WSOP Event #48

World Series of Poker Event #48, No-Limit Hold’em, 27-29 June 2008

Entrants: 2,314
Buy in: $2,000
Prize pool: $4,216,940

Final results:

1. Alexandre Gomes, $770,540

2. Marco Johnson, $491,273

3. Ryan D’Angelo, $326,812

4. Robert Brewer, $274,101

5. Alan Cutler, $223,497

6. Kirill Gerasimov, $177,111

7. Sverre Sundbo, $134,942

8. Gabe Costner, $103,315

9. Dan Rome, $71,687

The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship (Event #48) attracted a record 2,317 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $4,216,940. The top 198 finishers collected prize money.

This was the largest number of entries ever for a $2,000 buy-in hold’em event. The prize pool, at over $4.2 million, is the second-largest of the 2008 WSOP. Only the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. World Championship was higher ($7,104,120).

The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Alexandre Gomes. He is a 25-year-old poker pro from Curitiba, Brazil.

Gomes becomes the first Brazilian national to ever win a WSOP gold bracelet. In fact, no South American player had ever previously won a WSOP event in the 39-year history of the WSOP. Edward Moncada had roots in Bolivia when he won his gold bracelet at the WSOP in 2005. But Moncada was/is a U.S. citizen.

Gomes was cheered on by a huge crowd of Brazilians who gathered around the final table. They waved green and blue flags and chanted in native Portuguese, as Gomes’ victory became more evident.

Gomes hometown of Curitiba is a city of 1.8 million residents located in southern Brazil. It is the seventh-largest city in the nation. Although live casino poker is not legal in Brazil, it is one of the fastest emerging poker markets in the world. World-renowned Rio de Janeiro recently hosted a stop on newly formed Latin American Poker Tour, which is concluding its first season this summer.

The ramifications of a Brazilian poker player winning a WSOP championship are expected to be enormous. Gomes is certain to return home to a hero’s welcome, which will inevitably lead to more poker being played in Brazil, and greater participation at the WSOP from South Americans in the years ahead. There are many poker websites and publications now serving the poker market. Poker strategy books have also been published in Portuguese language.

Gomes won $770,448 for first place. This was his first WSOP gold bracelet. This was his first time to cash at the WSOP.

Former WSOP gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event included Blair Rodman (136th), David “the Dragon” Pham (157th), and Chau Giang (168th).

With his cash in this event, Chau Giang posted his 45th career in-the-money finish. Giang now ranks 9th on the all-time cashes list.

Eric Crain was the chip leader at the End of Day One in this event. He finished in 13th place. Through Event #48, the End of Day One chip leaders have gone on to cash 80 percent of the time — 36 of 45 occasions (the chip leader was not applicable on three events). Only twelve of these same 45 chip leaders (26 percent) made it to the final table. Only one chip leader went on to win the event. That lone wire-to-wire winner was Vanessa Selbst in Event #19.

Marco Johnson was the chip leader at the start of this final table. He ended up as the runner-up. Through Event #48, eighteen of 43 chip leaders at the start of the final table (40 percent) went on to win the event. Twenty-six of 45 chip leaders (58 percent) went on to finish in the top three spots. Two events did not have a chip leader (Heads-Up and Shootout tournaments).

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