Event #5: No-Limit Hold'em
Location: Harrah's Rincon, San Diego
Buy-in: $1,000 (+60)
Number of Entries: 173
Total Prize Money: $167,810
Day One lasted 12 hours, during which 164 players were eliminated. Places 10 through 18 were paid prize money in amounts ranging from $1,680 up to $2,350. The nine finalists returned for Day Two and players were eliminated in the following order:
9th Place: Param Gill, $3,355
Param Gill came into the finale with the second-lowest stack size. He lasted only a few minutes and went out as the 9th-place finisher.
8th Place: Jude Vanden Heavel, $5,035
Vanden Heavel was dealt A-9 and ran into Dan Alspach's A-J.
7th Place: Hans "Tuna" Lund, $6,710
Lund won the Super Bowl of Poker in 1983 and is a two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner.
6th Place: Dao Boc, $8,390
Boc went out with A-Q against Alspach's 6-5 when the final board showed A=5=4=5=4..good for a full house for Alspach.
5th Place: Eddy Scharf, $10,070
Low on chips, Scharf moved all-in with J-8 hoping to steal and was called instantly by Mark Merhab with A-K. A King fell on the river, good for top pair for Merhab.
4th Place: Matt Letourneau, $13,425
Letourneau ran into a bad situation on his final hand when he was dealt J-9 and the flop came J=5=3. When a Queen fell on the turn, Letourneau was drawing dead -- Merhab had pocket Queens.
3rd Place: Mark Merhab, $16,780
On his final hand, Merhab was dealt A-6 and flopped an Ace. Unfortunately, Alan Schein flopped a better Ace with a Ten kicker.
Runner up: Dan Alspach, $30,540
Winner: Alan Schein, $55,370
Alspach started with the dominant hand, A-K versus Schein's A-6. When the flop came Q=9=6 and two blanks fell on the end, Schein was the winner.
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