MAIN EVENT HEADLINES – END OF DAY FIVE
High Five!
Day Five
Finished! 142 Players Remain Alive
2011 World Series
of Poker Main Event Championship Continues
Former “Poker
Players Champion” David Bach Enters Day Six with Chip Lead
Day Five
Ends, Day Six Set to Begin on Sunday
Poker History
in the Making: ESPN Live Broadcast Runs
through July 19th
OVERVIEW
Hidden
beneath the glamour and excitement of the World Series of Poker Main Event
Championship is the gangplank awaiting all but one providential player, who
becomes the new world champion.
The WSOP
gangplank can either be a quick splash or a long and painful fall. Aside from one winner, all finishers are
forced to make a long and painful walk from the poker table to the exit. This year, 6,864 players will make an
unwelcome departure from the richest and most exciting poker game of the entire
year. The fallen will return to their homes, families, jobs, problems, uncertainties
and all that constitutes daily life. For
them, the dream is over -- at least until next year.
Every gangplank
is accompanied by a gambit of mixed emotions, accompanied by a mistress named envy.
For some players who go bust, their initial reaction is anger. For
others, the earliest emotion is disappointment. But for most players that
will depart Las Vegas, sorrow is inevitably replaced by contentment and, in
most cases, slow and steady self-satisfaction. In a way, everyone
who plays in the WSOP is a winner. Just getting into the tournament and
taking a seat in the biggest game in the world constitutes a victory. And
those fortunate enough to play deep or cash in the Main Event can take great personal
pride in accomplishing what most players only dream.
And so, on
what is widely considered ‘Moving Day,” the Rio in Las Vegas is filled with a
whirlwind of anger, disappointment, jubilation and intensity that can only be
seen on so many levels by so many different people at the WSOP. Indeed, just as “Moving Day” in golf refers
to the critical third stage of the tournament when players jockey for position
coming into the final round, Day Five of the Main Event is the time when contenders
and pretenders tend to part ways.
At
the conclusion of Day Five, only 142 players and dreams remain alive in the
Main Event. Some of those dreams are more realistic than others. In
fact, some are better described as fantasies. First, there are the chip leaders
who must now be thinking there's a realistic chance to make a very deep run in
the Main Event, which could be life changing. Then, there are players
with far shorter stacks, who have quite a different dream at this stage of the
tournament. Right now, their dream is simply to remain alive and
survive another hand, another round, another hour and another day.
Day Five of
the 2011 WSOP Main Event began with 378 players, which represented about 5
percent of the door-busting number of participants that started what was the
third-largest live poker tournament in history, with 6,865 players.
Among
the more well-known players who have been eliminated in the initial four hours
of play on Day Five were -- Peter Jetten (Toronto, Canada), David Levi (Las
Vegas, NV), Richard Lee (San Antonio, TX), "Miami John" Cernuto
(Miami, FL), Freddy Deeb (Las Vegas, NV), Darus Suharto (Toronto, Canada), Mike
Ellis (London, UK), Garry Gates, Matt Stout, Jon Friedberg, Jeff Siegel, Daniel
Negreanu and many others.
Manoj
Viswanathan (New York, NY) began the day as chip leader. He was one of
only two players who started play with more than 3 million in chips. The
other was former gold bracelet winner (and reigning WSOP Circuit champion) Sam
Barnhart (Little Rock, AR), who survived and ended the day in 12th
place.
Viswanathan suffered
a brutally disappointing day. He fell from first place to about 25th
place in the standings, after losing a significant portion of his giant stack
within the first few hours of play. By
end of the day, he was out of the tournament in 191st place in what
can only be described as a stunning reversal of fortune. His gangplank walk promises to be one of much
reflection and plenty of second-guessing.
The current
chip leader is former gold bracelet winner David Bach (Athens, GA). He won the 2009 Poker Players Championship (which
was then called the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. Championship). He enjoyed a
nearly perfect day and appears to be in a huge rush after finishing second in
Event #57, which was the last gold bracelet tournament before the Main
Event. He began the day ranked among the
chip leaders and increased his stack up to 4,706,000 in chips. Bach knows he still has a long way to
go. But for now, he’ll be the main focus as play enters Day Six on
Sunday.
MEET CHIP LEADER – DAVID BACH
The Bach name
is best known for composing classical music. If so, then David Bach is in
the midst of conducting a full orchestra that is performing poker masterpiece.
Bach is the
current chip leader in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Even though he’s won a gold bracelet before,
which came in one of the toughest and most revered poker tournaments of the
year, Bach is still not as widely known as he should be. All that is about to change as Bach steps into
what will be the brightest spotlight ever shined on any poker player -- ever. Indeed, with ESPN’s constant live coverage the
rest of the way, in addition to regular tape-delay programming appearing later
-- just about everything Bach does over the next few days will be seen by
millions of people.
Like just about everyone who
becomes the Main Event chip leader, Bach is in unfamiliar territory. If there was a downside to Bach's previous
gold bracelet victory, it was that when it happened -- no one seemed to be
around to take notice.
For his victory two years ago,
Bach collected a whopping $1,276,806 in prize money. Unfortunately,
Bach’s triumph occurred during the only year the event wasn’t nationally
televised by ESPN -- which was a shame since his thrilling final table match
was a back and forth battle that was the third-longest in WSOP history.
When Bach's final hand took place at 10 am, following an all-night marathon,
all that could be heard around the Rio was the hum of vacuum cleaners preparing
for the day that was to come.
Nevertheless,
Bach didn’t seem to mind one bit. From the look of a smiling Bach, he
might as well have been posing at center court inside a jam-packed Madison
Square Garden. The cheers he heard in his mind weren't those of
star-gazers and dazed and confused celebrity worshipers. Bach's cheers
were of a very different kind, coming from a deep inner reservoir of
self-confidence and humility. That
pretty much sums up David Bach, as a player and a person.
When it
happened, Bach's victory brought up the old question about a tree falling in
the woods. The query went, “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is
around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
To two-time
WSOP gold bracelet champion David Bach, the answer is yes. And, it
was music to his ears.
That
self-assurance will most certainly serve Bach well in the coming hours and,
perhaps, days ahead in the Main Event.
For
comprehensive updates of Event #58 and a list of all remaining players with
chips counts, please visit the WSOP.com tournament portal page HERE.
MEET THE (REMAINING) PLAYERS
When Day Six
Begins on Sunday, 142 players will take seats and compete in pursuit of the
2011 world poker championship. Here’s a
short look at each player based on what is currently known:
BY TABLE/SEAT
NUMBER (STARTING DAY SIX)
312-1
Phil Collins (Las Vegas, NV – USA)
4,109,000
Collins is a
26-year-old pro poker player. He was
previously a college student. He
attended the University of South Carolina.
He met his wife Katie while in school.
She lived across the hall from him.
They were married last year. He
plays/played a lot of online poker until the developments of April 2011.
312-2
Robin Colbin (Lidkoping – SWEDEN)
381,000
Colbin,
a.k.a. Jens-Colbin is 21 years old and single.
312-3
Joseph Cheong (Las Vegas, NV – USA)
1,988,000
Cheong is a
24-year-old professional poker player.
He was born in Korea. He is best
known for finishing third in last year’s Main Event Championship. His career tournament winnings now total $4.3
million.
312-4
Guiseppe Pastura (Guidizzo – ITALY) 2,095,000
Pastura is a
42-year-old professional poker player.
He used to be an information technology manager. He hopes to become the second player in
history from Italy to make it to the final table, after Filippo Candio’s
breakthrough last year. His only
previous live cash was in a small tournament held at the Venetian.
312-5
Matthew Wantman (Stoneham, MA --
USA) 916,000
Wantman is a
22-year-old college student. He was born
in Boston. Wantman is used to some
fluctuations as a poker player. Early on
when he began playing online, he ran his account up to more than $100,000, and
then lost it all. He has a few small
cashes in live tournaments, including a 65th-place finish earlier at
this year’s WSOP.
312-6
Harold Wasson (Corona, CA -- USA) 736,000
Wasson is a
64-year-old real estate broker from Southern California. He only started playing poker about three
years ago and says it is a hobby. He is
a regular player at the Lake Elsinore Casino, near his home. Wasson has a few major cashes, which total
about $75,000.
312-7
Lance Steinberg (Jericho, NY --
USA) 900,000
Steinberg is
a 44-year-old real estate professional.
He was born in New York City.
Steinberg is married and has two children.
312-8
Mario Silvestri, III (Fort
Worth, TX -- USA) 1,089,000
Silvestri is
a 24-year-old poker pro (who is in limbo over the events of April 2011). He is originally from Danbury, CT. He is single.
312-9
Christian Harder (Annapolis, MD
– USA) 1,624,000
Harder is a
23-year-old professional poker player who is in the midst of stunning
back-to-back Main Event performances. He
took 100th place in the Main Event last year and seems primed to at
least match that feat in 2011. He has
two EPT final table appearances, as well as one WPT final table appearances.
314-1
Andrew Brokos (Catonsville, MD –
USA) 1,572,000
Brokos is a
28-year-old poker pro who was previously the executive director of a non-profit
organization. He founded the Boston
Debate League, which launched debate programs in Boston area high schools. He is dedicating 10 percent of his WSOP
winnings to the organization, which serves thousands of students.
314-2
James Ruszkiewicz (Mukwonago, WI
– USA) 193,000
Ruszkiewicz
is a 30-year-old Wisconsin man. He is
single.
314-3
Carl Olson (Seattle, WA –
USA) 531,000
Olson is a
29-year-old professional poker player.
He is single.
314-4
John Esposito (Las Vegas, NV –
USA) 860,000
Esposito
(a.k.a. “Espo”) is making his seventh Main Event cash, which places him in the
top 10 all-time. He is originally from
Chicago. Esposito is a 57-year-old
professional gambler (poker and sports betting). He is married and has three children. Prior to gambling, he used to own a
nightclub.
314-5
Matthew Kay (Waterloo, Ontario –
CANADA) 1,880,000
Kay is a
23-year-old student and stock trader. He
is single. Kay ranked second as Card
Player magazine’s “Online Player of the Year,” in 2007.
314-6
Chris Bonita (Las Vegas, NV –
USA) 939,000
Bonita is a
44-year-old professional poker player.
He is originally from Boston, MA.
He used to work in sales and says he learned to play poker from watching
it on television. He is single.
314-7
Stefan Huber (Schlieren,
SWITZERLAND) 1,789,000
Huber has
accumulated more than $500,000 in live tournament winnings. He won an event at the Caribbean Adventure a
few years ago, which was his biggest win.
He is a 25-year-old poker pro and student.
314-8
Ruben Visser (Rotterdam, THE
NETHERLANDS) 1,127,000
Visser is a
22-year-old poker pro and student. He
recently received his college degree in business.
314-9
Feming Chan (West Windsor, NJ –
USA) 631,000
Chan is a
30-year-old from New Jersey.
316-1
Marton Czuczor (Budapest –
HUNGARY) 1,426,000
Czuczor is a
21-year-old professional poker player and student. This marks his first time to play at the
WSOP.
316-2
Erika Moutinho (Easton, CT –
USA) 878,000
Mountinho is
a 25-year-old poker player and a lifestyle management consultant. She has also previously worked as a casting
coordinator for television shows. She is
the girlfriend of David Sands, who is also still playing in the Main Event.
316-3
James Lenaghan (Mobile, AL –
USA) 2,383,000
Lenaghan is 26-year-old
from Alabama.
316-4
Guillaume Darcourt (Paris –
FRANCE) 1,587,000
Darcourt is a
38-year-old professional poker player.
He is married and has three children.
He hopes to become the fifth French gold bracelet winner at the 2011
WSOP.
316-5
Thomas Oldcroft (O’Fallon, MO –
USA) 470,000
Oldcroft is a
60-year-old bill collector, which means he is probably on a first-name basis
with many poker players. He was born in
New York City. Oldcroft is one of the
Main Event’s best stories, so far. He
qualified for a seat by playing blackjack at on online site at a cost of a few
dollars. He came to the WSOP for the
first time and rode the city bus between his hotel and the casino. He calls the WSOP part of his “bucket
list.” Oldcroft is married. He has 4 children, 7 grandchildren and 1
great-grandchild.
316-6
Thomas Pedersen (Varde –
DENMARK) 565,000
Pedersen is a
26-year-old university student. He
recently finished his college degree in financial management.
316-7
Sam Barnhart (Little Rock, R –
USA) 3,065,000
Barnhart is a
50-year-old data analyst for a software specialist. He won the first-ever WSOP Circuit National
Championship this May, which gave him his first WSOP gold bracelet. Barnhart is enjoying a huge year, with a WSOP
Circuit win in Tunica, MS, a national championship, a gold bracelet and now a
deep run in the Main Event.
316-8
David Barter (Compton, Quebec –
CANADA) 2,017,000
Barter is a
24-year-old student.
316-9
Rupert Elder (Bury St. Edmunds,
UK) 933,000
Elder is a
24-year-old poker pro who was previously a student. He says he has a pet tortoise.
318-1
Blake Bohn (Burnsville, MN – USA) 539,000
Bohn is a 39-year-old
from Minnesota.
318-2
Kenny Shih (Taipei –
TAIWAN) 928,000
Shih is
originally from Taiwan but also resides in Azusa, CA. He is a 30-year-old poker pro who used to be
a stock broker. He arrived at this
year’s WSOP with about $5,000 and hoped to play in a few tournaments. He won another tournament in town and decided
to use that money to play in the Main Event for the first time. He is primarily an online poker player, who
has played up to 20 tables at one time.
318-3
Vladimir Geshkenbein (Zurich –
SWITZERLAND) 2,536,000
Geshkenbein
now lives in Switzerland. But he was
born in Russia and wishes to be identified as a Russian poker player. He is a 22-year-old poker pro.
318-4
Frank Sinopoli (Hollywood, FL – USA) 1,191,000
Sinopoli is a
38-year-old from Florida.
318-5
Timothy Adams (Burlington,
Ontario – CANADA) 358,000
Adams is a
25-year-old unemployed man who dropped out of college and now plays a lot of
poker.
318-6
Jonathan Seelbach (Gregory, MI – USA) 1,107,000
Seelbach is a
21-year-old professional poker player.
He is the youngest of five children.
He enjoys sports and outdoor activities.
This marks the first time Seelbach has played at the WSOP.
318-7
David Sands (Las Vegas, NV –
USA) 1,620,000
Sands is
having a big year, as this is his eighth major cash. He has more than $800,000 in live tournament
earnings. He also took third place in a
Pot-Limit Omaha tournament at this year’s WSOP.
318-8 Stuart Tuvey
(Los Altos, CA – USA) 1,667,000
Tuvey is a
22-year-old poker pro. He was previously
a student. Oddly enough, Tuvey built up
his poker bankroll from playing a fair amount of free online poker. As he accumulated points, he sold his shares
to other players for real money. He is
single.
318-9
Jody Howe (Delta, BC –
CANADA) 1,062,000
Howe is a
32-year-old unemployed man. He used to
work in inventory. He is the oldest of
five children. This marks his second
time to play in the Main Event.
320-1 Andy Hinrichsen (Melbourne – AUSTRALIA) 374,000
Hinrichsen is
a 23-year-old student. He plays a fair
amount of poker, mostly online. He
enjoys training dolphins.
320-2
Patrick-James McNamara
(Sherbrooke, Quebec – CANADA)
1,319,000
McNamara is a
26-year-old part-time school bus driver.
320-3
Eli Elezra (Las Vegas, NV --
USA) 707,000
Elezra is a
former WSOP gold bracelet winner. He is
one of the most recognized players in the world, due largely to his multiple
appearances on various poker TV shows.
Prior to moving to the US and playing poker for a living, Elezra served
in the Israeli Army, in his native Israel.
320-4
Paul Splitzberg (Tenafly, NJ –
USA) 1,170,000
Spitzberg is
a 65-year-old corporate executive and aspiring poker pro. He is married and has three children. He is promoting a new poker game called
POSITION POKER. Spitzberg finished deep in
the Main Event back in 2007.
320-5
Pius Heinz (Cologne –
GERMANY) 4,699,000
Heinz is a
22-year-old student and poker player. He
is playing at his first WSOP this year.
He finished seventh on one of the $1,500 NLHE events. He currently ranks in the top 10 in
chips. If he makes it to the November
Nine, he would become the first player from Germany ever to do so.
320-6
Jean-Robert Bellande (Las
Vegas, NV – USA) 1,230,000
Bellande is a
40-year-old poker pro. He is originally
from New York City. He used to be a
night club operator, before playing poker full-time. Bellande is one of the game’s most colorful
personalities. He is known for his table
chatter and entertaining antics, which have been featured a number of times on
television.
320-7
Tri Huynh (Vancouver, BC –
CANADA) 3,173,000
Huynh is a
33-year-old venture capitalist and investment consultant. He was born in Vietnam. He says he watched poker on television.
320-8
Hilton Laborda (Manaus –
BRAZIL) 1,816,000
Laborda is
from the Amazon region of Brazil. He is
playing at the WSOP for the first time.
He hopes to become the third Brazilian gold bracelet winner and first
Main Event champion from South America.
320-9
Amanda Musumeci (Philadelphia,
PA – USA) 738,000
Musumeci is
one of the three remaining women in the Main Event. She is a 26-year-old poker pro who used to be
a college student before playing full time.
…...NOTE:
ADDITIONAL PLAYER PROFILES TO COME
……………………………………………………………………….
INFORMATION AND DATA FROM PREVIOUS
REPORTS:
ESPN LIVE COVERAGE
ESPN is trying a bold new
experiment this year that is likely to be viewed as a historic occasion for the WSOP, and
for the game of poker. Television coverage is more than doubling in
size and scope, including – for the first time in history – comprehensive
daily/nightly overage of the majority of the tournament. Daily coverage runs through July 19th,
when the “November Nine” finalists will be determined.
For the first
time ever, the WSOP enjoyed semi-live coverage on ESPN (there’s a 30-minute
delay). No poker tournament has ever
been covered to the extent of this Main Event Championship. In addition
to the original 32 broadcast hours that will appear as scheduled every Tuesday
night on ESPN, an additional 34 hours of semi-live coverage will air, which
means players and fans will see more poker played than ever before. Content is spread across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com and runs Day Three
through Day Eight.WSOP.com will
stream ESPN3.com content in countries/territories not served by ESPN.
Here’s a look at ESPN’s upcoming
WSOP Main Event schedule (all times are listed PST):
Sunday, July 17 (Day Six)
• Noon-5 p.m. — ESPN3.com
• 7 p.m.-11:30 p.m. —
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
Monday, July 18 (Day Seven)
• Noon-4 p.m. — ESPN3.com
• 4-7 p.m. — ESPN2/ESPN3.com
• 9 p.m.-11:30 p.m. —
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
Tuesday, July 19 (Day Eight – “Get Down” Day)
• Noon-5 p.m. — ESPN3.com
• 5-7 p.m. — ESPN/ESPN3.com
• 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m. —
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
TOURNAMENT PLAY
Play on Day
Five started at 12:05. Play ended about
10:55 p.m. There was a 1:50 dinner
break. This means eight total hours were
played. This unusual playing schedule
(short breaks and longer dinner time) was implemented in order to accommodate
the strict time windows of live television coverage.
Day Four
started with 378 entries and ended with 142 players. Play is considerably further along than what
was anticipated. However, players should
bust more slowly at this point, since there are so many chips in play and many
short stacks have been eliminated.
At this point
in the tournament, participants have completed 22 full levels of play, meaning
44 total tournament hours have been played.
Coming next,
Day Six will be played on Sunday, July 17th. The restart will be at
noon. There are 142 players remaining in
the field.
The Main
Event continues through July 19th when the final table players will
ultimately be determined, otherwise known as the “November Nine.”
THE
NATIONS
When play
began on Day Five, there were 33 nations which still had players alive in the
Main Event:
Australia - 3
Austria - 2
Belgium - 1
Brazil - 5
Bulgaria - 1
Canada - 42
Chile - 1
China - 2
Columbia - 1
Czech
Republic - 1
Denmark - 1
Finland - 2
France - 8
Germany - 16
Guatemala - 1
Honk Kong - 1
Hungary - 2
Ireland - 1
Israel - 1
Italy - 5
Japan - 1
Lithuania - 1
Netherlands -
3
Panama - 1
Portugal - 1
Romania - 2
Russia - 11
South Africa
- 3
Spain - 1
Sweden - 3
Switzerland -
4
United
Kingdom - 20
United States
- 230
An updated
list of survivors/countries making it to Day Six, and beyond, will be available
in the next report.
FORMER WORLD CHAMPIONS
There are 35
players in history who have won the WSOP Main Event Championship. Of this number, 27 champions are still
living. Of the 27 eligible former world
champions, 18 participated in this year’s Main Event.
Seven former
world champions started Day Three. Only
three survived – Robert Varkonyi, Phil Hellmuth and Berry Johnson.
Three former
world champions started Day Four. None
survived. All former champions have now
been eliminated. The top finisher
amongst the former champs was Robert Varkonyi, who ended up in 514th
place. He was also the only former
winner to cash this year.
Current
Status of Former WSOP Main Event Champions (all eliminated):
2002: Robert Varkonyi – Eliminated on Day Four –
cashed in 514th place
1989: Phil Hellmuth – Eliminated on Day Four
1986: Berry Johnston – Eliminated on Day Four
1983: Tom McEvoy – Eliminated on Day Three
2009: Joe Cada – Eliminated on Day Three
1996: Huck Seed – Eliminated on Day Three
2001: Carlos Mortensen – Eliminated on Day Two
2006: Jamie Gold – Eliminated on Day Two
2005: Joe Hachem – Eliminated on Day Two
1978: Bobby “the Owl” Baldwin – Eliminated on Day
Two
2010: Jonathan Duhamel – Eliminated on Day Two
1987/1988: Johnny Chan – Eliminated on Day Two
1995: Dan Harrington – Eliminated on Day Two
1998: Scotty Nguyen -- Eliminated on Day Two
1975/1976: Doyle Brunson – Eliminated on Day One
2003: Chris Moneymaker – Eliminated on Day One
2007: Jerry Yang – Eliminated on Day One
2004: Greg “Fossilman” Raymer – Eliminated on Day One
CELEBRITIES AND NOTABLE PLAYERS
The World
Series of Poker has attracted celebrities and notable personalities since its
inception. This year is no exception.
Current
Status of Poker Hall of Fame members (all eliminated):
Berry
Johnston – Eliminated on Day Four
Lyle Berman –
Eliminated on Day Three
Mike Sexton –
Eliminated on Day Two
Bobby Baldwin
– Eliminated on Day Two
Dewey Tomko –
Eliminated on Day Two
Dan
Harrington – Eliminated on Day Two
Billy Baxter
– Eliminated on Day Two
Doyle Brunson
– Eliminated on Day One
T.J. Cloutier
– Eliminated on Day One
Erik Seidel –
Eliminated on Day One
Current
Status of former WSOP “Players of the Year” (two players remaining):
2005 -- Allen
Cunningham – Playing on Day Six (below average chips)
2008 -- Erick
Lindgren – Playing on Day Six (below average chips)
2004 -- Daniel
Negreanu – Eliminated on Day Five – cashed in 211th place
2009 -- Jeffrey
Lisandro – Eliminated on Day Four
2006 -- Jeff
Madsen – Eliminated on Day Four
2010 -- Frank
Kassela – Eliminated on Day One
2007 -- Tom
Schneider – Eliminated on Day One
Current
Status of Non-Poker Celebrities (one player remaining):
Mars Callahan
(actor-director) – Playing Day Six (below average chips)
Robert Iler
(actor – “The Sopranos”) – Eliminated on Day Five – cashed in 275th
place
Sam Simon
(creator of “The Simpsons”) – Eliminated on Day Four
Mark Loftouse
(former NHL hockey player, Washington Capitals) – Eliminated on Day Four
Brad Garrett
(actor and comedian) – Eliminated on Day Three
Jason
Alexander (actor and comedian) – Eliminated on Day Three
Shannon
Elizabeth (actress) – Eliminated on Day Two
Petter
Northug (Two-time Olympic gold medalist/skier from Norway) – Eliminated on Day
Two
Patrick Bruel
(French singer and actor and former gold bracelet winner) – Eliminated on Day
Two
Teddy
Sheringham (UK football star) – Eliminated on Day Two
Rene Angelil
(music manager – Celine Dion’s husband) – Eliminated on Day Two
David Einhorn
(prospective owner – New York Mets) – Eliminated on Day Two
Paul Pierce
(NBA’s Boston Celtics) – Eliminated on Day Two
Nelly
(singer-performer) – Eliminated on Day One
Ray Romano
(actor and comedian) – Eliminated on Day One
Shane Warne (cricketer)
– Eliminated on Day One
Jennifer
Tilly (actress and former WSOP gold bracelet winner) – Eliminated on Day One
At end of Day Five,
the only 2011 gold bracelet winners that survived were the following three
players:
Sam Barnhart (above
average chips)
Tyler Bonkowski
(above average chips)
Ben Lamb (above
average chips)
Chris Bjorin
continues to defy the notion that poker has become a young person’s game. The silver fox from the U.K. (he’s originally
from Sweden) cashed again this year, finishing in 460th place. This was his fourth straight Main Event
in-the-money finish, a new record for the longest streak in history for cashes
in the Main Event. In between WSOP Main
Event cashes, Bjorin also cashed in the WSOP Europe Main Event two years
ago. Between the two big events, he has
more cashes than any other player from 2008 to present.
DAY FIVE ODDS AND ENDS
This is the 58th
and final event on the 2011 WSOP schedule which is played in Las Vegas. Seven more gold bracelet events will take
place in Cannes, France, to be held in October 7th through 20th as
part of the 5th Annual World Series of Poker Europe.
This marks
the seventh consecutive year the WSOP has been held at the Rio All-Suites Hotel
and Casino. Prior to 2005, the WSOP was
held at Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. As a testament to the expansion of the WSOP
since Caesars Entertainment assumed ownership and control of the world most
prestigious poker event, more than twice the money has been awarded to winners
within the Rio during the past six years than during the entire proceeding
35-year period at the Horseshoe.
The total
number of entrants in the WSOP Main Event (all 42 years combined) is 58,657.
Over the past
five years, the average attendance for the WSOP Main Event has been 6,776
entrants. Hence, this year’s figure
(6,865 entrants) was slightly ahead of the post-UIGEA average.
The field
included a total of 242 female players.
This figure represents 3.5 percent of the field.
An official
count of remaining female players at the end of Day Five showed three remaining
(three were also eliminated on this day). The survivors are – Claudia Crawford, Amanda
Musumeci and Erika Moutinho.
The average
age of all players who participated in the Main Event was 37.2 years.
This is the
950th gold bracelet tournament event 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.
STARTING THE MAIN EVENT – BY COUNTRY
There were
105 different nations represented at the 2011 WSOP in all gold bracelet events.
There were 85
different nations represented in the Main Event Championship.
Based on the
total number of entries, non-U.S. players made up 33 percent of the total
field. This is the largest percentage of internationally-based players in WSOP
history.
If just the
international contingent of participants were separated from the total field
size, there would be an estimated 2,265 players. The size of this group alone would constitute
a larger field than any other live tournament ever held, outside the WSOP.
The breakdown
of players – alphabetized by country along with number of entrants – was as
follows:
1 -- American
Samoa
3 -- Andorra
21 -- Argentina
80 -- Australia
37 -- Austria
2 -- Azerbaijan
1 -- Bahamas
1 -- Bahrain
1 -- Barbados
25 -- Belgium
2 -- Belize
2 -- Bolivia
1 -- Botswana
83 -- Brazil
4 -- Bulgaria
486 -- Canada
7 -- Chile
10 -- China
9 -- Columbia
3 -- Costa
Rica
1 -- Croatia
4 -- Cyprus
9 -- Czech
Republic
46 -- Denmark
5 -- Estonia
21 -- Finland
213 -- France
1 -- French
Polynesia
156 -- Germany
5 -- Greece
1 -- Guam
4 -- Guatemala
8 -- Hong
Kong
24 -- Hungary
2 -- Iceland
2 -- India
1 -- Indonesia
35 -- Ireland
18 -- Israel
106 -- Italy
24 -- Japan
2 -- Kazakhstan
7 -- Latvia
4 -- Lebanon
8 -- Lithuania
2 -- Macedonia
1 -- Malaysia
2 -- Malta
1 -- Marshall
Islands
12 -- Mexico
3 -- Monaco
1 -- Mongolia
1 -- Montserrat
1 -- Morocco
59 -- Netherlands
5 -- New
Zealand
34 -- Norway
1 -- Oman
2 -- Panama
3 -- Peru
3 -- Philippines
1 -- Poland
18 -- Portugal
4 -- Romania
108 -- Russia
7 -- Saint
Lucia
1 -- Saudi
Arabia
1 -- Senegal
4 -- Singapore
6 -- Slovakia
17 -- South
Africa
6 -- South
Korea
42 -- Spain
79 -- Sweden
26 -- Switzerland
2 -- Taiwan
2 -- Trinidad
and Tobago
4 -- Turkey
1 -- Turks
and Caicos
1 -- Turks
and Caicos Islands
3 -- Ukraine
288 -- United
Kingdom
4,604 -- United
States
3 -- Uruguay
20 – Venezuela
TOURNAMENT
NUMBERS
This is the
third-largest live poker tournament in history.
Only the 2006 WSOP Main Event (at 8,773 entrants) and the 2010 WSOP Main
Event (at 7,319 entrants) were bigger.
Prior to this year, the third-largest live tournament was the 2008 WSOP
Main Event -- with 6,844 players.
Here are the
six largest live poker tournaments in history:
2006 WSOP
Main Event – 8,773 players
2010 WSOP
Main Event – 7,319 players
2011 WSOP
Main Event – 6,865 players
2008 WSOP
Main Event – 6,844 players
2009 WSOP
Main Event – 6,494 players
2007 WSOP
Main Event – 6,358 players
WSOP
MAIN EVENT ALL-TIME RECORDS
Most Main
Event Wins (Career):
3
– Johnny Moss (*first win was by vote)
3
– Stu Ungar
2
– Doyle Brunson
2
– Johnny Chan
Most Main
Event Cashes (Career):
10
– Berry Johnston
8
– Humberto Brenes
7
– Bobby Baldwin
7
– Doyle Brunson
7
– Jay Heimowitz
8
– Phil Hellmuth – cashed this year (updated)
7
– Mike Sexton
7
– John Esposito – cashed this year (updated)
6
– John Bonetti
6
– Johnny Moss
6
– Jason Lester
6
– Steve Lott
6
– Chris Bjorin
6
– Johnny Chan
5
– 14 players tied with 5 cashes each
Most Main
Event Final Tables (Career):
5
– Doyle Brunson
5
– Jesse Alto
4
– Johnny Chan
4
– T.J. Cloutier
4
– Dan Harrington
4
– Berry Johnston
4
– Johnny Moss
4
– Stu Ungar
3
– 6 players tied with 3 final tables each
Youngest
Winner:
Joe
Cada (2009) -- 21 years, 11 months, 22 days
Oldest Winner:
Johnny
Moss (1974) – 66 years, 11 months, 24 days
Oldest
Participant:
97
years -- Jack Ury (2010)
Most
Consecutive Years Played:
38
– Howard “Tahoe” Andrew (1974 to present)
Most Main
Events Played (Career):
38
– Tie: Doyle Brunson (did not play 1999 through 2001); Howard “Tahoe” Andrew
WSOP -- FOR THE AGES
The youngest
player to enter the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship was Logan Deen, from
Cocoa, FL. He turned 21 on the day he
took his seat in the Main Event. This
means he now holds a record than can only be tied, but never broken (unless age
restriction laws are changed in the future).
He was cheered on by his family, who call themselves the “Deen Team.” Unfortunately, he was eliminated on Day Two.
The oldest
player to enter the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship was Ellen “Gram” Deeb,
from Troy, NY. She became the oldest
female participant in Main Event history at the age of 91. Mrs. Deeb was introduced to the huge crowd,
which gave her one of the day’s biggest ovations. After she stood to wave to the crowd, she
grabbed the microphone from a tournament official and snapped, “I just have one
thing to say! You are all playing for
second!” The crowd went wild. Unfortunately, Mrs. Deeb was eliminated on
Day One. The WSOP looks forward to
welcoming her again in 2012.
OVERALL 2011 WSOP STATISTICS
Through Event
#58 (all gold bracelet events), the 2011 WSOP has attracted 75,672 combined
total entries. $191,999,010 in prize money
has been awarded.
Through the
conclusion of Event #57, the breakdown of nationality of gold bracelet winners
has been:
United States
(35)
Canada (5)
Ukraine (4)
France (4)
Great Britain
(3)
Russia (3)
Brazil (1)
Pakistan (1)
Sweden (1)
Through the
conclusion of Event #57, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:
United States
(31)
Canada (5)
Ukraine (4)
France (4)
Great Britain
(3)
Russia (3)
Israel (1)
Honduras (1)
Indonesia (1)
Germany (1)
Brazil (1)
Pakistan (1)
Sweden (1)
Through the
conclusion of Event #57, the home-states of (American) winners have been:
California (7)
New York (6)
Nevada (6)
Texas (3)
Florida (2)
Illinois (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 Event #57, the breakdown of professional poker players to
semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets has been:
Professional Players
(44): Jake
Cody, Cheech Barbaro, Eugene Katchalov, Allen Bari, Harrison Wilder, Matt
Perrins, Sean Getzwiller, Viacheslav Zhukov, David Diaz, Andrew Badecker, Tyler
Bonkowski, Brian Rast (2 wins), 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, Matt Matros, Marsha Wolak.
Maxim Lykov, Nick Binger
Semi-Pros (6): Sean R. Drake, Amir Lehavot, Oleksii Kovalchuk,
Eric Rosawig, Arkadiy Tsinis, Alexander Anter
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 50 out of 57 events being won by pros or semi-pros.
Through the conclusion
of this tournament, the victories of 12 of the 57 winners (21 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. Brian Rast’s victory in two
tournaments – Events #15 and #55 -- means the multi-gold bracelet streak will
continue for at least another year.
The streak of
consecutive male WSOP gold bracelet winners is currently at 213 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 accomplished 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
(3389 entries) – Event #56
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 added to his record as the individual all-time leader in cashes (84)
and final table appearances (43).
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).
First
player in history with three second-place finishes within a single year – Phil
Hellmuth
Tony
“Top Cat” Cousineau added to his record as the player with the most WSOP
cashes, but no wins (49).
Chris
Bjorin cashed in the Main Event for the fourth straight year – a new record.
RAISING AWARENESS: BAD BEAT ON CANCER AND THE WSOP
Bad Beat on
Cancer was created in 2003 by Phil Gordon and Rafe Furst as an easy and fun way
for poker players to donate to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. It all began when Chris Moneymaker pledged 1
percent of his 2003 Main Event winnings and went on to capture the championship,
contributing $25,000 when he was awarded the $2.500,000 first- place prize. By taking the pledge, wearing the patch, and
joining ‘Team 1%’, players can feel good supporting a cause that only benefits
when they win. As the official charity
of the WSOP, pledges simply indicate to the payouts staff that they are
donating 1 percent of their winnings, and the funds are automatically withheld.
A tax receipt is generated and sent to
their mailing address. Several high
profile professionals have made ‘life pledges’ of 1 percent of all their
winnings -- including Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Lee Childs, Paul Wasicka,
Andy Bloch, Dennis Phillips, and others. Since 2003, the initiative has raised over $3,500,000
for cancer prevention research, education, and community outreach programs. Players can pick up a patch and join Team 1%
by stopping by the Bad Beat on Cancer booth, located at the 2011 WSOP opposite
the Amazon Room in the concourse. The Nevada Cancer Institute based in Las Vegas
is a benefiting charity from the Bad Beat on Cancer.
Note:
Various categories and statistics will be updated with each gold
bracelet event as they are completed.