WSOP Event #15

It’s often said that Phil Hellmuth Jr. lives for the World Series of Poker, and this was again proved true as he won his record-breaking eleventh gold bracelet.

The winner of the 1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event was Phil ‘The Poker Brat’ Hellmuth, Jr. The poker superstar from Palo Alto, CA won Event #15, the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event, and is now the all-time leader in wins, one ahead of Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan with ten each.

This success was remarkable as it was the largest field Hellmuth has ever conquered, numbering a whopping 2,628 entries.

Coming into the 2006 WSOP, Hellmuth was one-win behind Brunson and Chan, but he has gone on to win the last two titles and taken the lead for the first time ever.

This was Hellmuth’s 38th final table appearance, and he is now one away from the all-time leader, T.J. Cloutier who is currently on 39.

This marked the 59th time Hellmuth has finished in-the-money at the WSOP, which makes him the all-time leader in that category. Hellmuth is currently five cashes ahead of the second-place player.

Hellmuth’s phenomenal WSOP run over the past 19 years all started in 1988, when he placed fifth in a Seven-Card Stud High-Low tournament. He won the main event the following year. He is also one of only three players in history to win three gold bracelets within a single year. He holds a record which is unlikely and perhaps impossible to break – three consecutive WSOP wins in three consecutive days (April 26-28, 1993).

First place in this event paid $637,254, and was the third-most money Hellmuth has ever won in a single tournament; his first and tenth wins being the highest payouts.

The runner up in this event was Andy Philachack from Dallas, TX. Before the finale started, he was asked how he learned to play poker. "By losing lots of money," he replied. Philachack certainly made the investment pay off in this event, as second place paid $394,594.

Scott Clements was the only other former WSOP winner at the final table other than Hellmuth. He won the $2,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low event last year and finished fifth in this event.

Seventh-place finisher Fabrice Soulier was a highly-successful television director in Paris, France. He now plays in many poker tournaments. This was his third WSOP final table in four years.

Final results:
1. Phil Hellmuth Jr. Palo Alto, CA, $637,254
2. Andy Philachack, Garland, TX, $394,594
3. Rick Fuller, Monroe, WA, $247,518
4. Morgan Machina, Mission Viejo, CA, $161,425
5. Scott Clements, Mt. Vernon, WA, $112,997
6. David Simon, Incline Village, NV, $82,506
7. Fabrice Soulier, Las Vegas, NV, $64,570
8. Ut Nguyen, Los Angeles, CA, $48,427
9. Taylor Douglas, Lilburn ,GA, $38,025