Brett Abel Blog

This year’s World Series of Poker Main Event is the third largest in the 40-year history of the tournament.

With a total of 6,494 players — and that doesn’t include the approximately 500 who were turned away Monday — the 2009 WSOP came up just short of matching last year’s total entries.

The large field for the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold’em (Event 57) created a total prize pool of $61,043,600. The nine who make the final table will all be millionaires, making more than a guaranteed $1.26 million and will be fighting for the top prize worth $8,546,435.

About 10 percent of the field will make the money, which pays the last 648 players at least $21,365.

The largest field and prizepool in Main Event history was in 2006 when Jamie Gold won $12 million after outlasting a field of 8,773. Last year’s World Championship brought in $9.15 million for Peter Eastgate, who beat 6,844 players.

Nearly 500 players were turned away Monday, the fourth and final Day 1 of the Main Event, as registration was closed in the morning because the field reached maximum capacity the Rio Hotel could support. If those players would have been able to register, this year’s Main Event field would have been the second largest in history, narrowly edging out 2008.

When the WSOP began in 1970, only seven players were in the game. In 1972 the eight-player field brought in a prizepool of $80,000. The first player to win $1 million at the WSOP was Brad Daugherty in 1991, when 215 players were in the tournament. The last time fewer than 1,000 players were registered for the Main Event was in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker took down $2.5 million and ignited the poker boom.

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Ray Romano was all smiles during the open levels of Day 1d of the 2009 World Series of Poker

The poker boom not only drove millions of ordinary Joes into cardrooms and online after Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003 and 2004, respectively, but it also caught the eye of actors, sports stars and musicians.

A particular clique it hooked was comedians. For the last few summers, Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Everybody Loves Raymond stars Brad Garrett and Ray Romano have been coming to Las Vegas to play in the Main Event.

BluffMagazine.com caught up with Romano, who started his third year at the WSOP Monday, the fourth and final Day 1 of 2009, during a break in play.

How did you get into poker?

I played poker when I was a teenager — 15, 16 (years old) — me and my buddies would play a game, a home game. Never Texas Hold’em. (We played) Baseball, Stud, Acey Deucey, all those crazy games, for very small stakes. So I played that since I was kid and Texas Hold’em, not until recently, the last couple years.

What got you back into the game?

I didn’t play much after I moved to L.A. and I just got back. I don’t play a lot, but now since the Texas Hold’em craze took off there’s a lot of charity events that I get invited to. Since then, we started our home game, Brad Garrett and myself, we play once a month in a home game, but I don’t play a lot of tournaments like this. I play the Main Event, this is my third year in a row. I just got into it when everybody got back into it.

Did you and Brad play on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond?

No. We stopped four years ago, the show, that’s just when we (started to play). The home game started just after we wrapped, after the show was off.

Who is a better player?

Me (laughter). I probably know the game better than him, but he’s so reckless that if he gets hot, he can accumulate a big chip stack that way. I think he made it past Day 1a, his Day 1 was Friday. I know he made it past that. But in the long-run, I could probably beat him, but in the home game, if he gets some cards he can win big.Because he gambels, he plays reckless.

You, Brad Garrett, Jason Alexander, Gabe Kaplan. What is the connection between comedy and poker?

I don’t know. I know Gabe is good at it. I think, as far as I go, I’m very competitive in anything I do — golf, poker — that doesn’t mean I’m good at it though. But I do get obsessed with it. So, maybe, that’s the connection because comedians have that little wire that could allow them to just hook onto something and let it get under their skin and get hooked on it. Maybe that’s it. I don’t know. Comedians are neurotic and crazy, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

Is harder to write a good joke or build a big pot?

(Laughter) For me it’s probably to build a big pot, for you to write a good joke. Writing a a good joke is hard, but it’s kind of what I’m used to doing.

Is it harder to take a bad beat on the river or . . .

To have a joke bomb? A bad beat on the river is harder for me to handle because I haven’t been playing enough to learn how to shake those off. I’ve bombed enough to know how to shake those off.

What keeps you coming back to the World Series for the Main Event every year?

It’s something I look forward to now. There’s like three things I do during the year that a week before they start I start getting so excited I can’t sleep at home. One of them is play the Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, which is in February, the other one is the World Series of Golf, it was about a month ago, it’s great, and the third one is this (the WSOP). It’s an adrenaline rush for me and it’s one of the things I look forward to every year now. When I busted out last year. The first year I made it one day, to the end of Day 1. Last year I made it to the end of Day 2 and when I busted out last year it took me three days to get over it. But I like it. It can be painful, but it’s a good pain.

What do you have to do to finish better this year?

You’ve got to get the cards, but what I’m learning is — and believe me, I’m far from knowing all the ins and outs — but I do know it pays to be aggressive sometimes. You can’t just sit there and wait for pocket aces everytime. You’ve got to pick your spots when you have to gamble. I have to have the balls to put it in there. Brad has the balls to do that (laughter).

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With the fame and glory of being a standout player at the World Series of Poker comes a major spotlight.

The attention Eric Cloutier, chip leader after Day 1a of the Main Event, will receive may not be the type he wants, however.

According to reports, Cloutier was arrested in February on more than 500 charges and will be arraigned in Louisiana court on 15 felony charges. Some of the charges include money laundering and tax fraud.

Cloutier, originally from Mont-Laurier, Quebec, went to Louisiana to play hockey for the Louisiana IceGators as a left wing in 1997 and played there for two seasons. He is now the owner of Marley’s Sports Bar and Karma nightclub, both in downtown Laffayette, La.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Control of Louisiana arrested the 34-year-old on Feb. 26 after he allegedly tampered with cash registers to veil and incorrectly report his sales, according to The Daily Advertiser, a Lafayette newspaper.

He faces 15 charges, which was lowered from 505 originally, said Laura Gerdes, public outreach coordinator for the Attorney General’s Office. The charges include laundering more than $100,000, four counts of filing false public records related to business taxes with the Louisiana Department of Revenue and one count of filing false public records with the Louisiana Alcohol Tobacco and Control office.

According to various reports, Cloutier is alleged to have laundered more than $1.4 million over a three-year period and was arrested after a nine-month investigation.

ATC officials told KALB-TV the more than 500 initial charges include two counts of felony theft — over $126,000 — as well as 340 counts of obstruction of justice, 92 counts of filing false records and 67 counts of computer fraud.

KADN, a television news station in Lafayette, reported he allegedly set up his registers at both businesses to not account for state and local taxes, which is what resulted in the tax fraud charges.

Cloutier’s arraignment will be on Aug. 18 in Lafayette. The ATC has also filed charges against Cloutier. He will need to return Louisiana by July 14 to appear in court in Baton Rouge. The Main Event ends on July 15, Day 8, with the final nine players, who would return to the Rio Hotel in Noevember for a live broadcast of the final table.

The first day of the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold’em (Event 57) began Friday with the first of four Day 1s. Day 2A, which is when Cloutier will play again, begins on Tuesday.

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He used to be a patent attorney in Massachusetts who spent his tournament breaks running across the street to get a refill on his supersized drink and use the restroom, but in the last five years, Greg Raymer has become a fixture in every poker household spending his breaks signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.

Winning the World Series of Poker’s Main Event in 2004, Raymer catapulted to from a small-stakes poker player known for selling fossil card protectors to a superstar whose life has changed more drastically than just how he spends his dinner and bathroom breaks.

A professional high-stakes tournament player now, Raymer has also continued his interest in law, however, it’s not for a pharmaceutical and research company anymore, but for American’s rights to play the country’s new favorite pastime online.

Just before he took to the felt in the 2009 WSOP Main Event in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle twice BluffMagazine.com caught up with “Fossil-Man” to talk about how his life has changed since his championship.

It’s been five years  since you’ve won the Main Event. How has your life changed since then?

Oh, well, that answer is relatively easy. I used to be a 9-5 office worker for Pfizer, at their facility in Groton, Conn. (Signing autographs) This answers your question. Now, I’m traveling the world, playing big poker tournaments, people come up and ask for autographs and photos and handshakes.

Does that get overwhelming?

Not overwhelming, but it sometimes interferes with your regular life. Most of the time I’m very, very happy it’s going on. If people weren’t interested, if people didn’t want to do those things, PokerStars wouldn’t be paying me the money to represent them. And that’s my livelihood nowadays. I’m not going to try to make my living just playing poker.

Before you won the Main Event you played different events, not just No Limit Hold’em. How have you been able to do that in the last five years also?

In a way it gets easier because it’s hard to play mixed games for $5/10. Early in my poker career when I was playing much smaller games, like $3/6 Limit, there wasn’t much available back then but Limit Hold’em, which I now believe is the devil’s game, the worst of all forms of poker. I hate Limit Hold’em and I’m not good at it, it’s not my best game at all, even though back then it was almost the only game I played. But I was playing Omaha (8-or-better), some (Seven-card) Stud. I just find those games to be much more interesting, much more amenable to making money.

Have you seen the WSOP change in the last five years?

Well, when I won, it was still at Binion’s. It couldn’t possibly fit there today. I mean, even if the Binion’s downtown now could come up with the money to buy the World Series, they could not possibly host it. But it was, in some ways, more fun back then. I had my nice routine established when I won the Main Event. Whenever we had our breaks I would run outside rather than stand in line for the toilet in Binion’s. (I would) go across the street, west of Binion’s to the Mermaids Casino, which is just a slots parlor, but I could use the toilet without standing in line. And then there was a little souveneir store across the street and in addition to all the T-shirts sold there, they had a drink fountain and I would get these big cups for $1 and fill up the Super Big Gulp-sized cup with Diet Coke and a little bit of Cherry Coke and the 15 minute break was just enough time to do those things and get back to my table inside Binion’s.

Now you spend your 15 minute breaks not waiting in line, but you’re signing autographs.

I should probably have the 21-year-old personal assistant. I mean it’s all just very, very different.

You’re also a family man. How has everybody else reacted to that, how have they adapted to the fortune and the fame?

My daughter doesn’t really think much about it. I mean, I think she knows she can get what she wants a little more, in terms of toys and stuff. Not so much because I’m going to get it for her, but my wife is the push over, not me. People will always see me with my daughter and they think, “Oh, that’s daddy’s little girl. She’s got you wrapped around her finger.” And I’m like, “Actually, I’m probably the tough one.” If she wants a new teddy bear or something my wife will get it for her pretty much every time. She always goes to my wife first when she wants something.

What do you see in the next five years happening for you?

I dont know. I don’t think it’s going to necessarily change a lot. If it does it will because of some of these legal changes. If we, with the Poker Players Alliance, help (Assemblyman) Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the other members of Congress to get some of these laws passed so that online poker is liscensed and regulated within the U.S., I think we’re going to see an explosion again in the growth of poker. So that will have a lot of positive things for me and a lot of other professional poker players.

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Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko is the 2009 World Series of Poker’s latest millionaire and last bracelet winner before going into the Main Event on Friday.

By winning the $5,000 Six-handed No Limit Hold’em (Event 56), “Hoss_TBF” locked up a gold WSOP bracelet and $1,003,163.

“I’m super excited,” he said. “It’s really vindicating for the work I put in.”

Hawrilenko took down the last hand when his opponent Josh Brikis moved all in with A 9 and Hawrilenko made the call with two red jacks. Brikis raised from the button to 300,000 and Hawrilenko made it a smooth million before Brikis moved all in and was called by the 27-year-old with J J. The board came down 8 8 2 3 T for Hawrilenko’s first WSOP bracelet. Brikis won $619,609 as the runner up.

The win, which was just before midnight on Thursday, comes on the eve of the Main Event. Hawrilenko said the timing of the win gives him a lot of confidence and breathing room going into the $10,000 World Championship.

He said he remembered WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack say before the event, it was the 56th of 57.

“That really hit home,” Hawrilenko said.”It’s so much better going into the Main Event (with the win.)”

Hawrilenko eliminated Faraz Jaka to face Brikis heads-up for the title and seven-figure pay day. Faraz, who had been the most active of the three, raised from the button, Brikis passed and Hawrilenko re-raised. Jaka moved all in with Q Q and Hawrilenko called holding A K. Hawilenko took the lead on the A T J flop. Jaka no longer needed a queen to win, but a king to make a straight and double up. The turn was another jack — J — and the river bricked for Jaka bringing the 5. He collected $400,526 for the showing.

Three tables were set up for the remaining 16 players on Thursday in the Amazon Room of the Rio Hotel, but after a few hours, the original 928-player field was down to the final six — Hawrilenko, Brikis, Jaka, Sean Keeton, Matt Waxman, and Jonas Wexler.

Waxman was the first step out of the last survivors when he pushed his small stack all in after an early raise with A T and was called by Brikis in the big blind holding K K. The board ran 3 J 7 8 7 and the two black cowboys of Brikis held. Waxman earned $138,394 for the sixth-place finish.

Less than an hour later, the slow and methodical Wexler was eliminated in fifth. After a button raise, Wexler moved all in from the small blind with K Q but Brikis was there again, this time with A Q and he too moved all in to force out the Jaka on the button. The two hit a queen on the turn when it came down 5 8 4 Q and Wexler would need to catch a king to keep from going to the rail, but the 7 on the end sent him out. He took $189,555.

The next to leave was Keeton, losing a coin flip. He re-raised an early position raise all in and Hawrilenko came over the top of the short stack and Jaka, the original raiser, mucked to leave the two heads up. Keeton showed A Q and Hawrilenko tabled J J. The flop was no help for Keeton, coming down 2 T 4, and the turn and river were also no help to him — T, 3. Finishing in fourth, Keeton won $269,983.

Final table results and payouts

1. Matt Hawrilenko - $1,003,163
2. Josh Brikis - $619,609
3. Faraz Jaka - $400,526
4. Sean Keeton - $269,983
5. Jonas Wexler - $189,555
6. Matt Waxman - $138,394

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Down to two tables in the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em (Event 52).

Sixteen players remain going into the third and final day of play in the event where players were given three stacks of chips, which they could use as they went bust or to add to their stack at the end of the buy-in period.

Jason DeWitt leads as the only player with more than 1 million in chips, holding 1.25 million, over the rest of the field, which will return to play for the gold World Series of Poker bracelet and $506,800 at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Amazon Room of the Rio Hotel.

Also coming back in the afternoon is Alex Millar, who holds 862,000 and sits secind to DeWitt, Joe Patrick, in third with 520,000, and Michael Katz, who has 440,000. Vladimir Kochelaevskiy has the shortest stack of those remaining with 125,000, well below the 480,375 average.

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Could Tuesday be the day Chad Brown captures that elusive first World Series of Poker bracelet?

Brown goes into the final day of the $1,500 Seven-card Stud 8-or-better (Event 53) at the top of the chip counts with 311,000 over the remaining 14-player field.

Those remaining will return to the Rio Hotel at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Amazon Room to play for the championship and $159,390.

“I’ve got to make the final table first,” the goal-oriented Brown said at the end of play around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. “Trying once again to go for that bracelet.”

Brown has cashed in 26 events WSOP events, dating as far back as 1993, for $995,487, but has yet to finish at the top.

The players he will continue to play against for the bracelet include Brian Swinford, second in chips with 300,000, William Kohler, in third with 232,000. Zak Gilbert is surviving on the short stack with 40,000. The average chip stack is 149,786.

So far, however, Brown has outlasted most of the 466 players who registered for the event on Sunday. Of those who were eliminated today, includes Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein and Norman Chad, who cashed, and Mike Matusow and Bryan Micon, who missed the money. Andy Bloch, who is also on the list with Brown for multiple cashes but no WSOP championships, also finished in the money.

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Gameplay was fast and players were eliminated quickly in the last day of the the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em (Event 47).

This was clear by the last hand of heads-up play, which was also the first, as it took just that one for Bahador Ahmadi to claim the World Series of Poker gold bracelet and $278,804 on Friday.

On the first flop, A 2 7, his opponent John McGuiness was all in with two red tens against the J 3 of “Jeff.” The K hit on the turn to end the match, making the 4 on the river irrelevant.

“He had what, five big blinds? When he limped from the button, I found it extremely weird,” Ahmadi, 24, said. “Just couldn’t believe he’d have a hand different than what he had.”

Event 47 of the 2009 WSOP combined two forms of Texas Hold’em as the half-hour long levels swapped between Limit and No Limit Hold’em. The combination of the games, Ahmadi said, gave an edge to players strong in both games, instead of just one or the other.

“If you’re good at both games you have a huge edge.,” he said. “This game attracts a lot of no limit players who haven’t played much limit. I have a limit background and I was able for most of the tournament to crush the limit and sit back during the no limit.”

Ahmadi, who was born in Iran before moving to Canada when he was 4 years old, had a strong chip lead three-handed and added to it by eliminating Ylon Schwartz. Schwartz had moved all in a few times against Ahmadi and McGuiness, and when he moved all in for the last time with Q T, Ahmadi made the call with A 2. The board ran out 8 3 5 K K and the ace-high stood up.

Ahmadi chose to have the Iranian national anthem play when he is awarded his bracelet at Saturday’s ceremony to recognize the new champion.

Of the original 527, the final nine players — Ahmadi, McGuiness, Schwartz, Zachary Humphrey, Barry Greenstein, Hasan Habib, Karlo Lopez, Randy Haddox and Matt Woodward — started Day 3 at the feature stage and would play down until a champion was crowned.

Play went rather quickly most of the day, as the match went from full table to champion in less than seven hours.

Humphrey was the first eliminated from the final table and televised stage. The hand before he was eliminated, however, he lost a good amount of chips doubling Greenstein. Trying to make Greenstein and his small stack fold in the big blind, Humphrey raised enough with J T to put Greenstein all in, but he found A 8 and made the call. The flop came down A A 5 giving Greenstein a strong hold on the hand, but the 2 on the turn gave Humphrey a flush draw. The 8 on the river gave Greenstein a full house and crippled Humphrey.

He moved all in for his last 10,000 holding K 7 from late position and Haddox called from the big blind with T 8. The flop, Q K J gave Humphrey top pair, but Haddox an open-ended straight draw. The turn improved both hands, with the 7 giving Humphrey two pair and Haddox a flush draw. The A on the river gave Haddox the broadway straight and the win. Humphrey earned $27,199 for the ninth-place finish.

The next player to be eliminated was Habib. He moved all in for his last 10,000 on the flop of 3 J 8 against Greenstein, who called with J 9 and Habib tabled A T. The 3 on the turn meant Habib would need to catch an ace on the river against the man wrote a book by the same name, but the 8 on the end knocked him out. He took $30,641 for finishing eighth.

Greenstein was able to hit a jack and avoid another ace on the end to knock out the next player, Haddox, as well. From early position, Greenstein raised with K J and Haddox moved all in with A K for 140,000 more, which Greenstein eventually called. The flop came down 5 5 9, but Greenstein hit his jack on the turn with the J. The 7 didn’t help Haddox and he was eliminated in seventh place for $36,084.

Woodward soon followed him out of the area when he ran into the aces of Ahamadi. Woodward moved all in from the button with A T and Ahmadi called from the small blind with A A. The case ace hit on the flop, which came K A 2, and Woodward would need running cards for a chop as he couldn’t win the hand outright. The hand was over on the turn with the 7 and the J on the river was meaningless. Woodward collected $44,520 for finishing in sixth.

It took nearly two hours for the next player to be eliminated, and that was Greenstein. He made a moved on the flop of K 2 2 holding 6 8, but his opponent, Schwartz, had two red queens and made the call. Greenstein needed runner-runner for a full house to beat the two pair of Schwartz, but the T on the turn sent Greenstein to the rail. He already began signing a copy of his book, a tradition Greenstein began for players who knock him out of tournaments, by the time the 9 came on the river. He earned $57,671 for finishing fifth.

Lopez, who had been chipped down, moved all in with nothing and ran into a big something. He pushed his last chips in on the flop of 6 2 3 and was called by McGuiness and Schwartz. Schwartz bet in the dark before the Q came on the turn and Schwartz folded. McGuiness showed 6 6, having flopped a set, and Lopez, who had K 9, was drawing dead before the 3 came on the river. Finishing in fourth, Lopez won $78,628.

Final table results and payouts

1. Bahador Ahmadi - $278,804
2. John McGuiness - $172,227
3. Ylon Schwartz - $112,967
4. Karlo Lopez - $78,628
5. Barry Greenstein - $57,671
6. Matt Woodward - $44,520
7. Randy Haddox - $36,084
8. Hasan Habib - $30,641
9. Zachary Humphrey - $27,199

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Derek Raymond certainly rode the Omaha 8-or-better roller coaster to win his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet.

He was up and down all day, especially heads-up, but was able to outlast Mark Tenner to take down the $2,500 Omaha 8-or-better (Event 46) and $229,192 early Friday morning.

“I was up to 1 million (today), hit a rough patch and was down to 120,000,” Raymond said about his up-and-down day. “(But) you can’t give up.”

Tenner was down to his last 205,000 with the blinds at 50,000/100,000 and moved all in with K Q 3 2, which Raymond called with T 5 4 3. The flop came down J 7 2 and Raymond made a wheel draw on the turn when the A hit. He made the high and low with the 4 on the river. Tenner earned $141,647 for finishing second.

Tenner took the chip lead when he eliminated Scott Bohlman in third place. Bohlman was on the short stack of the three and pushed all in on the turn with the board reading 5 7 J 5 and Tenner called. Bohlman showed A K Q 7 and shrugged when he saw Tenner’s A K 5 4 for three fives and the better low draw. Bohlman didn’t hit the seven he needed on the end. He took $93,199.

This was the second straight night playing past 3 a.m. and both players were obviously tired during their heads-up match which lasted several hours, but Raymond, who has been playing poker semi-professionally for two years after graduating from Georgetown University, said sleep could wait.

“You never give in, you’re playing for a bracelet,” he said. “You don’t need the sleep. I wouldn’t trade this (bracelet) for anything.

“You can’t give up. That’s the one thing I’m learning about poker.”

Event 46 began its third and final day of play Thursday with 23 players of the original 424-player field and worked its way down to its final table with the eliminations of Mike Matusow, J.W. Smith and John Monnette, to name a few. Bohlman, Tenner, Raymond, Mark Gregorich, Josh Schlein, Pat Poels, Sirous Jamshidi, Fabio Coppola and Michael Keiner were left to play for the bracelet.

Poels was out in ninth after he lost a big pot to Bohlman and was down to his last chip. Poels called a three-bet by Bohlman to see the 7 8 8 flop, which Bohlman bet and Poels called. On the turn, Poels raised Bohlman’s bet after the 9 fell, and Bohlman called. The two both had aces, Poels holding A A J J and A A 7 4 for Bohlman, was also drawing to a flush and the low. The 5 on the river gave him both. Poels was able to stick around a few more hands, but couldn’t manage to get more than 4,000 in chips. He earned $23,541 for finishing ninth.

On the short stack much of the night, Gregorich survived by splitting pots and waiting around, but he finally made a move from the cutoff and was knocked out. He moved in with the blinds at 10,000/20,000 for his last 24,000 with A K T T and Schlein and Tenner called. Tenner bet the 8 K 4 flop, which Schlein called. He led out again on when the board paired kings on the turn and Schlein folded, leaving the other two heads up. Tenner showed K J 9 8 for a full house, kings full of eights, and Gregorich would need an ace or ten for the win. The river bricked with the 6, sending Gregorich to the rail to collect $26,213 for the eighth-place finish.

A few hands later, Keiner was eliminated. He moved all in with A T 5 5 and Raymond made the call holding J 9 4 3. The board came down K J 8 8 6, giving Raymond the best hand with jacks and eights, besting Keiner’s eights and fives, with no low on the board. Keiner finished seventh, taking $37,350.

Jamshidi didn’t play too many hands at the final table, but in and the last major ones he was involved in, he was scooped.

He made a raised before the flop and was called by Tenner and Raymond. The 8 8 7 flop was checked around to Jamshidi, who bet out and was called by only Tenner. On the turn, 3 Tenner led out and was called bu Jamshidi. Tenner checked the 2 on the river and called Jamshidi’s bet. Tenner ended up scooping the pot with A 5 3 2, while Jamshidi showed A Q T 6.

After being left with only about 100,000 in chips, all of Jamshidi’s chips were in by the turn against Bohlman. With the board reading 4 5 2 7, Jamshidi made the committment holding Q 5 4 2, but against a made wheel and Bohlman’s A K J 3. The 9 on the river sent Jamshidi out in sixth place to pick up a check for $37,350.

Schlein was the next to go after seeing his chip lead dwindle down to only a few chips after the dinner break. He came to the final table as the chip leader, but was scooped and quartered in several pots during the night and was eventually eliminated. His last hand, he moved all in with 7 6 5 [ 5d] and was called by Raymond, holding Q T 4 3. The board ran Q A 6 J 8 and Schlein was out in fifth. He won $48,028.

The table was down to the three-handed with the elimination of Coppola. He three-bet Raymond before the flop and was the aggressor on every street of the J 7 5 J Q board as Raymond check-called the Italian all the way down until Coppola was all in on the river. Raymond showed A K T 7 for jacks and sevens, which Coppola couldn’t beat, holding A K 4 3. Coppola left the feature stage area upset about the loss, but later returned to shake the hands of the three remaining competitors. He earned $65,094 for finishing fourth.

Final table results and payouts

1. Derek Raymond - $229,192
2. Mark Tenner - $141,647
3. Scott Bohlman - $93,199
4. Fabio Coppola - $65,094
5. Josh Schlein - $48,028
6. Sirous Jamshidi - $37,350
7. Michael Keiner - $30,562
8. Mark Gregorich - $26,213
9. Pat Poels - $23,541

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Michael Davis had plans to move to Las Vegas for warmer winters than back home in Iowa. Talk about making a statement when coming to town.

Davis was able to beat out Scott Buller and his impressive chip lead to win the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event 43), $437,358 and the World Series of Poker gold bracelet Wednesday night.

“I sold my (home inspection) business last week, now I don’t have a job to go home to,” Davis, 58, joked after the win.

Davis won the championship when his A 9 was able to beat out Buller’s A J. The flop came down 4 3 5, but the 9 on the turn put Davis ahead. A jack or a deuce would keep the game going, but the 4 on the river ended the tournament and gave Davis the win.

The 2-1 chip lead Buller had as he and Davis began heads-up play quickly swapped. Davis raised from the button with A A and Buller went for the knock out, re-raising all in with 9 9. Davis jumped even further ahead hitting the A on the flop and Buller was unable to catch up.

Davis was able to pull closer to Buller’s massive chip lead by eliminating Barry Bounds to face Buller heads up. Bounds moved all in with A 6 and Davis called with A Q. The flop came down 4 2 7 and Bounds would need a six or runner-runner for a straight. The 5 hit on the turn to give him a two-way straight draw on the turn and when the 8 came on the river he turned around and gave former Main Event Champion Tom McEvoy, who had been sweating him the entire day, a high five, not realizing the card gave Davis a flush. Bounds left with $179,210 for finishing third.

“I got lucky,” Davis said. “Both those guys played great. Everybody at that table deserved to win.

“I feel I got lucky the entire tournament,” he said. “It was unbelievable fun.”

The tournament, held specifically for players at least 50 years old, had a record field with 2,707 creating a prize pool of $2,463,700. This was the second time Davis entered in the event, finishing 115th last year.

“I figured I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “Make it a yearly pilgrimage.”

As with most final tables at the WSOP, the last 10 were going to combine, but as one table said good bye to Ted Garner in 11th, Mitch Garshofsky was all in at the other table and lost the hand. So, instead of playing down to the official final table, Davis, Buller, Bounds, Dan Delatorre, Robert Beck, Michael Morusty, Richard McCall, Art Duncan, and Charles Simon made their last table change to play for the gold bracelet.

The group played only for a few minutes before going on dinner break, and played only a few hands before losing three players.

Beck was the first eliminated when he moved in with top pair against a set. Holding K J, he pushed on the J 6 8 flop and Morusty instantly called, holding 6 6. Needing another running cards, the turn and river came 9 and Q, sending Beck out in ninth, collecting $53,208.

Then, almost immediately after, McCall was knocked out, again, with top pair. He made his move with Q J on the board of Q 7 2, but DeLatorre made the call with K J. Like Beck, McCall would need runner-runner for a full house, but the K and 6 eliminated him in eighth. He won $56,903.

The third elimination of the table came about 20 minutes after play resumed when Duncan was knocked out. He re-raised Simon, who opened from under the gun, with K J, and Simon made the call with K Q. The A Q 6 flop gave Simon a pair, but Duncan was able to improve his odds to win by picking up the straight draw with four outs instead of the three he would have had with the jacks. The next two streets, however, came 3, 9, and Duncan was sent to the rail in seventh, winning $64,047.

After the Razz tournament wrapped up at the feature table, the seniors made their move t0 the stage. The bright lights, however, were unkind to DeLatorre as he was next to leave. He made a push from under the gun with Q 4 hoping to get the blinds and antes, but Morusty, to his right, had kings. The board ran out 8 3 2 6 8 and the K K of Morusty stood up. Delatorre took $76,118 for the sixth place finish.

Simon was eliminated soon after as well. He moved all in from the small blind after Buller raised from under the gun. Simon’s A Q was the underdog to Buller’s A K going to the flop, which came down J 6 2. The K gave Simon a straight draw to a ten, and the 9 on the river gave him and the crowd some excitement, but was ultimately not enough. He finished in fifth for $95,332.

But the excitement and disappointment from that hand was no match for the next elimination. Morusty re-raised Buller’s under the gun raise from the big blind and Buller moved all in, which Morusty instantly called. The crowd went insane when Morusty flipped over A A, which was a huge favorite to Buller’s A K. The audience was much calmer when the flop came K 3 8. They almost cried when the 4 hit on the turn, and Buller channeled the excitement they used to have. The river came with another club, 7, and Morusty was out. He took $126,863 for the fourth-place finish, and Buller took a dominating chip lead three-handed.

Final table results and payouts

1. Michael Davis - $437,358
2. Scott Buller - $268,507
3. Barry Bounds - $179,210
4. Michael Morusty - $126,863
5. Charles Simon - $95,332
6. Dan Delatorre - $76,118
7. Art Duncan - $64,047
8. Richard McCall - $56,903
9. Robert Beck - $53,208

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Pack up the Bengay, bring the bifocals and don’t forget the walking cane because Wednesday is Senior’s Day at the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Twenty-eight players will return at 1 p.m. to the Rio Hotel for the last day of the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event 43), the gold WSOP bracelet and $437,358.

The record field for the annual event reached 2,707, and the 402 players remaining worked their way down to last four tables, which played just past 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Tom Thomas leads going into Day 3 with 917,000 chips, according to unofficial chip counts. Charles Simon and Scott Butler are also in the top three at the end of Day 2, holding 626,000 and 541,000, respectively.

The money bubble broke Tuesday with 270 players remaining. Of those who made the money, but were still eliminated, includes Barbara Enright, Jim Meehan and James McManus.

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In another stacked and packed field of experience players, it was a young one who took down the last hand.

Peter Traply, 22, was able beat out his younger opponent, 21-year-old Andrew Lichtenberger and some of the biggest names in the poker for his first World Series of Poker bracelet, $348,728 and the first championship for the country of Hungary.

Traply took down the championship when he moved all in with A K and Lichtenberger called with A J. An ace was in the door of the 5 3 A flop and the board paired queens on the next two streets, coming Q, Q.

“Oh my God, I’m the happiest person in the world,” he said. “Winning a bracelet was one of my poker dreams and it came true.”

Lichtenberger was crippled when he moved all in against his Hungarian opponent with A K and Traply called with 6 6. An ace hit on the flop with the A 8 9 and Lichtenberger’s freinds applauded, but the crowd at the feature stage erupted on the turn when the 6 peeled off the deck. The meaningless 2 came on the river and Lichtenberger was left with just under 300,000 in chips, while Traply had 7.1 million.

Despite the overwhelming chip deficit, Lichtenberger was able to come back to 3.4 million after doubling up three times. He was unable to complete the comeback, however, finishing second, earning $215,403.

“Andrew, of course, is a world-class player,” Traply said. “It was a tough final table, a tough field overall.”

Five players returned for the final day of Event 41 — Lichtenberger, Traply, Max Lykov, 21, Danny Wong, 24, and Nasr El Nasr, 23 — after outlasting superstars like Phil Ivey and David Pham on Monday for what may have been the youngest final table in the history of the WSOP. It is impossible to know the youngest, and oldest, final tables as the history as the ages of early WSOP contestants was never recorded.

In fact, no one at the final table of the $5,000 No Limit Shootout (Event 41) was older than 24 years old. The average age was 22.

After two hours with out any big showdowns, El Nasr took a big hit when his aces were cracked by T 9. Lichtenberger raised from under the gun with the suited connector before El Nasr re-raised with A A. The two moved all in with El Nasr having the chip and percentage advantage. The flop didn’t give Lichtenberger the best hand, but it made him a slight favorite favorite as the 6 7 9 came off to give him a pair, a flush draw and a straight draw and a 53 percent chance to win. The T on the turn gave New York-native the best hand. El Nasr, from Germany, would need an ace, six or seven that wasn’t a diamond for the win or an eight for a chop, but the J came and gave the pot to Lichtenberger.

A few hands later El Nasr moved all in with 3 3 and was called by Traply called with 8 8. El Nasr was never able to catch a three and was knocked out in fifth place, earning $82,697.

The oldest player at the table, Wong, 24, was the next one eliminated. With the board reading T 2 2 7, Wong made a push with top pair, holding A T, but Lichtenberger has the one holding aces this time. Lichtenberger slowplayed his two black aces perfectly, smooth-calling Wong’s button raise from the small blind and checking on the flop and turn, when Wong eventually moved in. When Lichtenberger showed the A A on the turn, Wong would need to hit a another ten on the river, but the 2 came, sending him to the rail. Wong left with $105,609 for the fourth-place finish.

Lichtenberger took out Lykov to face Traply heads-up for the championship. Lykov, who was the short stack with about 1 million in chips, moved all in with A T and Lichtenberger had two jacks. The Russian was never able to catch an ace and was eliminated. He took $145,063 for third.

Final table results and payouts

1. Peter Traply - $348,728
2. Andrew Lichtenberger - $215,403
3. Max Lykov - $145,063
4. Danny Wong - $105,609
5. Nasr El Nasr - $82,697

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Ray Foley had a goal to win a World Series of Poker bracelet and, as of Tuesday morning, he can take it off his list.

“Check it off,” he said.

Foley beat Brandon Cantu for the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event 39) title and $657,969.

The two were in a rhythm heads up of betting around 300,000 before the flop and someone eventually moving all in. On the final hand, however, that happened on the flop.

Cantu raised to 305,000 before the flop and Foley called. Foley checked the J 3 9 flop, which Cantu bet. Foley raised all in and Cantu called. Both had top pair, but Cantu was devastated when his kicked was the weak one. Foley slowplayed his Q J well enough to get Cantu’s money all in with J 7. The T and 5 came on the next two streets to give fulfill one man’s dreams and leave the other agonizing. Cantu left with $403,951.

“I flat called with jack-queen, figured if I hit one of my pairs it is good,” he said about the last hand. “I had come over the top of him the last few hands. He had a hand he couldn’t get away from and I had him outnotched by a few.”

Foley was able to double up about an hour into heads-up after the two were trading preflop raises and all ins. Foley made it 300,000 from the button and Cantu raised all in, which Foley called instantly. Cantu was hurt after he flipped over his K 9 and saw Foley’s T T. The emotion quickly changed when Cantu took the lead on the 5 K 3 flop. However, it was short-lived as the T came on the turn and Cantu was drawing dead, making the A on the river meaningless. The two swapped the 2-1 lead as a result of the hand.

“The king came on the flop and at that point I was resided to my fate, but then the ten came on the turn,” he said. “I was like, alright, new life.”

Foley was nearly eliminated, however, when Cantu had him all in with A Q over Foley’s A 7. The flop came down 5 8 8 and became interesting when the 6 came on the turn. Foley would need a four, a seven or a nine to double or a five or six to split the pot and stay a live. The 5 came on the river to extend the match and give Foley another chance at the bracelet.

Cantu had an edge on Foley going into heads-up play by eliminating Wei Mu. The knock out came on a cooler of a hand when the two flopped nearly identical hands. Cantu held K T while Mu had K 9 and the flop came king high. Mu didn’t catch a nine and was eliminated in third, collecting $269,609.

After a late night Monday, 26 players returned that afternoon at 2 p.m. to play for the championship, which began with 2,715 entries. The last group played down until 10 players were left and then moved to one of the two feature tables in the Amazon Room of the Rio Hotel. Matt Livingston made the table, was the unfortunate one who just missed out on being at the “official” nine-handed final table. That honor was reserved for Cantu, Foley, Mu, Chairud Vangchailued, Tyler Spalding, Patrick O’Connor, Alex Jacob, Richard Lutes and Jonathan Markham.

O’Connor was eliminated in ninth place when it was folded around to him in the small blind and he pushed his half-million stack in with A 4 and the big blind, Cantu, made the called with pocket threes. The flop didn’t bring any pairs or draws for O’Connow, who started packing his things after he saw the board. The turn and river were also no help to him. He earned $80,049.

Next on the rail was Lutes. He and Cantu saw the 4 A 7 flop together and Cantu checked before Lutes moved all in and Cantu called. Lutes showed K T and Cantu flipped over J T. Cantu made his flush on the turn with the 2 and made the river irrelevant. Lutes won $85,608 for the eighth-place finish.

About a half-hour later, Vangchailued was knocked out. He made a min-raise with Q J from under the gun, which Spalding called and Jacob re-raised all in. Vangchailued called all his chips and was in a lot of trouble when he saw Jacob’s J J. Vangchailued and his friends on the rail were excited when they saw the Q in the door of the flop, but were quickly sobered when the J and K came off with it. He would need another queen or running kings to beat out Jacob, but the 8 and 5 sent him off to pick up $96,335 for seventh.

Markham busted just after midnight Tuesday when he moved all in with a set, But had a lock on the hand with the nut-straight. Markham opened the pot preflop with K K and only Mu, in the big blind, called. The flop — A K J — looked strong for Markham, but Mu’s Q T iced the set. Markham would need the board to pair, but the 6 and 3 on the next two streets eliminated him in sixth and made $114,514.

Spalding, the short stack at the table with less than 1 million while everyone else had more than 2 million, pushed his stack in the middle, trying to make a move, but was caught and eliminated. Jacob raised from the cutoff with 9 9 and Spalding moved from the big blind with J 2 for 575,000 and Jacob made the call. The board ran T 7 6 3 Q and Spalding left with $143,421 for finishing fifth.

Jacob was holding the big stack much of the night, but a big confrontation stripped him down to almost nothing. He pushed with eight-six against Cantu’s pocket tens and left him with scraps. He moved all in on the next hand with J 9 from the small blind and Foley woke up with A [4 and called. Jacob was never able to hit a jack or a nine and no draws ever developed. He finished in fourth and made $190,857.

Final table results and payouts

1. Ray Foley - $657,969
2. Brandon Cantu - $403,951
3. Wei Mu - $269,609
4. Alex Jacob - $190,857
5. Tyler Spalding - $143,421
6. Jonathan Markham - $114,514
7. Chairud Vangchailued - $96,335
8. Richard Lutes - $85,608
9. Patrick O’Connor - $80,049

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Another $1,500 No Limit Hold’em gold bracelet will be awarded Monday.

Twenty-six players, including Alex Jacob and Nam Le, will restart play in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event 39) at 2 p.m. in the Amazon Room of the Rio Hotel and play until a new champion is crowned.

This is the seventh No Limit Hold’em event with less a $1,500 buy-in or less of the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Ray Foley leads the field with roughly 1.26 million in chips, according to unofficial chip counts, and Michele Iacovone is in second with 1.1 million where the average stack size in 469,904. Le has 420,000 and Jacob holds 215,000.

Jacob said the low buy-in WSOP tournaments attract a lot of players — 2,715 in Event 39 — most of whom don’t have the experience of the players in other bigger buy in events. Online pros, like Jacob, can have an edge in these events, he said, by the experience of playing through deep tournaments.

“The important thing is patience, not to get antsy,” he said. “There is a long way to go (from beginning to end) and you have to win a lot of hands. Being used to playing lots of tournaments (gives an edge).”

Play was scheduled to end Monday morning with 27 players, but on the same hand at different tables, two players went out after 10 minutes of play following a short break to get to the final number.

The winner of Event 39 will win $657,969.

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After a break Sunday afternoon, Noah Schwartz reported losing 40,000 in chips when tournament officials colored up chips without players at the tables during the recess.

“I had a talk with (a tournament official) and they basically said there was no surveillance on my seat and they couldn’t verify my chip count,” Schwartz said.

However, Schwartz picked up the missing chips and then some later in the day and takes a stack of 1.25 million into Day 3 of the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha (Event 40).

“Luckily I was able to grab them another way,” he said smiling.

Schwartz holds a near 2-1 lead over Marcus Golser, who has 621,000 according to unofficial chip counts, and rest of the 25-player field remaining. The average stack is 354,000.

Play will resume Monday at 1 p.m. in the Amazon Room of the Rio Hotel as the players, including Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, Josh Arieh and Richard Austin, who won the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (Event 35) on Friday.

Schwartz said his large lead enables him gives him the opportunity to play a lot of hands, but he said he needs to be patient.

“I have to play smart and exercise patience,” he said. “(With my chip stack) I can see a lot of flops and put a lot of pressure on the other players.”

Lederer was about to go into Day 3 one of the shortest stacks, but he was able to double up on the last hand of play Monday morning just after 3 a.m.

He called a preflop raise from Vitaly Lunkin, as did Schwartz. The flop came all jack-high, all diamonds. Lederer checked to Lunkin, who bet and Schwartz called before Lederer pushed his stack all in. Lunkin made the call and Schwartz folded, throwing his queen-high flush on the table. Lederer made a smaller flush, ten high, while Lunkin made the call with a set of jacks. The board didn’t pair and Lederer doubled his stack going into Sunday afternoon.

Nam Le was the bubble boy, out in 28th. Erick Lindgren was the first eliminated after the money bubble was popped and Jonas Entin was also knocked out before play wrapped Monday.

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