WSOP Event #9

World Series of Poker Event #9, Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, 5-7 June 2008

Entrants: 1,236
Buy in: $1,500
Prize pool: $1,687,140

Final results:

1. Rep Porter, $372,843

2. Nathan Templeton, $231,982

3. Devin Porter, $151,843

4. John Conkright, $101,228

5. Anatoly Shilyuk, $70,860

6. Michiel Brummelhuis, $53,314

7. David Zand, $36,442

8. Kevin MacPhee, $36,442

9. Andrew Fegan, $28,007

The $1,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship attracted 1,236 players, creating a prize pool totaling $1,687,140. The top 126 places were paid.

The winner was Rep Porter. He is a 37-year-old professional poker player from Woodinville, WA – located about 45 miles north of Seattle. He is married to Lisa and they have two children.

Porter is a graduate of the University of Washington. Prior to turning pro, he worked in finance as an equity options trader. Porter plays regularly in cardrooms throughout Washington State. He also makes frequent visits to Southern California and plays in many major poker tournaments.

Porter finished as the runner up in the WSOP Circuit championship at Caesars Atlantic City in 2006. He also cashed in last year’s WSOP Main Event, taking 39th place, worth $237,865. For this victory, Porter collected $372,843 for first place.

He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet. To date, he now has 10 career WSOP cashes (all within the past four years). This win also puts him across the $1 million mark in winnings for all major poker tournaments.

Speaking of the final hand of the tournament with the blinds high the two finalists got into a pre-flop raising war with Porter holding the dominant hand, the champ said: “I did not expect it to be a quick day. When push came to shove, I could have had the K-9 and he could have had the K-Q just as easily.”

“I’m on cloud nine right now. I’ve been trying to win a gold bracelet for three years.”

Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em made its WSOP debut in 2005. Three Six-Handed events were included on the 2006 schedule. Last year, there was only one Six-Handed event. Former champions from these events include Isaac “The General” Galazan, Dutch Boyd, Bill Chen, Jeff Madsen, and Jason Warner.

Nathan Templeton was the runner up. He now has two WSOP cashes, but they were both impressive. This payout amounted to $231,981. His previous fifth place finish in 2006 was for $149,240.

Notable in-the money finishers in this tournament included Richard Lee (26th) and Matt Matros (43rd). Lee made it to the final table of the 2006 Main Event, finishing sixth. Matros has achieved several major cashes in the last ten years. He wrote a book called “The Making of a Poker Player,” which chronicles his transition from rank amateur to potential champion.