Eric Brooks Wins 2008 WSOP Event #14

Date: Tue, Jun 10, 2008

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Eric Brooks can return to Bryn Mawr, Pennslyvania and tell them he's a world champion. Monday evening he eliminated the Fu Wong, the last player with a seat in the WSOP Stud Championship to claim the title, the money and the coveted gold bracelet. Eric chipped away at second place finisher Fu Wong's stacks during the heads-up play until all the chips were in his stack. Along with his first bracelet Brooks picked up $415,856 and a year's worth of bragging rights. Fu Wong heads back home to Chandler, Arizona with his second place prize of $259,910.

Eric Seidel and Minh Ly, a couple of well known poker professionals, were seated at the final table. The starting field of 158 players included many of poker finest in the mix. FYI: Eric Brooks donates all of his winnings to charity. Our congratulations to Eric Brooks for his big win to claim the World Championship Seven Stud title.

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Duncan Bell Wins 2008 WSOP Event #13

Date: Tue, Jun 10, 2008

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Duncan Bell came tto0 the final table as the chip leader and never got behind the curve. The Monday afternoon final table featured the 9 players remaining from the starting field of 1,397 entrants in the $2,500 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event. Bell of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada completed the elimination of the other 8 contestants in only 3 1/2 hours of play making this the shortest 2008 final table to date. He received $666,777 and the gold WSOP champion's bracelet for his win.

Steve Merrifield of Fairmont, West Virginia finished second and received $428,949. Congratulations to Duncan Bell for taking down his first WSOP bracelet.

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Jimmy Shultz Wins 2008 WSOP Event #12

Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2008

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Two hours of roller coaster chip stacks poker finally produced a winner early Monday morning when Jimmy Shultz had his opponent all-in and his 10,3 of hearts turned into a flush on the river to trump Zac's pocket 3's. The see-saw battle was power poker from the go with automatic preflop raises, re-raises and check raises. Shultz had Fellows down to the felt more than once only to see his stacks of chips move back across the table. Jimmy Shultz collected $257,105 and his first WSOP gold bracelet for the win while Zac Fellows settled for the second place money of $165,165.

For most of the final table the players and spectators were treated(?) to another installment of the Vinny Ninh Show. The antics of Vinh were often disruptive and a floorperson remained close by the table to maintain order. Vinny played his usual extreme aggressive style of poker and rode his cards to a third place finish and $99,099.

Congratulations to Jimmy Shultz for his victory.

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Rob Tom Wins 2008 WSOP Event #11

Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2008

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Phil Tom won his first gold WSOP bracelet Sunday evening when he outlasted a field of 360 players that started the event three days ago. Having won all three of his tables brought him to the final table and the win. He received $477,990 in addition to the new jewelry.

Greg "FBT" Mueller received $298,638 for second place. Leo Wolpert collected $187,812 for third place. The final table went quick by WSOP standards, finishing in just over 6 hours of play. Congratulations to Phil Tom for the winning his first WSOP gold bracelet.

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Farzad Rouhani Wins 2008 WSOP Event #10

Date: Sun, Jun 8, 2008

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Farzad Rouhani is the winner of Event #10 of the 2008 WSOP. The $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-better paid $232,911 for first place plus a coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Rouhani of Germantown, Maryland came to the final table as the chip leader with 513,000 in play money and never looked back as he cruised to his first bracelet.

Tom Chambers took down the $142,784 second place money while well known poker pro Miami John Cernuto finished third and collected $86,117. Another popular professional , Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi went out in the eight spot and received $24,095.

Congratulations to Farzad Rouhani for winning his first WSOP event.

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Ralph Rep Porter Wins 2008 WSOP Event #9

Date: Sun, Jun 8, 2008

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Late Saturday night Ralph 'Rep' Porter completed the final hand of the final table of event #9, a $1,500 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed affair that drew a field of 1,236 players and amassed a prize pool of $1,687,410. The hard fought win netted the Woodinville, Washington player the first place money totaling $372,929 and his first WSOP bracelet.

Second place went to Nathan Templeton along with $231,981 in cash and Devin Porter completed the top three and collected $151,842. Final table play lasted for 212 hands before only one player remained with chips and only three of those hands were played heads-up. That's all it took for Ralph Porter to eliminate Nathan Templeton. Congratulations are in order for the latest 2008 WSOP champion, Ralph 'Rep' Porter.

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Anthony Rivera Wins 2008 WSOP Event #8

Date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008

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Local Las Vegas poker player Anthony Rivera took down the $483,688 first place money in the $10K World Championship Mixed Event. He also picked up one of the WSOP gold bracelet that most poker players can only dream about. The shortage of tournament experience didn't faze Rivera as he patiently overcame a pro heavy field to make the final table and then continued his solid play as the players were slowly eliminated.

Finally Rivera found himself across the table from James Mackey, a solid poker professional despite his youthful appearance whose poker accomplishments include a bracelet from the 2007 WSOP. Anthony Rivera continued to follow his game plan until Mackey was all-in with no outs. James Mackey received $297,792 in travel money for the return trip to his home in Colombia, Missouri. Matt Grantz of Philadelphia completed the top three for $184,992.

Congratulations to Anthony Rivera for his victory.

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Matt Keikoan Wins 2008 WSOP Event #7

Date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008

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When Matt Keikoan takes his first WSOP bracelet home to San Rafael, California he can tell all his friends that he had to defeat an army of poker players, 1,592 to be exact, to capture the gold. He also picked up $550,529 in cash to go with the new jewelry for his first time at a WSOP final table.

The win was no easy task, having taken 68 hands of heads-up play with Shannon Shorr, an experienced final table poker pro. During the final half hour of heads-up play Matt was in complete control of the table taking Shorr's chips with relative ease until the final all-in came and Matt claimed the victory, the cash and the gold bracelet. Of course, it didn't hurt that Matt's cheering section included some well known players including Gavin Smith. Congratulations to Matt Keirkoan for his win.

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Thang Luu Wins 2008 WSOP Event #6

Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2008

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Another WSOP record was shattered when 832 players showed up for event #6 making it the biggest Omaha Hi/Lo field in the history of the World Series of Poker. When the final hand of the final table hit the board Thank Luu claimed his victory and the coveted gold bracelet. He received $243,356 after defeating Spencer Lawrence for the win in heads-up play. The two traded chips back and forth before Luu finally took charge and drained Lawrence's stacks in rapid fashion for a limit structure game. Lawrence received $156,343 place money. George Guzman completed the top three with his third place finish worth $93,806.

Keep current with all the news, rumors, bad beats, and behind-the-scenes poker stories direct from the 2008 WSOP as reported by our fellow poker bloggers Pokerrati, Tao of Poker and Wicked Chops Poker.

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Michael Banducci Wins 2008 WSOP Event #5

Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2008

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Michael Banducci opicked up his first WSOP gold bracelet and $636,736 in cash for his win in WSOP Event #5. Banducci, from Traverse City, Michingan, defeated Jeff Williams in heads-up play at the ESPN feature TV table shortly after midnight when his pocket A-J trumped Williams' A-5. Michael Banducci is no stranger to major poker tournament action and has cashed a number of times ; but, this is his greatest poker achievement to date. Congratulations to Michael for his first WSOP jewelry.

Jeff Williams will return to his home in Dunwoody, Georgia with an extra $406,330 in the bank account for his second place finish. Peter Gould finished in third place and pocketed $245,993.

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Erick Lindgren Wins Event #4 $5K MIxed Hold'em

Date: Thu, Jun 5, 2008

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Event #4 featured the second stacked final table in the first four events. Several of poker's supsertars were in the mix including Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, and David Williams. London's Roland de Wolfe represented the Europeans at the final table. He has the distinction of being one of only two players to win an EPT and WPT event. The other is Gavin Griffin (who actually is the only player with a WSOP bracelet, EPT title, and a WPT title.) One of the top online players, BoDog sponsored Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonnomo was also among the final table players.

Here's Event #4 Final Table Seating Assignments:
Seat 1: Howard Lederer (Las Vegas, NV) 324,500
Seat 2: Roland de Wolfe (London, UK) 194,000
Seat 3: David "Chino" Rheem (Los Angeles, CA) 885,000
Seat 4: Pat Pezzin (Toronto, Canada) 108,500
Seat 5: Isaac Haxton (Syracuse, NY) 115,500
Seat 6: David Williams (Las Vegas, NV) 678,500
Seat 7: Justin Bonomo (Las Vegas, NV) 517,500
Seat 8: Andrew Robl (East Lansing, MI) 162,000
Seat 9: Erick Lindgren (Las Vegas, NV) 345,000

More after the jump...

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David Singer Wins Event #3 $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em

Date: Thu, Jun 5, 2008

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It was a tough heads up battle between David Singer and Jacobo Fernandez. As Snoopy described the action, "Both players have the patience of a saint."

When it was all over, David Singer prevailed and won his first bracelet.

Event #3 had 713 runners. The top 72 places got paid. Pros who cashed included Brandon Schaefer, Joe Tehan, Tom McEvoy, Will Durkee, Eugene Todd, and the UK's Neil "Bad Beat" Channing.

A complete list of money winners...

.... appears after the jump

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Grant Hinkle Wins 2008 Event 2

Date: Wed, Jun 4, 2008

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Grant Hinkle wins his first WSOP braelet early this morning after outlasting a record field of 3,929 players in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event #2. The 27-year-old player from Kansas City, Mo was playing in his first ever WSOP. He defeated James Akenhead heads-up to take down the $831,462 first place money in an event that became a poker marathon.

A perfect ending to this record setting event was provided when Hinkle said all-in to Akehead's pre-flop re-raise. Akenhead instantly said call and turned over his big slick. A dejected Hinkle tossed his bluff-with-an-out suited 10-4; but, everything changed when the flop went out...10-4-10 giving Hinkle a full house and leaving Akenhead hoping for a miracle. The turn sealed it when another 10 hit the board for unbeatable quads.

James Akenhead takes away $520,219 for second place and WSOP Main Event winner Chris "Jesus" Ferguson finished third for $388,287.

Stay current with all the news, rumors, bad beats, and behind-the-scenes stories direct from the 2008 WSOP as reported by our fellow bloggers Pokerrati, Tao of Poker and Wicked Chops Poker.

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WSOP Event #2 Headed for Final Table

Date: Tue, Jun 3, 2008

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A couple of well known players may be headed for today's final table of event #2 of the 2008 WSOP. Former WSOP Main Event winner and 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Champion Chris Ferguson will be dueling for the $831,462 going to the winner. Perry Friedman, popular poker pro and Tilt Boy should be there for the finish of this record setting event.

Two tables of players (18) returned today at 1:30 pm after players pulled an all-nighter and finally voted to call it quits at 6 this morning with 18 players remaining. If this event is any indication of tournament poker and poker in general's future it promises to be a very bright one indeed. After major legal setbacks for Internet poker rooms (UEIGA) the past couple of years, this record turnout proves the world poker community remains dedicated to their favorite card game. Much of the credit for the increasing popularity of the WSOP and poker must be given to Jeffrey Pollack and his staff at Harrah's.

Stay current with all the news, rumors, bad beats, and behind-the-scenes stories direct from the 2008 WSOP as reported by our fellow bloggers Pokerrati, Tao of Poker and Wicked Chops Poker.

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