WSOP Event #43

The winner of Event #43, the $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em championship was Saifuddin Ahmad, a 59-year-old business owner from Newport Beach, CA. He is married and has two children and this was his first victory at the World Series of Poker.

Ahmad is originally from Bangladesh. He came to the United States to attend college in his late teens and earned a Masters Degree in chemical engineering from Cal-Tech.

Ahmad first learned to play bridge and competed in several tournaments. He gravitated to poker playing in recent years. This is his third consecutive year to play at the WSOP.

The final 15 minutes of the tournament was a dream come true for Ahmad. He was roughly even in chips with his opponent. Then, Ahmad won several key hands, including spiking a key river card to make a straight on the final hand of the night to achieve his victory. First place paid $217,329.

William Jensen, from Washington, DC was the runner up. During the final table, he was cheered on by his two friends – Alex Borteh and Eric Froelich, both former gold bracelet winners.

Hal Havlisch, from Fresno, CA took 6th place. Havlisch has organized poker tournaments in his local area that raised several thousand dollars for families in financial distress.

One of Europe’s top poker writers Rolf Slotboom, from Amsterdam, took 38th place.

Participating in this tournament was Dr. Jerry Buss, the owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

Final results:
1. Saif Ahmad, Newport Beach, CA, $217,329
2. William Jensen, Washington, DC, $133,151
3. Michael Graffeo, Fort Mc, SC, $88,481
4. Justin Pechie, Putnam, CT, $59,274
5. Tommy Rounds, Paradise, CA, $43,811
6. Hal Havlisch, Fresno, CA, $34,362
7. Robert Pacleb, Vallejo, CA, $25,771
8. Joseph Mandia, Myrtle Beach, SC, $18,899
9. Gerald Kane, Wilbraham, MA, $13,745