WSOP round-up

The tournament results are coming thick and fast from Las Vegas, so here is a quick round-up of three Events that we haven’t covered yet.

These tournaments were on while the H.O.R.S.E. competition was running and so these fields were shorn of the recognisable superstar names.

The first is Event #17 the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament which attracted 2,891 runners with a total prize pool of $2,630,810.

Jon Friedberg overcame a large field of 2,891 players to win over half-a-million dollars in prize money. Only the main event of the 2005 WSOP attracted more entries. A whopping 270 players finished in-the-money.

Friedberg, who won his first-ever gold bracelet, is a 31-year-old MBA graduate from Pepperdine University. He is a businessman and investor with a number of ongoing start-up ventures. Freidberg lives in Las Vegas.

The runner up, John “The Razor” Phan received $289,389 in prize money. He was visibly disappointed with the outcome. “I have to try and keep my head up,” Phan said. “There is always tomorrow in poker. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Friedberg was understandably pleased with the result and acknowledged that he rode his luck to the victory:

“I started off here on the final table eighth (in the chip count) out of nine players. I had a key double-up hand early. Then, I had a couple of very lucky suck outs and got some chips and was able to win. Every poker player’s dream is to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. I came here, and now did it. I really can’t believe it.”

Event #17
$1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Final table results:

1. Jon Friedberg $526,185
2. John “The Razor” Phan $289,389
3. Mike Pomeroy $157,322
4. Tom Hawkingberry $122,596
5. Kevin O’Donnell $105,232
6. Corey Chaston $88,132
7. Humberto Brenes $74,715
8. Mike Halford $61,561
9. Thang T. Luu $49,722

Next up is Event #18, the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em tournament, which offered a totla prize pool of $1,073,800.

The event began with 590 entries. After two days of play, the final table included only one former gold bracelet winner – Harry Thomas, Jr. (the $5,000 Seven-Card Stud champion in 1985). Two players had previously cashed in the WSOP main event – writer Jim McManus (5th in 2000) and Jason “Big Bird” Sagle (23rd in 2004). When the first hand was dealt out, Sagle enjoyed a slight chip lead over eventual winner Eric Kesselman, with the rest of the players back in the pack.

33-year-old Kessleman turned poker professional 3 years ago after a successful law career as a public defender in Long Island, New York.

On the final hand of the tournament, Kesselman moved all-in with ace-ten, which dominated “Skip” Kim’s ace-nine. Kim was drawing slim and failed to catch a nine. Kesselman’s higher-kicker played and ended the event.

Hyon “Skip” Kim, an anesthesiologist born in South Korea, felt no pain when he was paid $164,291 for second place.

A historic win at the 2006 World Series of Poker seems to validate the choice Kesselman made back in New York when still unhappily employed as an attorney. “The appeal to me for poker is the ability to work for myself, work at my home, set my own schedule, and to make a very good living,”

Event #18
$2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em
Final table results:

1. Eric Kesselman $311,403
2. Hyon “Skip” Kim $164,291
3. Christopher Viox $85,904
4. Kevin Ross $75,166
5. Jason “Big Bird” Sagle $64,428
6. Jim McManus $53,690
7. Dustin Holmes $42,952
8. Christopher Black $32,214
9. Harry Thomas, Jr. $21,476

Finally, the third tournament result in this round-up is Event #19 the Seniors Championship, which was played as a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em tourney, which attracted 1,184 and total prize money of $1,077,440.

The competition was open to persons aged 50 and older. The event attracted an eclectic mix of poker players. Paul McKinney, last year’s 82-year-old seniors champion (and the latest inductee into the Seniors Poker Hall of Fame) was on hand to defend his title.

Jan Fisher, the popular writer and columnist for Card Player magazine entered, along with her father, Dr. Peter Fisher. The Fisher’s participation likely marked the first time that a father and daughter played together in the seniors championship.

Also, a husband and wife from Alamogordo, New Mexico entered the tournament. Shelby Miller would outlast all but 39 players in this event. His wife, Clare Miller would ultimately fare much better.

The final table began with nine players, including one former winner, Ron Rose. The first player to exit was PokerPlayer contributor and commentator John Vorhaus, a.k.a. “JV.” The 50-year-old poker celebrity from Los Angeles, author of the highly-acclaimed “Killer Poker” book series, received $24,292 for ninth place.

Clare Miller had the chip lead most of the way. There had been a point earlier in the night when Miller caught a big break.

She won a race with ace-king versus pocket queens, which essentially gave her the chips that would propel her on to victory. “It was luck,” Miller modestly explained in a post-tournament interview. “You have to have a lot of luck to win.”

Miller put everything into proper perspective when she was presented with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet and prize money totaling nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars.

“We are very lucky and live very comfortably now, so at this stage the bracelet is probably more important,” she said. “But they don’t mean anything compared to my 41-years with Shelby.”

Event #19
$1,000 Seniors Championship Hold’em
Final table results:

1. Clare Miller $247,814
2. Mike Nargi $129,293
3. Jake “Doc” Wells $74,882
4. Judy Carlson $53,872
5. David Claiborne $43,098
6. Ron Rose $37,710
7. Doug Schuller $32,323
8. Stan Schirer $26,936
9. John “JV” Vorhaus $24,242