WSOP Event #35

There has been a proliferation of $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championships at this World Series of poker, and the latest, Event #35 was won by 23-year old aspiring pro poker player from Torrance, CA, Ryan Young.

Prior to winning the $615,955 top prize in this event, Young had worked various odds jobs, including waiting tables in a restaurant.

Young, who has been playing online poker for four years, arrived at the final table with a significant chip lead. It took him about six hours to win his first WSOP gold bracelet, which was presented afterward by WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

Among those Young vanquished at the final table were tournament veteran John Esposito, a former WSOP gold bracelet winner and high stakes poker player and sports bettor from Las Vegas.,

The 10th-place finisher was Ken Adams, from Washington, DC . Adams is a highly-successful attorney who was once counsel to White House insider Chuck Colson (of Watergate infamy). Adams successfully litigated the largest legal settlement in US history during the Exxon-Valdez oil spill case in Alaska.

Poker celebrity and philanthropist Phil Gordon finished in 28th place. Gordon is the co-founder of the charity "Put a Bad Beat on Cancer," which seeks to raise money for cancer research and awareness. Gordon is urging all of his fellow poker players to contribute one-percent of their winnings at this WSOP to the fund. Put a Bad Beat on Cancer has been active at the WSOP since 2003.

With his 228th-place finish (good for a cash), Chris "Jesus" Ferguson moved into undisputed fifth place on the all-time list for lifetime cashes. He now has 48 in-the-money finishes, pulling slightly ahead of Brent Carter. He is two cashes behind Berry Johnson, currently in fourth place with 50.

Final results:
1. Ryan Young, Torrance, CA, $615,955
2. Dustin Dirksen, Iowa City, IA, $381,381
3. Nam Le, Huntington Beach, CA, $239,230
4. John Esposito, Las Vegas, NV, $156,020
5. Michael Trimby, Ballynahinch, Ireland, $109,214
6. Paul Cheung, New York, NY, $79,743
7. Raj Jain, Atherton, CA, $62,408
8. Darren Glenn, Jacksonville, FL, $46,806
9. Joe Holmes, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, $36,751