WSOP Event #44

World Series of Poker Event #44, No-Limit Hold’em with Re-Buys, 25-27 June 2008

Entrants: 879
Buy in: $1,000
Prize pool: $3,240,174

Final results:

1. Max Greenwood, $693,392

2. Rene Mouritsen, $445,523

3. Albert Iverson, $267,314

4. Scott Freeman, $223,572

5. Jesse Chinni, $183,069

6. Aliaksandr Dzianisau, $144,187

7. Curt Kohlberg, $111,786

8. Phung Ngo, $87,484

9. Alex Bolotin, $63,183

The $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship (Event #44) attracted 879 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $3,240,174. The top 81 finishers collected prize money.

The prize pool which totaled more than $3.2 million is the largest in WSOP history for this event.

The 2008 $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em with Re-Buys champion is Max Greenwood. He is 23-years-old. Greenwood is a recent college graduate from Toronto (Ontario) Canada.

Just two weeks ago, Greenwood graduated from the University of Toronto. He received a degree in political science.

Greenwood planned to travel internationally after his college graduation. But he first wanted to play at the World Series of Poker. Greenwood stated that he had no specific career goals prior to this victory and still has not decided what he plans to pursue. However, poker is certain to be included in his future.

Greenwood becomes the third Canadian citizen to win a gold bracelet at this year’s WSOP, winning $693,444 for first place. This was his fifth time to cash within two years. His previous finishes include 53rd, 42nd, 24th, and 48th.

The final two players attracted large and enthusiastic cheering sections. In fact, with so much chanting and cheering during the later stages of play, the final table resembled a European soccer match more than a poker game. Rene Mouritsen’s fan club of Danes wore golden crowns, while Max Greenwood’s Canadian supporters adorned their seating territory with a massive trail of empty cans of Milwaukee’s Best Light beer. The rival camps mixed together and toasted the winner at the end of the match.

Former WSOP gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event included Eric Froehlich (13th), Mark Seif (23rd), Men “the Master” Nguyen (57th), Humberto Brenes (77th), and Scott Clements (81).

With his cash in this event, Men “the Master” Nguyen now has 59 in-the-money finishes in his WSOP career, which ranks second on the all-time list.

With his cash in this event, Humberto Brenes now has 52 in-the-money finishes in his WSOP career, which ties him for sixth place on the all-time list.

Four players have cashed six times at this year’s WSOP. This list includes – Chau Giang, Rolf Slotboom, Alex Jacob, and Roland Isra.

Through the end of Event #44, twenty-five players have now earned at least $500,000 at this year’s WSOP.

All WSOP images are supplied by “IMPDI for the 2008 WSOP”