TOURNAMENT HEADLINES:
Play It
Again, Sam!
Sam Stein
Wins Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Stein Masters
PLO at 2011 WSOP – 1st Place and 3rd Place Finishes in
Two Events
23-Year-Old Poker
Pro Collects First WSOP Gold Bracelet and $420,802 Top Prize
2011 WSOP
Passes Halfway Point
Full House at
the 2011 WSOP-- Tournament Attendance Up 11 Percent Over Last Year
31 Gold
Bracelets Won – 27 More Still to Go
OVERVIEW
If a young
man named Sam Stein approaches you and offers up a “friendly” game of Pot-Limit
Omaha, here’s some free advice.
Run the other
way.
Fast.
Stein may
look like any other good-natured 23-year-old who enjoys fun times and good
living. But at the poker table, he’ll
bleed dry your poker bankroll quicker than a mortician draining a corpse -- especially
if the game is Pot-Limit Omaha, which is Stein’s specialty.
Fortunately, for all the vulnerable marks and unsuspecting players – the
word is now finally getting out. As the
sun rose over the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on a wickedly
warm Monday morning, Stein went into vampire mode. He was finally exposed for the person he really is – a darn good poker player.
Stein beat out 684 competitors in Event #31 -- the $3,000 buy-in Pot
Limit Omaha tournament, to become the latest player cementing his place in WSOP
history.
For his win, Stein was awarded $420,802 and poker’s ultimate token of
achievement -- the World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
Amazingly, Stein finished third in this year’s $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha
World Championship, which took place just two weeks earlier. He earned
$264,651 for his outstanding performance in that event. Just past the halfway mark of this year’s
WSOP, Stein has amassed nearly $700,000 in overall tournament winnings. Not bad for two weeks of “work.”
Stein is a
23-year-old poker pro from Henderson, NV.
He has been playing poker for the past three years. Aside from impressive accomplishments at this
year’s WSOP, Stein has cashed in several other big tournaments.
Sorry,
Sam. The word is out. Your stealthy charade of anonymity is up.
Good luck
finding a Pot-Limit Game the rest of your life.
For a comprehensive recap of Event #31,
please visit the WSOP.com tournament portal page HERE.
EVENT #31 CHAMPION – SAM STEIN
The 2011
World Series of Poker $3,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha champion is Sam Stein, from
Henderson, NV.
Stein is
23-year-old professional poker player.
Stein was
born in Hidden Hills, CA.
Stein’s first
recorded live tournament cash took place in July 2009. Since that time, he has won more than $2
million in live tournaments – not counting this victory.
Stein had
four second-place finishes in major tournaments prior to this victory – most
notably at last year’s Deep Stack Extravaganza, at the Venetian. He also came in third in the $10,000 buy-in
Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship, at this year’s WSOP.
For his
victory, Stein collected $420,802 for first place.
According to
official records, Stein now has 1 win, 2 final table appearances and 8
in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.
Stein currently
has $775,253 in career WSOP winnings.
Stein is to
be classified as a professional poker player (in WSOP records and stats), since
he has been playing full-time for about three years.
THE FINAL TABLE
The official
final table was comprised of the top nine finishers.
The final
table contained only one former gold bracelet winner – Brock Parker.
Three nations
were represented at the final table – Bulgaria (1 player), Great Britain (1
player) and the United States (7 players).
The top two
finishers reside in the Las Vegas area.
The
runner up was Benjamin Lamb, from Las Vegas, NV. He earned a nice consolation prize amounting
to $259,918.
The
seventh-place finisher was two-time gold bracelet winner Brock Parker, from
Silver Spring, MD. He won back-to-back
WSOP titles in 2009 in the same game, which was Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em.
This was an
unusual final table for a Pot-Limit Omaha event. Since the game is a favorite of many
Europeans, one expected a more international field.
Final table
play began at 9 pm on a Sunday evening.
Played concluded at 5 am, early on Monday morning.
The final
table was played on ESPN’s main stage. The
so-called secondary stage was used to host the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em
Championship, which ran at the same time. The new final table set this year is getting
raves in terms of design and appearance.
No stage in the history of poker has ever looked as spectacular. Viewers will be able to see ESPN’s coverage
again once the WSOP Main Event begins in July.
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 63
finishers collected prize money.
Among former
gold bracelet winners who cashed in this tournament -- aside from those who
made the final table – were the following players: Tex Barch (10), Jeffrey Lisandro (35), Joe
Hachem (50) and Dan Heimiller (63).
“Top Cat” did
it again. Tony Cousineau (Daytona Beach,
FL), a.k.a. “TC” cashed for the record-extending 48th time in his
career. Cousineau now has 48
in-the-money finishes, which is the most of any player who has not yet won a
gold bracelet.
2005 world
poker champion Joe Hachem finished in 50th place.
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
The
tournament attracted 685 entries.
Attendance increased slightly above last year’s figure (569 players)
even though the buy-in was increased by $500.
This was previously a $2,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha competition, which
was upgraded to $3,000.
This is the 923rd
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 pm.
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.
Stein’s gold
bracelet ceremony is set to take place on Tuesday, June 21st. The national anthem of the USA will be played
in honor of his victory.
EVENT HISTORY
Pot-Limit
Omaha made is WSOP debut in 1984. The
first Pot-Limit Omaha gold bracelet winner was Dewey Tomko, who was inducted
into the Poker Hall of Fame -- Class of 2008.
Sparked by
widespread popularity in Europe, Pot-Limit Omaha tournament attendance at the
WSOP continues to grow. Since the WSOP has been played at the Rio, here are the
attendance figures over the past six years for this event:
2005 – 540
players ($2,000 buy-in)
2006 -- 590
players ($2,000 buy-in)
2007 – 599
players ($2,000 buy-in)
2008 – 320
players ($2,500 buy-in)
2009 – 436
players ($2,500 buy-in)
2010 – 569
players ($2,500 buy-in)
2011 – 685
players ($3,000 buy-in)
Here are the
Pot-Limit Omaha attendance figures for the $1,500 buy-in event, which shows
even more of an upward trend:
2005 – 291
players
2006 -- 526
players
2007 – 578
players
2008 – 758
players
2009 – 809
players
2010 – 885
players
2011 – 1,071
players
This is the
second of three Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments on this year’s WSOP schedule.
TOURNAMENT PLAY
The tournament
was played over four consecutive days/nights.
Day One began
with 685 entries and ended with 138 survivors.
Day Two began
with 138 players and ended with 25 survivors.
Day Three
began with 25 players, which played down to the winner.
The tournament
officially began on Friday, June 17th at 5 pm. The tournament officially ended early Monday
morning, June 20th, at 5 am.
NEW STATISTICS (2011 WSOP – HALFWAY
POINT)
Through the
conclusion of Event #29, players from the follow states have combined for the
following number of in-the-money finishes.
The current state leaderboard reads as follows:
Nevada – 424
cashes
California –
408 cashes
Florida – 178
cashes
Texas – 155
cashes
New York –
148 cashes
Through the
conclusion of Event #29, players who have entered the most WSOP gold bracelet
events are as follows:
Tom Dwan – 26
Shannon Shorr
–22
Justin Smith
– 22
Michael
“Grinder” Mizrachi – 21
Sorel Mizzi –
20
Steven Kelly –
20
Jason Mercier
– 20
Dan Heimiller
– 20
Through the
conclusion of Event #29, players who have cashed in the most WSOP gold bracelet
events are as follows:
Kirill
Rabtsov – 5 cashes
Shaun Deeb –
5 cashes
14 players
tied with 4 cashes each
Through the conclusion
of Event #29, female players who have cashed in the most WSOP gold bracelet
events are as follows:
Melanie
Weisner – 4 cashes
Jennifer
Tilly – 2 cashes
Cyndy
Violette – 2 cashes
Erica
Schoenberg – 2 cashes
Joanne
Monteavaro – 2 cashes
Svetlana Gromenkova
– 2 cashes
MORE 2011 WSOP STATISTICS
Through the conclusion
of Event #31, the 2011 WSOP has attracted 38,458 combined total entries. $58,741,560 in prize money has been awarded
to winners.
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the breakdown of nationality of gold bracelet
winners has been:
United States
(21)
Great Britain
(3)
Canada (3)
France (2)
Russia (1)
Ukraine (1)
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has
been:
United States
(16)
Great Britain
(3)
Canada (3)
France (2)
Ukraine (2)
Israel (1)
Russia (1)
Honduras (1)
Indonesia (1)
Germany (1)
Through the
conclusion of this event, the home-states of (American) winners have been:
California (5)
Nevada (3)
New York (3)
Texas (2)
Illinois (2)
New Jersey
(1)
Florida (1)
Tennessee (1)
Connecticut
(1)
Indiana (1)
Maryland (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
(24): 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, Mark Radoja, Chris Viox, Dan Idema, Andy
Frankenberger, Chris Lee, Sam Stein
Semi-Pros (3): Sean R. Drake, Amir Lehavot, Oleksii
Kovalchuk
Amateurs
(3): Geffrey Klein, Foster Hays, James
Hess
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 25 out of 31 events being won by pros.
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the victories of 7 of the 31 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, no player has
yet won two gold bracelets (this year).
The streak of
consecutive male WSOP gold bracelet winners has now reached 191 consecutive
events. Aside from the annual Ladies
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, who finished second ($5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em) and Kim Nguyen,
who 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
finished in sixth place after winning the previous $10,000 buy-in No-Limit
Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball World Championship.
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 6,350 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
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 (80)
and final table appearances (41), with his second-place finish in the
Deuce-to-Seven Lowball Championship (Event #16).
Note:
Various categories and statistics will be updated with each gold
bracelet event as they are completed.
Note:
All results are now official and may be reprinted by media. If you are posting these results on a
website, we would appreciate providing a link back to: WSOP.com