The Rio Rundown (2007 WSOP)

Your Comprehensive Guide To The 2007 World Series Of Poker
BY ERIC RASKIN

PHOTO BY IMPDI

THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES to absorbing the World Series of Poker. One is to follow every minuscule detail as it happens, refreshing your Internet browser every 30 seconds for a month-and-a-half and freaking out every time Phil Hellmuth makes it into the money. The other is to sit back and wait, enjoy the delayed and edited broadcasts on ESPN, and then look back when it’s all over and try to make sense of the madness.
We at ALL IN have no choice but to take the former line of attack, as we can’t do our jobs properly if we aren’t in tune with every daily development at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. But we also choose each year to utilize the latter methodology. After all 55 events were over, after all 55 bracelets had been handed out, we took a step back, looked at the results through a wide-angle lens, and asked ourselves,

“What does it all mean?”

Records fell, stars emerged, bank accounts swelled, and we were reminded that in a game that combines skill and luck as poker does, there’s always a yin and a yang. It’s just that this year, nobody’s talking about the yin.
So here’s an exhaustive look at the whole Series, from the young (Event #1) to the Yang (Event #55):

Event #1
$5,000 Mixed Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 451
Winner: Steve Billirakis
Payday: $536,287
Runner-up: Greg Mueller
Payday: $328,554

Memorable hand: With Billirakis holding a not-quite 2-to-1 chip lead in heads-up play, and with the game Limit Hold ’Em, the flop conspired to cripple Mueller. “FBT” limped with K-3 and Billirakis checked with 8-7, and the K-7-7 flop couldn’t have been more perfect for him. The eight on the river didn’t hurt either, and Mueller was down about 5-to-1 afterward. Two hands later, the historic first event of the ’07 Series was over.

Other noteworthy finishers: Steve Paul-Ambrose, 4th; Kirk Morrison, 7th; David Grey, 27th; Johnny Chan, 31st; Todd Brunson, 38th

Running Numbers:
21, 11 Billirakis’ age in years and days at the time of his victory, making him the youngest bracelet winner ever
28 Days by which Billirakis broke Jeff Madsen’s record

Event #2
$500 Casino Employee No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,039
Winner: Frederick Narciso
Payday: $104,701
Runner-up: Charles Fisher
Payday: $66,392

Running numbers:
27 Place in which Narciso, a dealer at the Orleans, finished in this event in 2006

Event #3
$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 2,998
Winner: Ciaran O’Leary
Payday: $727,012
Runner-up: Paul Evans
Payday: $282,367

Memorable hand: It should have been all over for the short-stacked O’Leary just 28 hands into the final table, when he called off all his chips pre-flop with 9-9 and found himself up against Evans’ K-K. But a nine on the turn proved that the luck of the Irish is alive and well and kickstarted an incredible comeback.
Other noteworthy finishers: Alex Jacob, 3rd; Michael Binger, 29th; Erick Lindgren, 109th; Greg Raymer, 131st; Chris Moneymaker, 233rd

Running Numbers:
2 Number of previous live poker tournaments in history with more entrants (the 2005 and 2006 WSOP Main Events)
5 Number of all-ins O’Leary survived at the final table
34 Percent of chips in play held by eventual third-place finisher Jacob at the start of the final table

Event #4
$1,500 Pot-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 781
Winner: Michael Spegal
Payday: $251,957
Runner-up: Gavin Smith
Payday: $$155,446

Memorable hand: The final hand was a classic race—Spegal’s A-10 suited beating Smith’s 5-5—but it was a split pot earlier in heads-up play that provided the greatest drama. On a board of A-8-6-3-8, Smith made the maximum bet, Spegal raised the size of the pot, and Smith, after a minute of thinking, called off all of his chips. Spegal turned over 8-4 … and Smith turned over the same hand, meaning there would be no elimination and no double-up.

Other noteworthy finishers: Jon Friedberg, 3rd; Marco Traniello, 9th; Jean-Robert Bellande, 21st; Freddy Deeb, 45th; Katja Thater, 62nd

Event #5
$2,500 Omaha High-Low / Seven-Card Stud High-Low
Number of entries: 327
Winner: Tom Schneider
Payday: $214,347
Runner-up: Edmond Tonnellier
Payday: $118,456

Memorable hand: Schneider was a huge chip leader (more than double his next closest competitor) from the start of the final table right through to the finish, and it was the last hand of Day Two, on which he eliminated Josh Arieh in ninth place, that set the final table and gave Schneider all the extra chips and momentum he would need. The game was Omaha, and Arieh’s trip fours on a 9-7-4-4-J board were beaten by Schneider’s full house, fours over jacks.

Other noteworthy finishers: Annie Duke, 3rd; Chris Ferguson, 4th; David Benyamine, 6th; John Phan, 8th; Scotty Nguyen, 10th

Event #6
$1,500 Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 910
Winner: Gary Styczynski
Payday: $280,715
Runner-up: Varouzhan Gumroyan
Payday: $177,627

Memorable hand: Styczynski was trailing almost 2-to-1 in heads-up play when a situation arose in which Gumroyan held the nuts on the turn but, because this was a Limit game, couldn’t price out Styczynski and stop him from making the nuts on the river. With a board of Ah-Kh-Js-Qs, Gumroyan (10s-2s) checked, Styczynski (Qh-8h) bet, Gumroyan raised, and Styczynski called. The river was the 7h, giving Styczynski the nut flush. Gumroyan bet, Styczynski raised, and Gumroyan made the mistake of re-raising, allowing Styczynski to re-raise again. Gumroyan called and just about doubled Styczynski up, giving him a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.

Other noteworthy finishers: James Gorham, 5th; David Sklansky, 13th; Robert Goldfarb, 64th; Jim Meehan, 76th; Thor Hansen, 82nd

Event #7
$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Re-Buys
Number of entries: 145
Winner: Burt Boutin
Payday: $825,956
Runner-up: Erik Cajelais
Payday: $483,755

Memorable hand: Veteran pro Boutin came into heads-up play trailing, but doubled through Cajelais on the very first hand to take a commanding lead. On a flop of Ah-8s-2s, the players got it all in, Boutin holding top pair and the nut flush draw with As-Ks-Qh-6c, and Cajelais having flop a set with 8h-8d-5c-5d. The turn was the 3s, giving Boutin his flush, and there would be no re-suck for Cajelais.
Other noteworthy finishers: David Ulliott, 3rd; Minh Ly, 5th; John Juanda, 7th; Humberto Brenes, 8th; Robert Williamson III, 10th

Running Numbers:
421 Total number of re-buys
10 Players among the 18 money finishers who already owned WSOP bracelets

Event #8
$1,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em w/ Re-Buys
Number of entries: 844
Winner: Michael Chu
Payday: $585,774
Runner-up: Tommy Vu
Payday: $364,761

Memorable hand: In a close heads-up match, Chu blew it wide open by doubling through infomercial star Vu on the fourth hand, winning an almost 50-50 post-flop race. With a 9-8-3 board, Chu bet with J-10, Vu raised him all in with 8-6, and Chu quickly called with his open-ender and two overcards. The turn was a five, and the river brought a seven, completing Chu’s straight.

Other noteworthy finishers: Shane Schleger, 5th; Michael Gracz, 6th; Amir Vahedi, 7th; Kristy Gazes, 31st; Antonio Esfandiari, 39th

Running Numbers:
1,814 Total number of re-buys
0 Re-buys made by Chu

Event #9
$1,500 Omaha High-Low
Number of entries: 690
Winner: Alex Kravchenko
Payday: $228,446
Runner-up: Bryan Devonshire
Payday: $140,336

Memorable hand: Just a couple of hands before ending the tournament, Kravchenko won a huge pot worth about one-quarter of the chips in play when he made an ace-high straight and Devonshire missed both his flush draw and his low draw. The Russian won three-quarters of the next pot and scooped the following pot to clinch the bracelet.

Other noteworthy finishers: Jordan Morgan, 7th; Todd Brunson, 20th; Robert Mizrachi, 40th; Roland de Wolfe, 50th; Kirill Gerasimov, 53rd

Event #10
$2,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,531
Winner: Will Durkee
Payday: $566,916
Runner-up: Todd Terry
Payday: $353,875

Memorable hand: With four players remaining, Justin Bonomo, the only “name” player left, was the chip leader, but that changed suddenly when he picked up kings and Durkee had aces and they got it all in pre-flop. The board came Q-5-2-4-8, making Durkee a huge chip king and leaving Bonomo short-stacked.

Other noteworthy finishers: Justin Bonomo, 4th; Stan Weiss, 6th; John Murphy, 12th; Clonie Gowen, 64th; Phil Hellmuth, 104th

Event #11
$5,000 Seven-Card Stud
Number of entries: 180
Winner: Chris Reslock
Payday: $258,453
Runner-up: Phil Ivey
Payday: $143,820

Memorable hand: Reslock, who has now defeated the formidable duo of Ivey and John Juanda in heads-up play to score his two most significant tournament wins, had a big chip lead from the start of heads-up play and put the five-time bracelet winner away on a hand where Ivey got his last chips in on Sixth Street. Reslock had (10-10) 4-10-K-2 for a set of tens; Ivey had two pair with (7-7) 8-Q-8-9. Reslock’s final card was a meaningless jack, but Ivey also drew a blank, allowing Reslock to win the battle of New Jerseyans.

Other noteworthy finishers: David Oppenheim, 3rd; Ted Lawson, 6th; Marco Traniello, 8th; Cory Zeidman, 14th; Johnny Chan, 18th

Event #12
$1,500 Shorthanded No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,427
Winner: Jason Warner
Payday: $481,698
Runner-up: David Zeitlin
Payday: $269,778

Memorable hand: Down 3-to-1 in chips during heads-up play, Zeitlin was dealt pocket aces and played them too slow, allowing Warner’s 7-6 to catch up on a 6-Q-10-6-4 board. Zeitlin saved a few chips by flat-calling on the river instead of coming over the top, but just the same, this hand essentially wiped out his hopes of a comeback.

Other noteworthy finishers: Joe Awada, 8th; J.C. Tran, 15th; Fred Goldberg, 27th; Erik Seidel, 40th; Jeremy Roenick, 66th

Event #13
$5,000 Pot-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 398
Winner: Allen Cunningham
Payday: $487,287
Runner-up: Jeffrey Lisandro
Payday: $294,620

Memorable hand: It’s just not fair to be as good as reigning ALL IN Player of the Year Cunningham is and be lucky also. After a full 80 hands of heads-up dueling, Cunningham called Lisandro’s all-in push with a modest K-9 and found himself up against pocket queens, but a king on the turn bailed Cunningham out and secured the mild-mannered superstar his fifth career bracelet.

Other noteworthy finishers: Humberto Brenes, 3rd; Jason Lester, 4th; Gavin Griffin, 7th; Joe Sebok, 11th; Chris Ferguson, 13th; Scott Fischman, 16th

Running Numbers:
3 Consecutive years in which Cunningham was won a bracelet
6 Other players who’ve won bracelets in three consecutive years
2 Players who reached the five-bracelet plateau at a younger age than Cunningham

Event #14
$1,500 Seven-Card Stud
Number of entries: 385
Winner: Michael Keiner
Payday: $146,987
Runner-up: Nesbitt Coburn
Payday: $80,876

Memorable hand: Capping off a marathon 17-hour final day—which had tournament officials considering extending it to a third day until the remaining competitors insisted on playing it out—Keiner finally crippled Coburn by making Broadway to beat a modest pair of sixes, and just a few minutes later, at about 8:00 a.m.,it was over.

Other noteworthy finishers: Barry Greenstein, 4th; Greg Raymer, 6th; Ted Forrest, 14th; Paul Darden, 27th; Bill Chen, 36th

Event #15
$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 2,628
Winner: Phil Hellmuth
Payday: $637,254
Runner-up: Andy Philachack
Payday: $394,594

Memorable hand: What could be more memorable than the hand that made history? A short-stacked Philachack picked up A-10 suited and pushed, Hellmuth looked down at A-3 and made the almost-automatic call, and the poker gods had his back, laying down a flop of 9-3-4. The turn was a queen, the river a jack, and Hellmuth was king.

Other noteworthy finishers: Scott Clements, 5th; Fabrice Soulier, 7th; Ut Nguyen, 8th; Joe Bartholdi, 42nd; James Van Alstyne, 123rd;

Running Numbers:
11 If you don’t know what that number means, then we can’t help you
59 Career WSOP cashes for Hellmuth after this event, tops on the all-time list
21, 3 Age in years and days of 224th-place finisher Alan Keating, which, according to WSOP records, makes him the youngest player ever to cash

Event #16
$2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
Number of entries: 382
Winner: James Richburg
Payday: $239,503
Runner-up: Walter Browne
Payday: $131,790

Memorable hand: Razz was the game when the title was determined, and the hand that took Richburg from a modest 3-to-2 chip lead to a dominating 7-to-1 lead came when he won a huge pot with 7-6-4-3-A with three of those cards hidden, coercing Browne into making a crying call.

Other noteworthy finishers: Chris Bjorin, 3rd; Tom Schneider, 4th; Robert Mizrachi, 6th; Darrell Dicken, 10th; Blair Rodman, 21st; David Williams, 31st

Event #17
$1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,286
Winner: Sally Ann Boyer
Payday: $262,077
Runner-up: Anne Heft
Payday: $166,177

Memorable hand: Heads-up play between Boyer and Heft was an absolute all-in-fest, but the real thriller was the hand that saw Boyer eliminate Randi Calabro in third place. Boyer moved in from the small with pocket sixes and Calabro insta-called with A-Q suited, a perfectly reasonable call that became instantly regrettable when Boyer made quad sixes on the flop. Calabro cashed to the tune of $106,177 for third place, providing decent consolation for the fact that she was fired from her job for not showing up to work that day.

Other noteworthy finishers: Katja Thater, 5th; Vanessa Selbst, 8th; Mary Jones, 16th; Susie Isaacs, 35th

Running Numbers:
0 Larger ladies-only live poker tournaments in history
1 Previous cashes greater than Boyer’s by a woman in WSOP history (Tiffany Williamson in 2005 Main Event)

Event #18
$5,000 Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 257
Winner: Saro Getzoyan
Payday: $333,379
Runner-up: Geoff Sanford
Payday: $200,511

Memorable hand: Getzoyan turned a slight lead into a massive chip advantage early in heads-up play when he and Sanford capped the betting before the flop with a pair of quality starting hands—Sanford holding A-Q, Getzoyan pocket tens. The flop came J-J-7, Sanford bet, and Getzoyan called. The turn was a four, and again, Sanford bet and got called down. They both checked the deuce on the river, and the eventual winner dealt his eventual runner-up a serious blow.

Other noteworthy finishers: Thor Hansen, 4th; Ayaz Mahmood, 12th; Max Pescatori, 15th; Liz Lieu, 19th; Eric Froehlich, 20th

Event #19
$2,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,013
Winner: Francois Safieddine
Payday: $521,785
Runner-up: John Phan
Payday: $330,846

Memorable hand: “The Razor” keeps taking the wrong end of the blade at these WSOP final tables. Now a two-time World Series runner-up, the final hand saw Phan dealt the cards you dream of—pocket aces—only to have to endure a nightmare river. Safieddine moved all in with pocket fours and Phan, of course, called. The J-8-2 flop changed nothing, and same with the five on the turn. But Safieddine hit his two-outer on the river, and it was all over.

Other noteworthy finishers: Devin Porter, 4th; Humberto Brenes, 7th; Mike Matusow, 11th; Greg Mueller, 21st; Dan Harmetz, 40th

Event #20
$2,000 Seven-Card Stud High-Low Eight-Or-Better
Number of entries: 340
Winner: Ryan Hughes
Payday: $176,358
Runner-up: Min Lee
Payday: $97,461

Memorable hand: This one wasn’t about one hand; it was about a series of hands at the final table that saw 2004 world champion Greg Raymer completely collapse in a span of about a half-hour. With four players remaining, Raymer was the “super stack,” meaning he had more chips than his three opponents combined. But he could hardly win another hand, losing multiple pots to each of the other three men at the table until Hughes surprisingly sent “Fossilman” packing in fourth place.

Other noteworthy finishers: Ted Forrest, 10th; Dan Heimiller, 16th; Mike Wattel, 20th; John Juanda, 21st; Jeff Madsen, 25th

Event #21
$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em Shootout
Number of entries: 900
Winner: Donald Baruch
Payday: $264,107
Runner-up: Jared Davis
Payday: $149,263

Memorable hand: With three players left, all about even in chips, Baruch made an aggressive all-in move on Daniel Negreanu that maybe, just maybe, spelled the difference between his winning this bracelet and allowing “Kid Poker” to pick up his fourth WSOP win. With a flop of 10d-7s-5s, Baruch checked his 10s-2s (top pair and flush draw), Negreanu bet out with Qs-10h (top pair, better kicker), and Baruch raised all in. Negreanu went into the tank and eventually folded. Had he called, or had Baruch just flat-called, who knows how the tournament might have turned out.

Other noteworthy finishers: Erick Lindgren, 8th; Fred Goldberg, 9th; Erik Seidel, 10th; Barry Greenstein, 10th; Vince Van Patten, 10th

Running Numbers:
0 Previous major tournament cashes by Baruch
50 Percent increase in participants over the same tournament last year

Event #22
$5,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 640
Winner: James Mackey
Payday: $730,740
Runner-up: Stuart Fox
Payday: $448,892

Memorable hand: Mackey, the third-youngest bracelet winner in history at 21 years and four months, finished off the fastest final table of the ’07 WSOP (just two hours, 35 minutes) when he pulled a move he must have learned from Doyle Brunson, pushing all in with 10-2 offsuit. The short-stacked Fox called with K-4, but tens on the turn and river gave Mackey trips and nearly three-quarters of a million bucks.

Other noteworthy finishers: Michael Binger, 3rd; Nick Schulman, 6th; Tex Barch, 8th; Phil Laak, 11th; T.J. Cloutier, 23rd

Event #23
$1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
Number of entries: 576
Winner: Scott Clements
Payday: $194,206
Runner-up: Eric Lynch
Payday: $119,508

Memorable hand: Considering Clements came into heads-up action with $1,635,000 in chips and online star “Rizen” Lynch had a mere $100,000, it’s no surprise that it was all over after one hand. Clements held K-9-9-8, Lynch Q-7-2-2, and Rizen took the lead on the Q-4-3 flop. But the turn was another three and the river a nine, making Clements a full boat to clinch his second WSOP Omaha title in as many years.

Other noteworthy finishers: Will Durkee, 4th; Andrew Black, 7th; Hilbert Shirey, 11th; Johnny Chan, 20th; Burt Boutin, 22nd

Event #24
$3,000 Seven-Card Stud High-Low Eight-Or-Better
Number of entries: 236
Winner: Eli Elezra
Payday: $198,984
Runner-up: Scotty Nguyen
Payday: $110,731

Memorable hand: Elezra and Nguyen could both barely see straight by the end of their booze-blasted, fan-friendly, 64-hand-long heads-up showdown, and one overplayed hand by Nguyen toward the end makes you wonder whether the cocktail waitress was the real enemy for “The Prince.” There were bets and calls on every street and Nguyen could only show a pair of queens at the end, not nearly good enough to beat Elezra’s aces and kings.

Other noteworthy finishers: Dutch Boyd, 3rd; David Sklansky, 5th; Thor Hansen, 6th; “Miami” John Cernuto, 10th; Marcel Luske, 13th

Running Numbers:
250,000 Dollars won by Elezra for a side bet on whether he’d win a bracelet in ’07
10 Previous bracelets won by the eight players at the final table

Event #25
$2,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,619
Winner: Ben Ponzio
Payday: $599,109
Runner-up: David Hewitt
Payday: $373,985

Memorable hand: The final three players were all virtually dead even in chips when Justin Rollo got impatient and moved all in with A-3 suited at the wrong time, running into Ponzio’s pocket queens. The board provided no help, Rollo was eliminated on the very next hand, and the doubled-up Ponzio had all the ammo he needed to win the bracelet some 35 hands later.

Other noteworthy finishers: Ken Einiger, 8th; Jason Stern, 57th; Amnon Filippi, 77th; Liz Lieu, 89th; Shannon Elizabeth, 150th

Event #26
$5,000 H.O.R.S.E.
Number of entries: 192
Winner: Ralph Schwartz
Payday: $275,683
Runner-up: Bill Gazes
Payday: $153,408

Memorable hand: The tournament ended during a round of Omaha High-Low, with Schwartz taking a raggedy starting hand and scooping the pot. His 2-3-5-8 made both a straight and strong low hand on the Q-6-3-4-2 board, besting Gazes’ K-K-7-6 on both fronts. Making the hand extra memorable, as it played out, Gazes challenged Schwartz to a heads-up cash game, and Schwartz turned him down, saying, “Nah, after this, I think I’m gonna go party.”

Other noteworthy finishers: Phil Ivey, 4th; Robert Mizrachi, 5th; Alex Kravchenko, 9th; Gavin Smith, 21st; Doyle Brunson, 22nd

Event #27
$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 2,315
Winner: David Stucke
Payday: $603,069
Runner-up: Young Cho
Payday: $382,357

Memorable hand: Loose plus loose equals excitement, and an overly aggressive push by David Weinger three-handed was met by a debatable call from Stucke, creating the key hand of the tournament. On a board of 9d-9s-4s, Weinger put out a feeler bet with Kh-10d, Stucke made an enormous raise with Qs-5s, and Weinger tried the ol’ all-in move with nothing. Stucke made the call on the draw and found that he was actually a 53 percent favorite to win with 15 outs, and he hit the 6s on the turn to eliminate Weinger.

Other noteworthy finishers: Sabyl Cohen, 11th; Bruce Van Horn, 35th; David Williams, 50th; Nam Le, 101st; Lee Watkinson, 107th

Event #28
$3,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 827
Winner: Shankar Pillai
Payday: $527,829
Runner-up: Beth Shak
Payday: $328,683

Memorable hand: You don’t see this every day. Or every year. Or every century. With eight players remaining at the final table, Brett Richey made a standard raise in early position, Shak made an enormous all-in re-raise from the cutoff, and Phil Hellmuth excitedly called off the rest of his chips. After some deliberation, Richey made the call too, only to learn that his pocket kings were third best. That’s right, he had K-K, and both Hellmuth and Shak had A-A (something Richey should have been able to deduce from both players’ rather blatantly ecstatic behavior). The 10-7-3-8-4 board provided no help to Richey, and he was eliminated, while Shak and Hellmuth each increased their stacks.

Other noteworthy finishers: Perry Friedman, 7th; Edward Moncada, 13th; Norm McDonald, 20th; Evelyn Ng, 25th; Steve Dannenmann, 35th

Running Numbers:
0 Previous WSOP events entered by Pillai
10 Players at the final table when the last day’s play began, instead of the usual nine, because organizers wanted to make sure Hellmuth was there for the start of the TV table
39 WSOP final tables for Hellmuth after this event, tying him with T.J. Cloutier for the most all-time

Event #29

$1,500 Razz
Number of entries: 341
Winner: Katja Thater
Payday: $132,653
Runner-up: Larry St. Jean
Payday: $73,311

Memorable hand: Being able to turn over 2-4-5-7-8 in Razz is usually a good thing. But not when your opponent holds 2-3-4-5-8. When St. Jean called off the last of chips on Seventh Street, he almost certainly thought a double-up was coming his way, but Thater held the superior hand and secured the victory for herself and for all poker-playing women.

Other noteworthy finishers: O’Neil Longson, 3rd; Eskimo Clark, 4th; Mark Vos, 6th; Men Nguyen, 7th; Jennifer Harman, 22nd

Running Numbers:
3 Years since the last woman (Annie Duke) won a bracelet in an open event
10 Years since the last woman (Linda Johnson) won the WSOP Razz championship

Event #30
$2,500 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 847
Winner: Hoyt Corkins
Payday: $515,065
Runner-up: Terrance Chan
Payday: $287,345

Memorable hand: Corkins, who was the chip leader since the end of Day One, was probably the most skilled player at the final table—but “The Alabama Cowboy” is not above relying on a little luck to put him over the top. With four players left, Alan Sass raised with Big Slick and Corkins re-raised all in from the big with A-10, leaving himself highly vulnerable to a loss that would dramatically alter the leader board. The 7-8-9 flop increased Corkins’ outs, the ace on the turn changed nothing … and then a ten on the river provided the suckout, sucking Sass right out of the tournament in fourth place.

Other noteworthy finishers: Steve Billirakis, 16th; Mimi Tran, 17th; Erick Lindgren, 20th; Vinny Vinh, 22nd; Erik Seidel, 40th

Event #31
$5,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 392
Winner: Daniel Schreiber
Payday: $425,594
Runner-up: Mark Muchnik
Payday: $230,300

Memorable hand: Early in the first game of the best-of-three finals, Schreiber incredibly won 16 hands in a row, and it was the second of those 16 hands that was the key. On a J-10-10 flop, Schreiber bet and Muchnik called. Schreiber, holding A-Q, wasn’t thrilled about that call—until a king on the turn made him Broadway. Schreiber collected big bets on both the turn and river to take down a huge pot.

Other noteworthy finishers: Vanessa Selbst, 3rd; Shannon Shorr, 5th; Toto Leonidas, 5th; Paul Wasicka, 9th; Scotty Nguyen, 17th

Running Numbers:
12 Consecutive major heads-up wins for Wasicka, combining this event with the NBC Heads-Up Championship in March
8 Days shy of his 22nd birthday when Schreiber won, making him the fifth-youngest bracelet winner ever

Event #32
$2,000 Seven-Card Stud
Number of entries: 213
Winner: Jeffrey Lisandro
Payday: $118,426
Runner-up: Nick Frangos
Payday: $65,902

Memorable hand: The heads-up match between top pros Lisandro and Frangos was just about to get interesting, with the short-stacked Frangos mounting a comeback by doubling up on the previous hand, when Lisandro had the good fortune of being dealt rolled-up aces, plus another ace on fifth street, to easily outdistance Frangos’ face-up pair of jacks and secure his first bracelet.

Other noteworthy finishers: Daniel Negreanu, 5th; Howard Lederer, 9th; Mel Judah, 10th; Cory Zeidman, 14th; Marcel Luske, 22nd

Event #33
$1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Re-Buys
Number of entries: 293
Winner: Alan Smurfit
Payday: $464,867
Runner-up: Qushqar Morad
Payday: $279,595

Memorable hand: In the best heads-up battle of this year’s WSOP, there were quite a few noteworthy hands, but none could top the one that ended the event. On a flop of J-8-6, Smurfit and Morad got it all in, and Smurfit showed Q-J-8-2 for two pair, while Morad flipped up 10-9-9-6 for a pair of nines and an open-ender. The turn was a six, putting Morad in the lead with trip sixes, but Smurfit came back on the river and hit his four-outer, landing an eight to make a full house.

Other noteworthy finishers: Chau Giang, 5th; Brandon Adams, 6th; Erick Lindgren, 10th; Michael Binger, 15th; Allen Cunningham, 18th

Running Numbers:
880 Total number of re-buys
9th Chip position in which Smurfit entered the final table
167 Hands in the heads-up battle between Smurfit and Murad

Event #34
$3,000 Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 296
Winner: Alexander Borteh
Payday: $225,483
Runner-up: Brandon Wong
Payday: $135,615

Memorable hand: Ah, suited connectors. They’re wonderful when they hit—especially when your opponent completely misplays his big overcards. Wong raised with A-Q on the button and Borteh called with 5d-6d. The 6-4-2 flop was perfect for Borteh, but he checked it, and so did Wong. Borteh bet when a seven hit on the turn, and Wong called. The river was a five, giving Borteh two pair, and he set out a bet—and incredibly, with a four-card straight on the board, Wong called with ace-high. That pot crippled Wong, and one hand later, it was over.

Other noteworthy finishers: David Pham, 4th; Chad Brown, 11th; Max Pescatori, 14th; J.J. Liu, 15th; Phil Hellmuth, 25th

Event #35
$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 2,541
Winner: Ryan Young
Payday: $615,955
Runner-up: Dustin Dirksen
Payday: $381,381

Memorable hand: You have to love a flop like Q-7-6 rainbow if you’re holding pocket kings, which is precisely why Raj Jain called off all of his chips in the face of an all-in raise from Young. But as it turned out, Young was holding 7-6, good for two pair, and another six on the river made him a full house that eliminated Jain in seventh place.

Other noteworthy finishers: Nam Le, 3rd; Aaron Kanter, 18th; Phil Gordon, 28th; J.C Alvarado, 37th; John Juanda, 61st

Event #36
$5,000 Omaha High-Low
Number of entries: 280
Winner: John Guth
Payday: $363,216
Runner-up: Robert Stevanovski
Payday: $218,456

Memorable hand: Probably more memorable than any single hand was Guth celebrating a big pot in heads-up play by reaching out and touching the WSOP bracelet that was sitting on a stand atop the mountain of cash. He knocked the bracelet off its stand and couldn’t get it to stay back on, leading some to wonder if he’d committed an unforgivable karmic error. Apparently, the poker gods were in a forgiving mood, because Guth made the bracelet his own a few minutes later, winning the final showdown with a full house.

Other noteworthy finishers: Randy Jensen, 6th; Annie Duke, 13th; Todd Brunson, 14th; Mike Matusow, 15th; Chris Reslock, 26th

Event #37
$2,000 Pot-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 599
Winner: Greg Hopkins
Payday: $269,274
Runner-up: Jason Newburger
Payday: $165,707

Memorable hand: After 597 players were gone and three days of poker had been played, it all came down to one coin flip for a bracelet. With the chip stacks so close they needed a careful count after the hand to determine if it was over, it was Newburger’s Ks-Qs vs. Hopkins’ pocket jacks, and the 9-10-2-10-4 board meant Hopkins’ pair held up and he was the champion.

Other noteworthy finishers: T.J. Cloutier, 11th; Kevin O’Donnell, 14th; Daniel Alaei, 20th; Devin Porter, 23rd; David Colclough, 49th

Event #38
$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 2,778
Winner: Robert Cheung
Payday: $673,628
Runner-up: Richard Murnick
Payday: $417,117

Memorable hand: The heads-up match that lasted one hand? Not so memorable. The elimination when play was four-handed that gave Cheung a dominant chip lead? Considerably more memorable. After some raising and re-raising, Cheung re-raised all in with pocket kings, and John Kranyak made the immediate call with queens, sending Cheung into an explosive celebration. Five small cards hit the board, and suddenly Cheung had about 70 percent of the chips.

Other noteworthy finishers: Erica Schoenberg, 3rd; Chris Bjorin, 6th; Burt Boutin, 21st; Marcel Luske, 31st; Men Nguyen, 41st;

Event #39
$50,000 H.O.R.S.E.
Number of entries: 148
Winner: Freddy Deeb
Payday: $2,276,832
Runner-up: Bruno Fitoussi
Payday: $1,278,720

Memorable hand: The game was Stud Eight-Or-Better, the only players remaining were Deeb and Fitoussi, and with 5-7-6-J showing, Deeb bet out on Seventh Street with Fitoussi showing 6-2-2-9. Though Fitoussi made a good fold—all he had was the deuces, whereas Deeb had two pair—his calls on Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Streets doomed him, and he was left crippled and just one hand away from settling for second place.

Other noteworthy finishers: Barry Greenstein, 7th; Gabe Kaplan, 9th; Dewey Tomko, 10th; Greg Raymer, 14th; Mike Matusow, 16th

Running Numbers:
2 Consecutive years in which David Singer finished sixth in this event
14.5 Hours the final table lasted
3 Longer previous final tables in WSOP history

Event #40
$1,500 Mixed Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 620
Winner: Fred Goldberg
Payday: $204,935
Runner-up: Rene Mouritsen
Payday: $125,895

Memorable hand: Doesn’t it feel great when you flop a flush? Not when you’re drawing almost dead. On the final hand, the flop came J-8-4, all hearts, and Goldberg (whom you probably remember as the 10th-place finisher in the ’06 Main Event, the guy who physically resembled Chris Moneymaker) had a beautiful 10h-7h, while Mouritsen had an unfortunate 5h-2h. All the money went in, and Mouritsen needed running straight-flush cards to stay alive. His 0.2 percent chance of winning dropped to 0.0 after the 5d hit on the turn, and Goldberg had his gold.

Other noteworthy finishers: Michael Craig, 7th; J.C. Tran, 14th; Phil Gordon, 15th; Jeffrey Lisandro, 18th; Paul Darden, 29th

Event #41
$1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 1,882
Winner: Ernest Bennett
Payday: $348,423
Runner-up: Tony Korfman
Payday: $217,503

Memorable hand: In this case, it’s a memorable lack of a hand, as Bennett and Korfman chose to forego heads-up play, reach a financial settlement, and declare the 55-year-old Bennett the champion because Korfman said he didn’t particularly care about the title. The proliferation of bracelets has cheapened them a little bit, but not nearly as much as this nonsense. The history books will show that Bennett is a WSOP bracelet holder. But he may never know what it feels like to really win one.

Other noteworthy finishers: Vince Burgio, 26th; Brad Daugherty, 29th; Tom McEvoy, 34th; Howard Andrew, 50th; Amarillo Slim Preston, 96th

Event #42
$1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low
Number of entries: 687
Winner: Lukasz Dumanski
Payday: $227,454
Runner-up: David Bach
Payday: $139,725

Memorable hand: In the WSOP’s first-ever Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low tournament, Dumanski held a little more than a 2-to-1 chip lead heads-up when he was dealt a more-than-adequate Ac-Ad-3s-Qc, pushed all in, and got a call from Bach, who held a pair of jacks and a couple of rags. Anything can happen pre-flop in Omaha, but Dumanski was a fairly comfortable 75 percent fave, and the Q-8-4-3-7 gave him the high, the low, and the bracelet.

Other noteworthy finishers: Chad Brown, 5th; Mike Sexton, 17th; Bill Chen, 28th; Tony G., 29th; Jeff Madsen, 58th

Event #43
$2,000 Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 472
Winner: Saif Ahmad
Payday: $217,329
Runner-up: William Jensen
Payday: $133,151

Memorable hand: Ahmad began heads-up play trailing slightly ($1,005,000 to $875,000), but every card fell his way, and never more blatantly than on the final hand. On a flop of K-J-2, a short-stacked Jensen pushed all in with K-J, and Ahmad made the dubious call with Q-4, only to catch a ten and an ace for runner-runner Broadway to win.

Other noteworthy finishers: David Plastik, 11th; Joe Sebok, 14th; Rehne Pedersen, 24th; Lonnie Heimowitz, 26th; Charlie Knox, 39th

Event #44

$2,000 Limit Omaha High-Low Eight-Or-Better
Number of entries: 534
Winner: Frankie O’Dell
Payday: $240,057
Runner-up: Thang Luu
Payday: $147,726

Memorable hand: This final table barely lasted three hours, and it’s easy to understand why, with O’Dell making aggressive plays like getting his opponent all in pre-flop while holding 5d-8s-9d-10c. That happened against Martin Corpuz Jr. when play was three-handed, and Corpuz gladly called with Qh-Qc-3h-Ad. The flop looked great for Corpuz, coming A-Q-8 rainbow. But the jack on the turn made O’Dell a queen-high straight, and he was on his way to heads-up play with a huge chip lead.

Other noteworthy finishers: Marcel Luske, 4th; John Juanda, 10th; Tony Cousineau, 14th; Blair Rodman, 24th; Kathy Liebert, 37th

Event #45
$5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 728
Winner: Bill Edler
Payday: $904,672
Runner-up: Alex Bolotin
Payday: $504,686

Memorable hand: Nobody ever asks the dealer to slide them a 4-2, but Edler was nevertheless glad that’s what he got on what turned out to be the pivotal hand of heads-up play. He bet out on the 7-4-2 flop and got a call from Bolotin, disguised the strength of his hand by checking when he filled up with a duck on the turn, and bet about half the pot when a five hit on the river. Bolotin called, giving Edler a monster chip lead.

Other noteworthy finishers: Erik Friberg, 3rd; Dutch Boyd, 5th; Tony G., 10th; Phil Hellmuth, 31st; Jamie Gold, 44th; Toby Maguire, 66th

Event #46
$1,000 Seven-Card Stud High-Low Eight-Or-Better
Number of entries: 668
Winner: Tom Schneider
Payday: $147,713
Runner-up: Hoyt Verner
Payday: $82,064

Memorable hand: Let’s go with the history-making hand that secured the WSOP Player of the Year award for Schneider: He got it all in on Sixth Street with kings and deuces, while Verner had a pair of sevens and four cards to an eight-low. Verner bricked out on the river, making Schneider this year’s only multiple bracelet winner.

Other noteworthy finishers: Scotty Nguyen, 4th; Tony Ma, 6th; Dan Heimiller, 29th; Chad Brown, 33rd; Jeff Lisandro, 62nd

Running Numbers:
6 Consecutive years in which somebody has won at least two bracelets
2 Consecutive years in which Verner made the final table in this event

Event #47
$2,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 2,038
Winner: Blair Rodman
Payday: $707,898
Runner-up: Amato Galasso
Payday: $448,808

Memorable hand: In a sense, the hand most critical to this event occurred in another event entirely: Event #44, the Omaha High-Low event in which Rodman made it late into the second day. Rodman got busted in 24th place, and had he held on much longer, he would have been left too exhausted to enter this event the next day. So really, that bust hand in Omaha paved the way for the respected veteran to claim his first career bracelet. (And the final hand, where his A-J came from behind to beat Galasso’s A-K, didn’t hurt either.)
Other noteworthy finishers: Anna Wroblewski, 4th; Roland de Wolfe, 6th; Joe Pelton, 7th; T.J. Cloutier, 17th; Jennifer Tilly, 30th

Event #48
$1,000 Deuce-To-Seven Triple Draw Lowball w/ Re-buys
Number of entries: 209
Winner: Rafi Amit
Payday: $227,005
Runner-up: Lenny Martin
Payday: $128,120

Memorable hand: It’s practically the equivalent of flopping a straight-flush on the final hand of the Main Event: Amit was dealt a beautiful 7-6-4-3-2, and Martin played into his hands every step of the way. After the deal, Martin raised, Amit re-raised, and Martin called. Then Martin took three cards, Amit stood pat, Amit bet, and Martin called. Martin then took two cards, Amit obviously took none, Amit bet, Martin went all in, and Amit called. They both stood pat, and Martin quickly learned his 8-7-high was no good, ending an outstanding, hard-fought heads-up battle.

Other noteworthy finishers: Andy Bloch, 7th; Chris Ferguson, 14th; Steve Zolotow, 15th; Ralph Perry, 19th; Chau Giang, 22nd

Running Numbers:
546 Total number of re-buys
2 Israelis who won bracelets at the 2007 WSOP (Amit and Eli Elezra)

Event #49

$1,500 No-Limit Hold ’Em
Number of entries: 3,151
Winner: Ghandrasekhar Billavara
Payday: $722,914
Runner-up: Taylor Douglas
Payday: $467,101
Memorable hand: Often, the last hand of the final table is the most memorable; in this case, it was the very first hand of the final table. Billarava arrived with the shortest stack and needed to make something happen quickly, and getting dealt two black aces did the trick. Greg Mueller called his min-raise with a suited K-10, and though “FBT” didn’t give Billavara another chip, folding after an ace came on the flop, that moderate-sized pot gave Billavara the breathing room he badly needed to make a serious run.

Other noteworthy finishers: Greg Mueller, 8th; Michael Mizrachi, 56th; Bradley Berman, 58th; Shannon Shorr, 73rd; Michael Gracz, 110th

Running Numbers:
2 Number of previous live poker tournaments in history with more entrants (the 2005 and 2006 WSOP Main Events)
3 Hands Billavara lasted in his only previous WSOP tournament

Event #50
$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Number of entries: 314
Winner: Robert Mizrachi
Payday: $768,889
Runner-up: Rene Mouritsen
Payday: $464,877

Memorable hand: With play three-handed, Patrik Antonius, the man many of wish we were, flopped the hand all us wish we had. The Ks-Js-10s flop was perfection for the Fin, whose four hole cards just happened to include the As and the Qs. He and Mizrachi both checked the flop, and when another jack hit on the turn, Antonius bet. Mizrachi, with two tens in his hand, called with a full house. The river was a blank, Antonius moved all in, and Mizrachi called, garnering Antonius maximum value from his flopped royal flush.

Other noteworthy finishers: Patrik Antonius, 3rd; Marco Traniello, 5th; Doyle Brunson, 6th; Scotty Nguyen, 15th; Annie Duke, 17th

Event #51
$1,000 Limit S.H.O.E.
Number of entries: 730
Winner: Dao Bac
Payday: $157,975
Runner-up: Adam Geyer
Payday: $86,691

Memorable hand: The game was Limit Hold ’Em, Bac and Geyer were playing heads-up, and Bac made a reluctant, priced-in call that turned out to be a bracelet clincher. Holding a 7-4 on a 5-7-10-3 board, Bac tried a check-raise, and when Geyer re-raised him and put in the last of his chips, Bac figured he was beat and called only because of the overwhelming pot odds. Indeed, Geyer had A-7, and Bac was drawing slim, but a four hit on the river, giving Bac a winning two pair and the title.

Other noteworthy finishers: Chip Jett, 3rd; Michael Craig, 7th; Patrick Poels, 8th; John Myung, 18th; Erik Seidel, 66th

Event #52
$1,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em w/ Re-buys
Number of entries: 1,048
Winner: Michael Graves
Payday: $742,121
Runner-up: Theo Tran
Payday: $387,193

Memorable hand: Any pro will tell you this game is about trying to put your opponent to as many tough decisions as you can, and when play was three-handed, Graves got Tran to make a tough, incorrect decision that gave the eventual winner the chip lead. On a 9-8-A-J-K board, Graves made a big bet with J-9, and Tran, holding 9-6, took several minutes before deciding that he didn’t think his opponent had a real hand. Big mistake, big pot for Graves.

Other noteworthy finishers: Isaac Haxton, 7th; Arnold Spee, 8th; David Williams, 15th; Sam Simon, 16th; Phil Hellmuth, 95th; Joe Hachem, 98th

Running Numbers:
2,336 Total number of re-buys
63 Career WSOP cashes for Hellmuth after this event, the all-time record

Event #53
$1,500 Limit Hold ’Em Shootout
Number of entries: 720
Winner: Ram Vaswani
Payday: $217,438
Runner-up: Andy Ward
Payday: $124,816

Memorable hand: Vaswani put on a heads-up clinic, beginning the match at about a 7-to-5 disadvantage and gradually grinding his way to victory. The “memorable hand” is actually a tie, as he won two major pots early with a lousy 6-3, first making trip threes, and then rivering a straight. Those two big wins gave Vaswani a chip lead he wouldn’t surrender.

Other noteworthy finishers: Victor Ramdin, 9th; Noah Boeken, 20th; Isabelle Mercier, 24th; Bill Chen, 32nd; Michael Mizrachi, 63rd

Event #54
$5,000 No-Limit Deuce-To-Seven Draw Lowball w/ Re-buys
Number of entries: 78
Winner: Erik Seidel
Payday: $538,835
Runner-up: Chad Brown
Payday: $324,777

Memorable hand: It’s hard to top the hand that secured Seidel his eighth bracelet, moving him into a tie with the late, great Johnny Moss. Seidel drew two cards, Brown took one, Seidel bet, Brown moved all in, and Seidel called. Brown’s 9-7-5-3-2 wasn’t bad, but it was second best to Seidel’s 8-7-6-5-3.

Other noteworthy finishers: Shawn Sheikhan, 3rd; Andy Black, 5th; Freddy Deeb, 6th; Todd Brunson, 7th

Running Numbers:
226 Total number of re-buys
3 Poker players with more bracelets than Seidel

Event #55
$10,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em Championship
Number of entries: 6,358
Winner: Jerry Yang
Payday: $8,250,000
Runner-up: Tuan Lam
Payday: $4,840,981

Memorable hand: How can you beat a dramatic river card to end the WSOP Main Event? It started as a classic race in which all the money went in pre-flop, the short-stacked Lam with A-Q suited, and the aggressive Yang with 8-8. Lam vaulted into the lead on the Q-9-5 flop, but the seven on the turn gave Yang a few extra outs. He needed a six or an eight, and down came the six, completing his runner-runner straight and providing a spectacular ending to the 2007 World Series.

Other noteworthy finishers: Alex Kravchenko, 4th; Lee Watkinson, 8th; Scotty Nguyen, 11th; Gus Hansen, 61st; Huck Seed, 73rd

Running Numbers:
1 Number of previous live poker tournaments in history with more entrants (the 2006 Main Event)
2 Years Yang has been playing poker
5 Hands won by Yang, out of a possible nine, in the final table’s first orbit
8th Yang’s chip position coming into the final table
1st Chip position coming into the final table of ninth-place finisher Philip Hilm
8 Total 2007 WSOP cashes for fourth-place finisher Kravchenko, tied for the most this year (with Michael Binger and Scott Clements)