ONE WSOP EVENT ENTERED, ONE WSOP GOLD BRACELET WON

TOURNAMENT HEADLINES

One WSOP Event Entered = One Gold Bracelet

David Singontiko Wins Gold Bracelet in WSOP Debut

College Student Wins $1,500 Buy-In Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split Title

New Champion Rakes-In $268,235 Pot

Full House at the 2011 WSOP -- Tournament Attendance on a Record Pace

2011 WSOP Total Prize Money Crosses $100 Million Mark – With Main Event Still to Come

51 Gold Bracelets Won – Seven More Events Still to Go

OVERVIEW

With just seven WSOP gold bracelet events left before the start of the WSOP Main Event on July 7, poker players everywhere are hard at work trying to capture their WSOP jewelry before the game's richest poker tournament concludes.

The latest player to become a WSOP champion is David Singontiko who captured the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight-or-Better championship.

Singontiko bested a starting field of 946 hopefuls who descended on the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino two days ago to attempt their quest at fame and fortune.

Singontiko is a 21-year-old college student studying Business Administration from Chatsworth, CA.  Incredibly, this was the first WSOP Event that the young amateur had ever played in.

With his victory, Singontiko captures his first WSOP gold bracelet along with the $268,235 first place prize.

The total prize pool for this event amounted to $1,277,100.

The runner-up was Michael Yee who walked away with a nice consolation prize amounting to $165,346.

For a comprehensive recap of Event #51, please visit the WSOP.com tournament portal page HERE.

EVENT #51 CHAMPION – DAVID SINGONTIKO

The 2011 World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split champion is David Singontiko, from Chatsworth, CA.

Singontiko was born in Woodland Hills, CA. 

Singontiko turned 21 in April, two months prior to the start of the WSOP.

Singontiko is a college student.  He earned a B.A. in business administration.

This was the first WSOP event Singontiko has ever played.

For this victory, Singontiko collected $268,235 for first place.

According to official records, Singontiko now has 1 win, 1 final table appearance and 1 in-the-money finish at the WSOP. 

Singontiko currently has $268,235 in career WSOP winnings.

Singontiko is to be classified as an amateur poker player (in WSOP records and stats), since he is a college student.

WINNER INTERVIEW

Is this really your first event?

“Yes.  This is my first World Series of Poker event.”

What was the biggest tournament you have played in before today?

“Oh, maybe like a $500 Commerce Event.”

Why did you choose this tournament to be your first?

“I played a lot of PLO-8 online.  It’s just a fun game.  Hold’em, I’m okay at, but PLO-8 is just a lot of fun.  And… Oh my God, I’ve just had an amazing time.  I had good luck, good friends, and this is just incredible.”

You have an interesting story about your dad, and working all summer for him.  Could you tell us that story?

“Yeah, I worked for my dad and his friend at a mortgage company.  My dad owns a mortgage business and I was able to get the week off to play this one tournament.  And I was able to luck-box myself to the final table and the bracelet.”

So, you worked all summer for him to stake you?

“Yeah, actually that is basically what happened.  He told me to work all summer and I’ll put up 100 percent of the buy-in and we’ll go 50-50 on it.  So, I’m so happy I can give my Dad half the money.  It’s just incredible.”

So, did your mom come out specifically for today?

“She did.  Actually she… before the buy-in she gave me a cashier’s check and said, ‘Oh I’ll come on the third day, I’ll plan it.   I’ll buy my ticket now.’  I said, ‘Mom, I don’t even know if I’ll make it to the third day, much less the second day.’  And she’s like, ‘Don’t worry, you’re gonna’ make it, you’re gonna’ make it.’  I’m like, ‘Mom, just hold off.  Wait till I get to the next day.  I made the second day, and she’s like, ‘I told you you’re gonna’ make the second day.  I’m already making plans.’  I’m like, ‘Mom, just wait.  There is 12 hours of play still, I don’t even know if I’m going to make the third day.’  I made the third day, she drove four straight hours to get here and, oh my God, she’s one of my biggest supporters.”

You had quite the rail here tonight.

Oh yeah, absolutely.  They were definitely getting into the heads of the other players.  Even the dealer and the tournament director were getting a little peeved.  But getting into the heads of the other players made it easier for me, so I owe them a lot.”

So what does this change for you moving forward?

I don’t think too much.  I’m probably going to still work for my dad and his friend at the mortgage business.

THE FINAL TABLE

The official final table was comprised of the top nine finishers. 

The final table contained no former gold bracelet winners, which guaranteed a first-time champion.

Four different nations were represented at the final table – Brazil (1 player), Canada (1 player), Russia (1 player) and the United States (6 players). 

The runner up was Michael Yee, from Ottawa, Ontario (Canada).  He received a consolation prize totaling $165,346 in prize money.

Final table play began Saturday at 3 p.m.  Played concluded about 7 hours later (playing time wise) at 10 p.m.

The final table was played on the secondary stage.

Action was streamed live over WSOP.com.  Viewers can tune in and watch most of this year’s final tables.  Although hole cards are not shown, viewers can follow an overhead camera as well as a pan-shot of the table.  The floor announcer provides an official account of the action. 

OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS

The top 90 finishers collected prize money.

Among the former gold bracelet winners that cashed in this event were – Barry Shulman (19th), Brent Carter (26th), Kathy Liebert (46th), Erik Seidel (58th) and Alexandre Gomes (87th).

Tournament results are to be included in all official WSOP records.  Results are also to be included in the 2011 WSOP “Player of the Year” race.

“WSOP Player of the Year” standings can be found at WSOP.com HERE.

ODDS AND ENDS

This tournament attracted 946 entries.

The average age of entrants was 34.2 years.  The average age of those who cashed was 31.5 years.

There were 21 females who played in this tournament, representing 2.2 percent of the field.

This is the 943rd gold bracelet awarded in World Series of Poker history.  This figure includes every official WSOP event ever played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded.  It also includes the 16 gold bracelets awarded to date at WSOP Europe (2007-2010).  Moreover for the first time ever, one gold bracelet was awarded for this year’s winner of the WSOP Circuit National Championship.

The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory (or some hours later when the tournament ends very late).  The ceremony takes place inside The Pavilion, which is the expansive main tournament room hosting all noon starts this year.  The ceremony begins at the conclusion of the first break of the noon tournament.  The ceremony usually starts around 2:20 p.m.  The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played.  The entire presentation is open to the public and media.  Video and photography is permitted by both the public and members of the media.

Singontiko’s gold bracelet ceremony is set to take place on Sunday, July 3rd.  The national anthem of the USA will be played in honor of his victory. 

2011 WSOP STATISTICS

Through the conclusion of Event #51 the 2011 WSOP has attracted 58,727 combined total entries.  $108,707,060 in prize money has been awarded to winners. 

With the conclusion of this weekend’s tournament, the total prize pool for all events just crossed the $100 million mark.

Through the conclusion of this tournament, the breakdown of nationality of gold bracelet winners has been:

United States (31)

Canada (5)

Ukraine (4)

France (4)

Great Britain (3)

Russia (2)

Brazil (1)

Pakistan (1)

Through the conclusion of this tournament, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:

United States (27)

Canada (5)

Ukraine (4)

France (4)

Great Britain (3)

Russia (2)

Israel (1)

Honduras (1)

Indonesia (1)

Germany (1)

Brazil (1)

Pakistan (1)

Through the conclusion of this tournament, the home-states of (American) winners have been:

California (6)

New York (5)

Nevada (5)

Texas (3)

Illinois (2)

Florida (2)

Connecticut (2)

New Jersey (1)

Tennessee (1)

Indiana (1)

Maryland (1)

Virginia (1)

Michigan (1)

North Dakota (1)

Washington (1)

Ohio (1)

Through the conclusion of this tournament, the breakdown of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets has been:

Professional Players (39):  Jake Cody, Cheech Barbaro, Eugene Katchalov, Allen Bari, Harrison Wilder, Matt Perrins, Sean Getzwiller, Viacheslav Zhukov, David Diaz, Andrew Badecker, Tyler Bonkowski, Brian Rast, John Juanda, Aaron Steury, Darren Woods, Jason Somerville, Bertrand Grospellier, John Monnette, Elie Payan, Mark Radoja, Chris Viox, Dan Idema, Andy Frankenberger, Chris Lee, Sam Stein, Mark Schmid, Jason Mercier, Mikhail Lakhitov, Fabrice Soulier, Mitch Schock, Matt Jarvis, Justin Pechie, Ben Lamb, Rep Porter, Andre Akkari, Joe Ebanks, Lenny Martin, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, Antonin Teisseire

Semi-Pros (5):  Sean R. Drake, Amir Lehavot, Oleksii Kovalchuk, Eric Rosawig, Arkadiy Tsinis

Amateurs (7):  Geffrey Klein, Foster Hays, James Hess, Kirk Caldwell, Ken Griffin, Owais Ahmed, David Singontiko

Since tracking first started in 2005, this year’s WSOP has the greatest disparity of professionals winning over semi-pros and amateurs than any year recorded, so far – with 44 out of 51 events being won by pros or semi-pros.

Through the conclusion of this tournament, the victories of 11 of the 51 winners (22 percent) marked the first time the new champion had ever cashed at the WSOP.

Every WSOP held over the past 11 years has included at least one multiple gold bracelet champion (meaning two or more wins within the same year).  The last year the WSOP was comprised exclusively of single-event winners was back in 1999.  The record for most multiple gold bracelet winners within a single year was in 2009, when five players managed to win two or more titles.  So far this year, no player has yet won two gold bracelets.

The streak of consecutive male WSOP gold bracelet winners has now reached 208 consecutive events.  Aside from the annual Ladies Poker Championship, the last female player to win a WSOP tournament open to both sexes was Vanessa Selbst, in 2008.  The longest “cold” streak for female players occurred between years 1982 and 1996, when 221 consecutive open events passed without a female champion.

The highest finish by any female (open events) at this year’s WSOP was by two players.  Maria Ho finished second ($5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em).  Kim Nguyen also finished as the runner up ($1,500 buy-in Six-Handed Limit Hold’em).

The highest finish by any defending champion at this year’s WSOP was by David Baker, who after winning the previous $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball World Championship finished in sixth place in defense of his title.

Reigning world poker champions rarely perform well the following year after their victory.  Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was the last world champion to win a gold bracelet the next year, which happened in 2001.  Perhaps it’s due to the increasing size of the fields.  But there’s also great pressure on the champions to do well.  What follows is a list of the only world champions in history to win a gold bracelet after winning the championship during the previous year:

Johnny Moss (1975)

Doyle Brunson (1977)

Bobby Baldwin (1979)

Stu Ungar (1981)

Johnny Chan (1988)

Hamid Dastmalchi (1993)

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2001)

By contrast, players who make it to the final table of the Main Event Championship (November Nine) one year tend to do quite well in subsequent WSOP years.  Consider that last year, three former Main Event finalists won gold bracelets – Eric Buchman, Tex Barch, and Scott Montgomery.  This year, Matt Jarvis won his first gold bracelet one year after making it to the November Nine in 2010.

New tournament records set at the 2011 WSOP (to date):

Biggest Heads-Up tournament prize pool in history ($3,040,000) – Event #2

Largest live Omaha High-Low Split Tournament in history (925 entries) – Event #3

Largest live Six-Handed tournament in poker history (1,920 entries) – Event #10

Biggest Deuce-to-Seven tournament prize pool in history ($1,184,400) – Event #16

Largest live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3157 entries) – Event #18

Largest live $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3175 entries) – Event #20

Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,332 entries) – Event #18 and Event #20

Largest live Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in poker history (1,071 entries) – Event #22

Largest Mixed-Game (Eight-Game Mix) in poker history (489 entries) – Event #23

Largest Seniors tournament in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30

Biggest Seniors No-Limit Hold’em championship prize pool in history ($3,376,800) – Event #30

Largest single-day live tournament start in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30

Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,580 entries) – Event #30/Event #32 (broke Event #18/Event #20 record from earlier in 2011 WSOP)

Largest four-consecutive days field sizes in poker history (2,500+3,752+2,828+3,144 =12,224 entries) -- Events 28, 30, 32, 34, June 16-19, 2011

Largest Mixed Pot-Limit tournament in history (606 entries) – Event #39

Biggest Pot-Limit Omaha prize pool in live poker history ($3,393,400) – Event #42

New player records set at the 2011 WSOP (to date):

The 35-year span between Artie Cobb’s first cash in this event (1976) and most recent cash in the same event (2011) represents the longest time span in WSOP history.  He accomplished this in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (Event #25).

Phil Hellmuth Jr. added to his record as the individual all-time leader in cashes (83) and final table appearances (42).

Howard “Tahoe” Andrew added to his record as the player with the longest consecutive streak of WSOP appearances (entering at least one event), currently at 38 years and counting (1974 to present).