2008 WSOP FINAL RESULTS for Events 9 and 10

2008 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

Official Report
Event # 9
Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $ 1,500
Number of Entries: 1,236
Number of Re-Buys: NA
Total Net Prize Pool: $ 1,687,140
June 5-7, 2008

Final Results:

1 Rep Porter $372,843 Woodinville Washington
2 Nathan Templeton $231,982 Chattanooga Tennessee
3 Devin Porter $151,843 Provo Utah
4 John Conkright $101,228 Lexington Kentucky
5 Anatoly Shilyuk $70,860 London Ontario, Canada
6 Michiel Brummelhuis $53,314 Amsterdam Netherlands
7 David Zand $36,442 Weston Florida
8 Kevin MacPhee $36,442 Coeur D Alene Idaho
9 Andrew Fegan $28,007 Shiremanstown Pennsylvania
10 Jared Okun $28,007 Las Vegas Nevada
11 Jan Von halle $19,571 Hamburg Germany
12 Thomas Fuller $19,571 Boulder Colorado
13 Richard Tatalovich $13,666 Scottsdale Arizona
14 Peter Marr $13,666 Sutton England
15 Michael Stotz $13,666 Las Vegas Nevada
16 Jason Dewitt $13,666 Granger Indiana
17 Frank Blumlein $13,666 Frankfort Germany
18 Thomas Braband $13,666 Oshkosh Wisconsin
19 Allan Silberstang $11,135 Las Vegas Nevada
20 Eric Kesselman $11,135 New York New York
21 Michael Marquez $11,135 El Paso Texas
22 Stephanie Klempner $11,135 New York New York
23 Zachary Clark $11,135 Las Vegas Nevada
24 Thomas Patzner $11,135 Antioch Tennessee
25 Jesse Starke $8,604 Loveland Colorado
26 Richard Lee $8,604 San Antonio Texas
27 Christian Closson $8,604 Vancouver Washington
28 Ryan Milisits $8,604 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
29 James Bord $8,604 Stanmore England
30 Paul Kobel $8,604 Oakland California
31 Victor Saedon $6,917 Calabasas California
32 Andrew Scott $6,917 Central
33 Dominic Sinagra $6,917 Perth Australia
34 Christian Iacobellis $6,917 Rye New York
35 Antuan Bunkley $6,917 Riviera Beach Florida
36 Ben Fineman $6,917 Las Vegas Nevada
37 Paul Niemela $5,905 Las Vegas Nevada
38 Tomislav Dobrilovic $5,905 West Neck New York
39 Barry Woods $5,905 Malibu California
40 Donald Robinowitz $5,905 Houston Texas
41 Wesley Pantling $5,905 Perkinsfield Ontario, Canada
42 Jon Danielsson $5,905
43 Matthew Matros $4,893 Brooklyn New York
44 Curtis Householder $4,893 Wheaton Illinois
45 Ryan Young $4,893
46 John Burg $4,893 Brook Park Ohio
47 William Burdick $4,893 St. Petersburg Florida
48 Shijia Liu $4,893 Las Vegas Nevada
49 Lu Wang $4,387 Fremont California
50 Brent Bibby $4,387 Cambridge Ontario, Canada
51 Laura Wakeland $4,387 Cedar Glen California
52 Richard Shorten $4,387 New Canaan Connecticut
53 Brandon Lee $4,387 Atlanta Georgia
54 Gavin Kelly $4,387 Letterkenny Ireland
55 Ian Frazer $3,880
56 Steve Rassi $3,880 Morton Illinois
57 Mathieu Jacqmin $3,880 St Maur France
58 Allei Prescott $3,880 Las Vegas Nevada
59 Mark Utterback $3,880 San Antonio Texas
60 William Mikolay $3,880 Waynesboro Virginia
61 Jared Hamby $3,543 Henderson Nevada
62 Cody Slaubaugh $3,543 Rugby North Dakota
63 Carl Olson $3,543 Seattle Washington
64 Shankar Phillai $3,543 Commack New York
65 Ernie Rossi $3,543 Phoenix Arizona
66 Neil Channing $3,543 Maida Vale United Kingdom
67 Zachary King $3,206 Columbia South Carolina
68 Ron Fani $3,206 Los Angeles California
69 Edouard Damidot $3,206 Messigny France
70 Nghia Le $3,206 Shakopee Minnesota
71 Diarmuid Jacob $3,206 Waterford Ireland
72 John Farley $3,206 Maple Wood New Jersey
73 Jeffrey Murray $3,206 Ventura California
74 Joseph Brooks $3,206 Egg Harbor Twn New Jersey
75 Michael Parisi $3,206 Wood Dale Illinois
76 David Huff $3,206 Alameda California
77 Roland Isra $3,206 Forest Hill New York
78 Michael Michnik $3,206 Voorhees New Jersey
79 Brian Lamanna $2,868 Las Vegas Nevada
80 William Obrien $2,868 Philadelphia Pennsylvania
81 Anthony Gargano $2,868 Sterling Heights Michigan
82 Richard Vallandigham $2,868 Burr Ridge Illinois
83 Daniel Radditz $2,868 Portland Oregon
84 James Drane $2,868 Las Vegas Nevada
85 Timothy Bannigan $2,868 Parkland Florida
86 Graham Wheldon $2,868
87 Kenneth Lee $2,868 Oakton Virginia
88 Jonathan Jaffe $2,868 Long Meadow Massachusetts
89 Kenneth Lowe $2,868 Juneau Alaska
90 Andrew Ferguson $2,868 Mount Airy Maryland
91 Clint Schafer $2,531
92 Jonathan Depa $2,531
Joshua Flamm $2,531
94 “Dangerous” Don Mullis $2,531 St Pete Beach Florida
95 Jason Smith $2,531 Chandler Arizona
96 James Routos $2,531 Kent Washington
97 Eric Lynch $2,531 Olathe Kansas
98 David Longmuir $2,531
99 Noah Ament $2,531 Morton Grove Illinois
100 Charles Ford $2,531
101 Pascal Baumgartner $2,531 Konolfingen
102 Osmin Dardon $2,531 West Covina California
103 George Bronstein $2,531 Lutz Florida
104 Elton Beebe $2,531
105 Ryan Henderson $2,531 Highlands Ranch Colorado
106 Kenneth Gacek $2,531 Glastonbury Connecticut
107 Earl Morgan $2,531 Hurricane Utah
108 Chad Layne $2,531 Henderson Nevada
109 Louis Werman $2,278 Agoura California
110 Richard Hendin $2,278 San Antonio Texas
111 Nicholas Finamore $2,278 Seattle Washington
112 David Pecaski $2,278 North Vancouver BC, Canada
113 Caroline Cooper $2,278 Las Vegas Nevada
114 Ted Lawson $2,278 Plantation Florida
115 Todd Jones $2,278 Scottsdale Arizona
116 Christopher Finn $2,278 Phoenix Arizona
117 Kimberly Brown $2,278 Springdale Arkansas
118 Thomas Savitsky $2,278 Randolph New Jersey
119 Bruce Sparks $2,278 N Ft Myers Florida
120 Harry Cheung $2,278 Portola Valley California
121 Shawn Grigus $2,278 Mays Landing New Jersey
122 Jeffrey Marr $2,278 Merritt Island Florida
123 Annand Ramdin $2,278 Bronx New York
124 Mark “Pegasus” Smith $2,278 Georgetown Kentucky
125 John Warchelak $2,278 Palm Beach Gardens Florida
126 Jonathan Pepin $2,278 Montreal Quebec, Canada
Tournament Notes:

· The $1,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship attracted 1,236 players, creating a prize pool totaling $1,687,140. The top 126 places were paid.

· Six-Handed Hold’em emphasizes short-handed poker skills. Rather than a full table of nine players, each table is played six-handed (or less, as players bust out). This generally requires competitors to play cards out of the standard range of starting-hand requirements. It also makes post-flop skill paramount to victory. The game was included on the WSOP schedule as a concerted effort to measure as diverse a range of poker skills as possible.

· The tournament was played over three days. On Day Three, the final table was played out on the ESPN stage, also known as the “feature table.” The secondary final table, located adjacent to the main stage area featured the conclusion of Event #10 in a scheduling overlap. Most days at the WSOP this year will include two final tables.

· Three different nations were represented at the final table, including Canada, Holland, and the United States. Through the first nine events, every final table played thus far has included a multi-national flavor.

· Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em made its WSOP debut in 2005. Three Six-Handed events were included on the 2006 schedule. Last year, there was only one Six-Handed event. Former champions from these events include Isaac “The General” Galazan, Dutch Boyd, Bill Chen, Jeff Madsen, and Jason Warner.

· Last year’s winner was Jason Warner. He entered this tournament but did not cash.

· When the final table began, John Conkright was the chip leader. He possessed about 27 percent of the total chips in play. Michael Brummelhuis was very close behind, in second place. Rep Porter ranked third.

· The winner was Rep Porter. He is a 37-year-old professional poker player from Woodinville, WA – located about 45 miles north of Seattle. He is married to Lisa and they have two children.

· Porter is a graduate of the University of Washington. Prior to turning pro, he worked in finance as an equity options trader. Porter plays regularly in cardrooms throughout Washington State. He also makes frequent visits to Southern California and plays in many major poker tournaments.

· Porter finished as the runner up in the WSOP Circuit championship at Caesars Atlantic City in 2006. He also cashed in last year’s WSOP Main Event, taking 39th place, worth $237,865. For this victory, Porter collected $372,843 for first place. He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet. To date, he now has 10 career WSOP cashes (all within the past four years). This win also puts him across the $1 million mark in winnings for all major poker tournaments.

· He made the following statements in a post-tournament interview:

There were a lot of chips in play. I did not expect it to be a quick day.

When push came to shove, I could have had the K-9 and he could have had the K-Q just as easily. – speaking of the final hand of the tournament when with the blinds high the two finalists got into a pre-flop raising war with Porter holding the dominant hand.

I’m on cloud nine right now. I’ve been trying to win a gold bracelet for three years.

· Nathan Templeton was the runner up. He now has two WSOP cashes, but they were both impressive. This payout amounted to $231,981. His previous fifth place finish in 2006 was for $149,240.

· Through the first ten events of this the 2008 WSOP, professionals have dominated the win column. Thus far, nine bona fide poker pros have won gold bracelets, versus just one amateur.

· One might have expected this to be a short final table, given the six-handed composition of the finale. However, Day Three clocked in at slightly over nine hours. The final table began at 2 pm and ended at 11:15 pm.

· Notable in-the money finishers in this tournament included Richard Lee (26th) and Matt Matros (43rd). Lee made it to the final table of the 2006 Main Event, finishing sixth. Matros has achieved several major cashes in the last ten years. He wrote a book called “The Making of a Poker Player,” which chronicles his transition from rank amateur to potential champion.

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2008 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

Official Report
Event # 10
Half-Omaha High-Low Split / Half-Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split
Buy-In: $2,500
Number of Entries: 388
Number of Re-Buys: NA
Total Net Prize Pool: $ $892,400
June 4-6, 2008

Final Results:

1 Farzad Rouhani $232,911 Germantown Maryland

2    Tom Chambers    $142,784     Chicago    Illinois
3    John Cernuto    $86,117     Las Vegas    Nevada
4    Yueqi Zhu    $63,807     Rowland Heights    California
5    Greg Pappas    $48,190     Las Vegas    Nevada
6    John Racener    $37,481     Tampa    Florida
7    Daniel Mowczan    $28,557     Sterling Heights    Michigan
8    Michael Mizrachi    $24,095     Las Vegas    Nevada
9    Brandon Cantu    $19,633     Vancouver     Washington
10    Tad Jurgens    $19,633     Gold Canyon    Arizona
11    James Van Alstyne    $15,171     Las Vegas    Nevada
12    Matthew Graham    $15,171     River Ridge    Louisiana
13    Mark Gallo    $10,709     Lyndhurst    New Jersey
14    Hoyt Corkins    $10,709     Las Vegas    Nevada
15    Craig Gray    $8,032     Portland    Oregon
16    Sam Silverman    $8,032     Las Vegas    Nevada
17    Claude Cohen    $6,247     Paris    France
18    Cory Wolnewitz    $6,247     Palm Beach Gardens    Florida
19    Jeffrey Lisandro    $6,247     Salerno    Italy
20    Hieu Ma    $6,247     El Monte    California
21    Brock Parker    $6,247     Silver Springs    Maryland
22    Allen Cunningham    $6,247     Las Vegas    Nevada
23    Gary Benson    $6,247     Sydney    Australia
24    Kyle Bowker    $6,247     Walton    New York
25    Jack Ward    $4,908     Gulfport    Mississippi
26    Barbara Enright    $4,908     Hollywood    California
27    Salim Hanna    $4,908     Gilbert    Arizona
28    Thomas Weideman    $4,908     Fair Oaks    California
29    Ming Reslock    $4,908     Atlantic City    New Jersey
30    Berry Johnston    $4,908     Bethany     Oklahoma
31    Allen Kessler    $4,908     Huntingdon Valley    Pennsylvania
32    Bennett Greenstein    $4,908     Newton    Massachusetts
33    Daniel Klein    $4,016     Las Vegas    Nevada
34    Ethan Werner    $4,016
35    Donald Mcnamara    $4,016     Menlo Park    California
36    Robert Sherer    $4,016     Seattle    Washington
37    Alan Boston    $4,016     Old Orchard Beach    Maine
38    Adam Glassman    $4,016
39    Scott Clements    $4,016     Mt. Vernon    Washington
40    Larry Reynolds    $4,016     Hollywood    California

Tournament Notes:

·        The $2,500 buy-in Half Omaha High-Low Split / Half Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split event attracted 388 players, creating a prize pool totaling $892,400.

·        This tournament debuted at last year’s WSOP and attracted 327 players.  Hence, the turnout was 16 percent higher this year.

·        These two games tend to attract more experienced players who appreciate the nuances of limit poker.  The average age of players in the tournament was a bit higher than usual, reflected in the composition of the finale table which had four players aged 44+.

·        The tournament was played over three days.  Day Three featured final table play, which took place adjacent to the ESPN stage.  Given the presence of a few poker celebrities, a standing-room only crowd circled the table.

·        When the final table began, Farzad Rouhani was the chip leader.  He earned what amounted to a wire-to-wire victory.

·        The winner was Farzad “Freddy” Rouhani, from Germantown, MD.  He is a 44-year-old professional poker player.

·        Rouhani was born in Iran.  He arrived in the U.S. in 1985 to attend college.  In fact, he planned to attend medical school.  “I came to the U.S. 23 years ago to become a doctor,” Rouhani said in a post-tournament interview.  “But instead, I became a pro poker player.  Go figure.”

·        Rouhani plays mostly in Atlantic City.  He once frequented local poker games in the suburban Washington, DC area, where he now lives.  But the stakes proved too low for the more serious Rouhani.

·        Winning a WSOP gold bracelet obviously meant something special to the new champion.  While playing, Rouhani wore another bracelet on his left wrist – which was presented to him for winning a tournament at the Jack Binion World Poker Open back in 2003.  “I must admit that I really do need the money,” Rouhani said.  “Everyone needs the money.  But this gold bracelet to me means a whole lot more.  It is the thing that everyone in poker dreams of.”

·        Rouhani earned a well-deserved victory.  He collected $232,911 for first place.  He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet.  Rouhani came very close to winning a few years ago when he took second place in a No-Limit Hold’em event.  To date, Rouhani now has eight WSOP cashes, two final table appearances, and more than $800,000 in career winnings at the WSOP.

·        Given that high-low split games tend to be somewhat monotonous, the final table was expected to run long.  However, the finale concluded in about 6 hours, due largely to Rouhani’s dominant stack size throughout, making it the quickest of ten final tables thus far at the 2008 WSOP.

·        The final hand came at 9:10 pm PST.  Rouhani was dealt 9-8-3-2.  The final board showed 7-3-3-A-3, giving the new champion quad-threes with an eight-low.  After exposing his four-of-a-kind, the often demonstrative poker pro jokingly remarked, “If I knew they would show my hand to the audience, I would play better cards than (9-8-3-2).

·        The runner up was Tom Chambers, from Chicago, IL.  The former teacher and basketball coach now has four career cashes at the WSOP.

·        Widely-respected poker pro “Miami John” Cernuto finished third.  The former air-traffic controller has won three WSOP gold bracelets.  But his bid for his first victory since 2002 fell short.

·        This marked the 17th career WSOP cash for the fourth-place finisher, Rich Zhu.

·        While the final table was being played, poker jester Gavin Smith waddled over to the table cheer on his friend and protégé, Greg Pappas.  Since Pappas wears full head of very long white hair, Smith nicknamed him “Big White.”  Meanwhile, longtime poker veteran and ex-horseracing trainer Jim Bucci was standing at tableside and remarked that favorite Big Brown had just lost the Belmont Stakes moments earlier.  Smith couldn’t resist writing a mock headline and shouted out for everyone to hear:  “On the Day Big Brown Chokes in the Big Race, Big White Gets the Bracelet.”  It proved to be a premature assumption.  Pappas, a.k.a. “Big White” ended up fifth.

·        Sixth-place finisher John Racener won the WSOP Circuit championship event at Harrahs Atlantic City last year.

·        Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi has enjoyed astounding success in poker tournaments in recent years.  His career winnings total more than $6 million.  But for all his accolades elsewhere, Mizrachi has not fared particularly well at the WSOP.  This was his first-ever final table appearance.  Unfortunately, he went out in eighth place.

·        Several former WSOP gold bracelet winners cashed in this tournament.  The included Hoyt Corkins (14th), Jeffrey Lisandro (19th), Tony Ma (20th), Allen Cunningham (22nd), Gary Benson (23rd), Barbara Enright (26th), Berry Johnston (30th), and Scott Clements (39th).

·        Eccentric sports bettor and poker convert Alan Boston took 37th place.  Boston is widely acknowledged as one of the best college basketball handicappers in the world.

·        Last year’s champion was Tom Schneider, who went on to win the 2007 WSOP “Player of the Year” race.  Schneider was unable to defend his crown in this event as he was still alive in another tournament at the time, the Mixed Games championship, which played its Day Two when this tournament began.