP.

Event: 39 Buy in: $50,000 Game: HORSE

When the WSOP began nearly 40 years ago, the tournaments were filled with a small group of the day's elite poker players. While the fields were small, the incredible talent of all of the participants made winning an extremely difficult task. Some say that today's fields are so big that it detracts from the quality and significance of winning a tournament. For such purists, there is one event that remains. The $50,000 buy in HORSE tournament is meant for pros who truly understand the nuances of tournament poker. While the main event is filled with amateurs who may only know how to play one game, this event rewards the well-rounded poker player. This year's winner was none other than Kassem "Freddy" Deeb. Deeb studied in the United States but began gambling after he lost contact with his parents (who sent him money) after civil war broke out in his home country of Lebanon. He has since made a name for himself as one of poker's top cash game players. The HORSE victory landed him a 2.3 million dollar payday, and his 2nd gold bracelet. David Singer, who finished in 6th, was the only player to make it to the HORSE final table back to back years. Barry Greenstein finished in 7th, taking home $259,296.

Event: 40 Buy in: $1,500 Game; Mixed Limit/ NL Hold'em

Last year's WSOP Main Event 10th place finisher Fred Goldberg won his first bracelet taking home $205,271. Goldberg is among the leaders in this year's WSOP in cashes, as this victory gave him his 5th. Notably, poker Author Michael Craig finished in 7th place.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 31 Buy in: $5,000 Game: Heads up NL Hold'em

With the event's largest turnout ever, it was 21-year-old student Daniel Schreiber who outlasted a field of 392 players to win $425,594. The dangerous Toto Leonidas finished in 8th while 2007 NBC National Heads Up Champion Paul Wasicka finished in 9th. Though the heads up events always draw a great deal of hype, setting them up can be a difficult task. Since you need exactly 256 players (or 512 if there were more entrants) to create a bracket, it is almost a guarantee that some players will be left stranded. This tournament was set up so that over 100 players received a first round bye to account for the problem. It may not be completely fair, but setting up such an event will always be tricky. In order to do well in the event, one has to play a lot of good poker, regardless of whether they get a first round bye or not.

Event: 32 Buy in: $2,000 Game: 7-card Stud

Professional Jeffrey Lisandro finally got his first bracelet. and a prize of $118,426. Lisandro had won a WSOP circuit event, but had never taken home the coveted gold and diamond studded bracelet. Atlantic City's own Nick Frangos finished 2nd, while Daniel Negreanu made his 2nd final table of the WSOP finishing in 5th place.

Event: 33 Buy in: $1,500 Game: PL Omaha w/ Re-buys + Add-ons

Anyone who has sat at a poker table as a short stack has likely heard some giddy big stack remind them that "all you need is a chip and a chair", or perhaps "a dollar and a dream". Alan Smurfit proved that desperate short stacks can go from rags to riches. Having ten times fewer chips than the chip leader and two times as few as the closest short stack with 9 players remaining, Smurfit put together an incredible run that culminated with a river card that gave him a higher full house than his opponent Qushqar Morad, a gold bracelet, and $464,867. Notably, Chau Giang (5th) and Brandon Adams (6th) both made the final table. Second place finisher Qushqar Morad deserves applause as he came up just short in an epic heads up battle that lasted for over five hours.

Event: 34 Buy in: $3,000 Game: Limit Hold'em

Alexander Borteh takes home $225,483 along with his first WSOP victory. Borteh beat Brandon Wong in a heads up match that left little room for error given the price of blinds. David "The Dragon" Pham finished 4th out of the 296 player field.

Event: 35 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em

Ryan Young lasted through another enormous NL Hold'em field to win $615,955 for his victory. Though Dustin Dirksen (the 2nd place finisher) might not be a household name, he has made quite a name for himself online and has played in some of the highest limit cash games. Young also had to outlast professional Nam Le who finished in 3rd.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 26 Buy in: $5,000 Game: HORSE

Ralph Schwartz wins $275,683 as he proves that he can beat the best. Phil Ivey continues to come just short as he finished in 4th. Bill Gazes, who has made over $500,000 in his WSOP career finished 2nd, still in search of his first bracelet. Robert Mizrachi finished in 5th to take home just short of $50,000.

Event: 27 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em

Although $1,500 is a small entry fee by WSOP standards, David Stucke still received $603,069 for his 1st place finish. The field had 2,628 entries with 198 players making the money. The tournament was so big that The Rio actually had to open up tables outside of the main poker room.

Event: 28 Buy in: $3,000 Game: NL Hold'em

Phil Hellmuth was back at it again as he managed to go deep in yet another hold'em tournament. Starting the 10-handed final table as the short stack, Hellmuth crawled his way up to a 6th place finish. Shankar Pillai won $527,829 as he managed to hold off Beth Shak who took home $328,683 for her 2nd place finish.

Event: 29 Buy in: $1,500 Game: Razz

The 2004 razz final table was filled with top pros including T.J. Cloutier (who won), Dutch Boyd, and Howard Lederer. Ironically, all the final tablers seemed to talk about was how much they hate playing razz. The game is known for the incredible frustration that it causes its players. Razz is a variation of 7-card-stud in which the lowest hand wins. Players can have 4 low cards and then pair them up on subsequent streets (one does not want pairs in razz) leading to lost pots and lost minds. This year's event saw Katja Thater (5th in this year's ladies only tournament) take home first place prize money of $132,653. Thater had to work her way through a final table that featured Paul "Eskimo" Clark (4th), Mark Vos (6th) and Men "The Master" Nguyen (7th).

Event: 30 Buy in: $2,500 Game: NL Hold'em 6-handed tables

The 6-handed hold'em event is a true test of skill as the structure requires players to play a wider range of hands than they might at a full table. Players with deeper stacks will often play an aggressive style that enables them to put pressure on the big and small blinds. Hoyt Corkins, who had not won a bracelet since 1992, took home first place and $515,065. The Alabama cowboy put on a clinic on how to utilize a big stack as he was the chip leader at the end of all three days of the tournament.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 21 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em Shootout

The NL Hold'em Shootout's format is different than that of regular tournaments. Rather than accumulating chips and being moved around accordingly by a tournament director, players are placed in what might best be likened to heats. Players are assigned to a table which plays until it has one player left standing. Then, all of the winners are divied into tables again, and the process repeats itself. The event is essentially a series of single table sit and goes. Even with 900 entrants, the event managed to play down to the final table within one day. The final table featured top pros (and good friends) Erik Lindgren and Daniel Negreanu. Lindgren is revered as one of the top young poker players, but has yet to win a WSOP bracelet. He was unable to get anything going and finished last at the final table. Negreanu, in search of his fourth bracelet, seemed to have everything going. Knocking out 3 of the 8 final table competitors, Negreanu had over 55% of the chips in play when play began 4-handed. He then went on a downward slide exiting in 3rd place as Don Baruch came back to win the gold bracelet.

Event: 22 Buy in: $5,000 Game: NL Hold'em

College dropout James Mackey began his final table push for the title when he knocked out Michael Gracz (9th) with a set of queens. The final table included Tex Barch (8th), Michael Binger (3rd) (I referred to him as a "smart guy" in a previous post), and former Cardplayer Magazine cover boy, Nick "The Takeover" Schulman (6th). Other notable finishers includee Ross Boatman(10th), Phil Laak (11th), and Kathy Liebert (13th).

Event 23: Buy in: $1,500 Event: PL Omaha

Scott Clements has had an impressive WSOP run winning his first bracelet in 2006 and coming in 5th in event 15 this year. Determined to keep his run going, Clements took down the $1,500 PL Omaha event beating 2006 Main event 24th place finisher Eric Lynch heads up. William Durkey, the 24-year-old winner of event 10 had an other impressive showing as he finished in 4th place.

Event: 24 Buy in: $3,000 Game: Seven-card stud hi-low split

Eli Elezra outlasted a field of 236 to win his first WSOP bracelet. The Las Vegas real estate mogul and "Big Game" player beat 1998 Main Event winner Scotty Nguyen (2nd) and Dutch Boyd during 3-handed play. The attitude at the final table was loose to say the least as Eli Elezra stood up during heads up play to inform the onlookers that he was drunk. With Scotty Nguyen sitting alongside, you can be sure there were plenty of drinks passed around. Elezra was interviewed after the victory stating that the 1st place prize money of $198,984 was less than half of what he won from side bets on his winning a bracelet. His biggest side bet was with Barry Greenstein, who gave him 10-1 odds that he would not win, leading to a payoff of a quarter million dollars. Famed poker writer David Sklansky finished 5th in the tournament.

Event: 25 Buy in: $2,000 Game: NL Hold'em

Ben Pozino defeated a field of leading to first place prize of nearly $600,000. Pozino had about a 9-2 chip lead heads up against David Hewitt and never looked back.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 16 Buy in: $2,500 Game: HORSE

HORSE is a combination of limit hold'em, omaha, razz, and stud. While hold'em has been all of the rage in poker, HORSE is a test of a player's skill in a variety of games. WSOP veteran James Richberg won the bracelet, winning over $238,000. The tournament went on for three days and saw final table appearances from Tom Schneider (4th) and Robert Mizrachi (6th). Schneider won event #5, which combined Omaha and seven card stud hi-low-8 or better.

Event: 17 Buy in: $1,000 Game: Ladies only NL Hold'em

The Lady's event has grown significantly over the years. This year's event featured 1,286 entrants and nearly 1.2 million dollars in prize money. Sally Boyer, who only took up playing poker a year ago, took home the 1st place prize of $262,077.

Event: 18 Buy in: $5,000 Game: Limit Hold'em

While online poker has led to a wave of extremely talented young players, poker has also seen the emergence of a new brand of player; the young academic. Former physicist Michael Binger finished 3rd in last year's main event while author and Harvard graduate Brandon Adams has cashed in multiple tournaments. At 27 years old, MIT graduate Saro Getzoyan chalked one up for the smart guys by outlasting a field of 257 to take home $333,379. The final table also featured appearances from Thor Hansen and William Thorsson, while young pro Max Pescatori finished in 15th.

Event: 19 Buy in: $2,500 Game: NL Hold'em

Francois Safieddine outlasted a field of over 1000 en route to winning his $521,785 first place prize. Safieddine faced tough competition, but managed to beat young pro John "The Razor" Phan heads up. Phan had also made a final table in event #5. Although he never seems to be quiet, Humberto Brenes' play continues to do a lot of talking as he finished the tournament in 7th place.

Event 20: Buy in: $2,000 Game: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low/8 or Better

Ryan Hughes overcame the chip lead of Greg Raymer to win the $176,358 first place prize. Raymer was sitting pretty but lost a big hand to Hughes which sent him on a bad run that led to his exit in 4th place. Min Lee finished 2nd, winning just under $100,000.

-Benjamin Ryan

Event: 11 Buy in: $5,000 Game: 7-Card Stud

High stakes cash game specialist David Oppenheim entered the final table chip leading. He relinquished his lead as it came down to a heads up battle between Chris Reslock and the dangerous Phil Ivey. Ivey is better known for his NL Hold'em and PL Omaha play, but grew up playing 7-stud in the Atlantic City casinos. Ivey won the 2002 stud event, but could not duplicate the feat as Reslock won just a few hands into heads up play. Reslock received $258,453 for the win while Phil took home $143,820. The difference between first and second was actually far greater for Phil Ivey. Ivey is one of a number of pros who has a $100,000 bet with Eli Elezra. Elezra agreed to bets in which pros would receive 5-1 odds on winning a bracelet in the 2007 WSOP. Thus, the difference between first and second for Ivey, was a difference of over $700,000. This was Reslock's first bracelet. His past accomplishments include a circuit event victory and a fourth place finish in last years Tournament of Champions.

Event: 12 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em 6 handed

Young Canadian Jason Warner outlasted a field of 1,427 to win his first gold bracelet. Warner's victory was his first cash in a WSOP event. Joe Awada, the casino game designer with a successful WSOP resume, finished in 8th place.

Event: 13 Buy in: $5,000 Game: PL Hold'em

While talk of the bracelet race usually includes the names Johnny, Doyle, and Phil, soon people might have to start mentioning Allen. At only 30 years of age, Allen Cunningham won his fifth bracelet, also marking his 30th WSOP cash. Last year's WSOP Main Event fourth place finisher continues to impress and solidify his name as one of the top pros in today's game.

Event: 14 Buy in: $1,500 Game: 7-card stud

German Professional Michael Keiner wins just short of $150,000 as he takes down the $1,500 buy-in 7-card stud bracelet. The tournament's final table included top pro Barry Greenstein and 2004 Main Event champion Greg Raymer. Raymer, who is highly respected for his tough tournament play finished 6th, demonstrating that his skill is not limited to no-limit hold'em.

Event: 15 Buy in: $1,500 Game: NL Hold'em

It is nearly impossible to discuss the WSOP without bringing up Phil Hellmuth's name. The Poker Brat, who never grows tired of the attention, has given people something new to talk about. Phil outlasted a field of 2,628 to become the first player ever to win 11 WSOP bracelets. Amazingly, all 11 of Hellmuth's bracelets have come in Hold'em. Hate him or love him, Hellmuth keeps giving us a reason to talk.

-Benjamin Ryan