Event #19
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $2,500
Number of Entries: 1,013
Total Prize Money: $ 2,329,900
Date of Tournament: June 11-13, 2007

WSOP GOLD BRACELET WINNER
EVENT #19 – FRANCOIS SAFIEDDINE

  • The winner of the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship was Francois Safieddine, from Denver, Colorado. He is 33-years-old. Saffieddine is married and has four children. His last child, a girl, was born just six months ago.
  • He was born in Lebanon and arrived in the U.S. during the 1980s. Safieddine is a French surname. A little-known fact is that Lebanon has a large French-speaking community. In fact, Safieddine is tri-lingual – fluent in English, French, and Lebanese. When he’s not playing poker, Safieddine runs a highly successful business. He owns three of the hottest nightclubs in Denver.
  • “Citrus” is the name of his latest restaurant and nightclub creation, which is a vodka bar mixed with contemporary American cuisine. He is also the part owner of clubs called “The Purple Martini” and “Blue 67.”
  • Safieddine has only been playing poker for about four years. He learned to play with his friends, and then improved drastically by reading several poker strategy books. This was his fifth time to cash at the WSOP, with 15th place being his best finish up to this tournament. First place paid a whopping $521,785.
  • This was another final table heavy with international flair. Players represented Belarus, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Lebanon, and the United States.