World Series of Poker: the $1500 No Limit Hold’em Events
The size of the World Series of Poker has grown dramatically over the past decade. In 1999, the entire Series was 16 events. In 2002, for the first time, there were more than thirty separate tournaments. In both 2007 and 2008 the WSOP has offered 55 bracelet events. With the "poker boom" has come some conflicts between the desires of the professional players for a more diverse (non-Hold'em) schedule with higher buy-ins and the attempt to make the World Series truly open to all players. The focus of this "low end" diversity has become the $1500 No Limit Hold'em tournaments.
In 2007, there were six $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournaments, which amounted to about one every Saturday. In 2008, there are seven of these events. But has the increase in "small buy-in" events worked for the WSOP. And, yes we notice, that $1,500 is not what most poker players on the planet consider "small", but that is fodder for another post.
Five of the seven $1,500 NLHE events have been played this year and to date the numbers compared to last year are up about 700 players in total. Perhaps more significantly, we are talking about events that have drawn in excess of 2300 players for each start. The only other WSOP events over 1,000 players this year have been the two $2,000 NLHE tournaments and the $1,000 Seniors event.
If we go back to 2006, we can find three such events, actually two with another at only a $1,000 buy-in. These events were the largest draws outside of the main event back in '06 with an average of over 2,500 entrants. In 2005, just one "low buy-in" NLHE event drew 2305 players. Two eight hundred players $1,500 No Limit tournaments were run in 2004 and 531 players played in the only event in 2003. The boom at the WSOP has at least partially been fueled by the $1,500 events.
It is clear that the WSOP scheduling is balancing the desires of the professionals with the populist demand for more low buy-in events. On the 2008 WSOP schedule a full 21 of the 55 events are $1,500 buy-ins across the full range of poker games and almost unanimously these events are matching or exceeding last summer's registration numbers.
So when the final numbers are in on the 2008 World Series of Poker, expect two themes to emerge:
-the professionals are winning a bunch of bracelets;
-lots and lots of the average poker players are still coming to Las Vegas to play the $1,500 events and the same shiny gold bracelets.
David Kitai Wins 2008 WSOP Event #38
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
David Kitai, 2008 WSOP $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Champion
Marathon heads-up poker is alive and well at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Sunday night saw another final table heads-up battle that went on for hours, more than three hours. The chips moved back and fourth across the felt so many times the markings were in danger coming off. Just when it seemed this bracelet event was never going to be decided a Chinese poker game broke out in the audience. Layne Flack and friends were sequestered in a corner of the stands playing their own card game.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
David Kitai ducks under the hood while Chris Bell goes into the tank
When the end finally came it was the kid from Belgium that had all the chips. David Katai eliminated a tough Chris Bell for the WSOP gold. Chris had been down to the felt twice before and played grinder poker to stage a come to the chip lead; but, the third time it just wasn't to be. He fell one short in his quest to eliminate the other 604 players that entered the event. Bell received $155,806 for second place. Keith Greer goes home with $94,695 for finishing in third place.
David Katai brought his own cheering section that filled the stands and clapped, whistled, and yelled their hero to a win. The rowdy crowd rushed the stage when the final river hit the board and Katai raised his arms in victory. David Katai collected $244,546 and his first WSOP bracelet plus the 2008 WSOP $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em bragging rights.
Congratulations to David Katai for taking down a 2008 WSOP title and his first gold bracelet.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Layne Flack and company play Chinese poker
David Benyamine Wins 2008 WSOP Event #37
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
David Benyamine, 2008 WSOP $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Champion
David Benyamine outlasted a field of 235 players to take down the 2008 WSOP $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Champion. A star studded final table that included Mike "The Mouth" Matusow made this event popular with the fans that crowded around the final table. The always entertaining Matusow kept the crowd laughing with his personal commentary of the hands.
Well known poker pro David Benyamine went into the heads-up play with a comfortable 3 to 1 chip lead over opponent Greg Jamison. Heads-up play was a short affair that saw Benyamine use his chip advantage to overpower the short stacked Jamison. Greg Jamison takes down $331,350 for second place. Jason Gray was eliminated in the third spot for $209,855. Toto Leonidas finished fourth for $171,197 and Mike Matusow collected $138,062 for fifth.Congratulations to David Benyamine for his second WSOP bracelet and 2008 WSOP World Champion title.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
David Benyamine, winner 2008 WSOP event #37
Jesper Hougaard Wins 2008 WSOP Event #36
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Jesper Hougaard, 2008 WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Champion
Another day at the 2008 WSOP and we have another $1,500 NLHE winner. This time it's Jesper Hougaard going home with the cash and gold bracelet. Hougaard came to the final table as the chip leader then slipped behind and appeared to have run out of luck; but, after the dinner break he was once again determined to take down the win. The chips began moving back across the table from Cody Slaubaugh until finally Hougaard had Slaubaugh all-in. The flop gave Hougaard a set of Queens and the turn card sealed the win. Along with the bracelet Jesper Hougaard collected $610,304.
Cody Slaubaugh collects $389,128 for second place and Aaron Kanter goes away with $258,862 in cash for second place.
Congratulations to Jesper Hougaard for winning WSOP event #36 and collecting his first WSOP bracelet.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Jesper Hougaard wins event #36
World Series of Poker: Another Big Final Table Brewing
The $10,000 Omaha 8 or better is down to the final two tables and early this evening, we could have another (over)loaded final table. Here is where they stand at present, I will keep updating until the lure of being at the Rio watching my guy play becomes overwhelming.
Table 15
X Brent Carter 16th place
2 Jason Gray 347,000
3 Berry Johnston 338,000
4 Mike Matusow 440,000
5 David Chiu 372,000
6 Greg Jamison 208,000
7 Hieu "Tony" Ma 319,000
X Ray Dehkharghani 18th place
X William McMahan 17th place
8 Danny Dang 160,000
Table 14
M Danny Dang moved
X Stuart Paterson 15th place
3 Eugene Katchalov 252,000
4 Chau Giang 175,000
5 Shun Uchida 134,000
X Pat Pezzin 14th place
7 David Benyamine 540,000
8 Ram Vaswani 275,000
9 Toto Leonidas 500,000
Mike Rocco Wins 2008 WSOP Event #35
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Mike Rocco, 2008 WSOP $1,500 Seven Card Stud Champion
Mike Rocco outlasted a field of 381 players in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event at the 2008 WSOP. Rocco collected his first WSOP bracelet and $135,753 in cash after defeating Al Barbieri in heads up play. by the time the event came to an end a crowd of supporters had gathered to watch Rocco take down the prize. Professional poker players in the crowd included Cyndy Violette and Jeff Lisandro. The victory brought tears of happiness to Rocco's eyes as he savored the taste of WSOP gold.
Second place finisher Al Barbiera received $83,210 and third place money of $50,186 went to Levon Torosyan. Congratulations to WSOP Champion Mike Rocco.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Mike Rocco and friends
Layne Flack Wins 2008 WSOP Event #34
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Layne Flack, 2008 WSOP $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys Champion
World Series of Poker bracelet number six joins Layne Flack's collection of poker gold. He topped the field of 320 players in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys event #34 on Friday evening. It didn't take Flack very long once the match got to heads-up. Second place finisher Daniel Makowsky watched his chips disappear under the constant pressure of Flack's aggressive game style. The popular pro had an entire section of backers including a number of pros cheering him on to victory.
Layne Flack collected $577,725 and his sixth WSOP gold bracelet. Daniel Makowsky received $355,050 for his second place finish and Jacobo Fernandez rounds out the top three to take the $222,659 third place money.
Congratulations to Layne Flack for the win and WSOP bracelet #6.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Layne Flack with a group of well-wishers moments after winning his sixth WSOP bracelet
World Series of Poker: Week Three Comparison
As we wrap-up week three of the World Series, registration numbers for 37 events are in the books. Here are the comparisons 2007 to 2008.
37 Events to Date:
18 events have increased entries
13 events have decreased
3 events were new tournaments in 2008
2 events had increased buy-ins from $5k to $10K (entries were down)
1 event with capped registration in '08
2008 Event #25
$10,00 No Limit Hold'em Heads Up
Number of Entrants: 256
2007 Entries: 392
(event was capped at 256 this year)
2008 Event #26
$1,500 Seven Card Razz
Number of Entrants: 453
2007 Entries: 341
(a monster increase in Razz players)
2008 Event #27
$1,500 No Limit Hold'em
Number of Entrants: 2,706
2007 Entries: 2,628
($1,500 events holding up well)
2008 Event #28
$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys
Number of Entrants: 152 w/ 483 rebuys
2007 Entries: 145 w/ 450 rebuys
(a few more w/rebuys)
2008 Event #29
$3,000 No Limit Hold'em
Number of Entrants: 716
2007 Entries: 827
(down over 100+ players)
2008 Event #30
$10,00 Limit Hold'em
Number of Entrants: 218
2007 Entries: 257
(this was a surprise, down 16%)
2008 Event #31
$2,500 No Limit Hold'em 6-handed
Number of Entrants: 1,013
2007 Entries: 847
(big, big increase)
2008 Event #32
$1,500 No Limit Hold'em
Number of Entrants: (2,304)
2007 Entries: 2,315
(down just a bit, but there are three $1500 NLHE in five days)
2008 Event #33
$5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Split
Number of Entrants: 261
2007 Entries: 236
(last year’s event was a $3K buy-in)
2008 Event #34
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys
Number of Entrants: 320 w/ 1,350
2007 Entries: 293 w/ 880 rebuys
(nice increase in players, monster increase in rebuys)
2008 Event #35
$1,500 Seven Card Stud
Number of Entrants: 381
2007 Entries: 385
(everything is just about the same)
2008 Event #36
$1,500 No Limit Hold'em
Number of Entrants: 2,447
2007 Entries: 2,541
(off about a hundred)
2008 Event #37
$10,000 Omaha 8 or better
Number of Entrants: 235
2007 Entries: 280
(down 16%)
Week One Comparison
Week Two Comparison
Sebastian Ruthenber Wins 2008 WSOP Event #33
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Sebastian Ruthenber, 2008 WSOP $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Champion
A WSOP world championship poker title was on the line Thursday evening and it was staged at a table in the corner of the Amazon room. Fans wanting a peek at some of poker's hottest stars crowded around the rail jousting for position. Steve Sung, Marcel Luske, Annie Duke and Chris Ferguson were among the eight final table contestants vying for a share of the $1,226,700 prize pool. This world championship of Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo attracted a crowd of 261 players paying the $5K entry fee.
The Day 2 play turned into a marathon session when the eliminations to reach the eight final table players lasted until 7AM Thursday morning (You have to be tough and skilled to play poker at this level). The lucky eight returned for a 5PM final table start. Sung went out in seventh place for $46,001, Annie Duke left with $73,602 for sixth, Marcel Luske lasted to fourth place and $95,069, and Bob Lauria collected $125,737 for third. This left Sebastian Ruthenber and Chris Ferguson to play heads-up for the championship and play they did. The two traded chips and the lead until the wee morning hours before Sebastian Ruthenberg finally took command and put Chris Ferguson all-in for the win. Sebastian Ruthenberg takes away the gold and $328,756 while second place finisher Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson received $202,406.
Congratulations to Sebastian Ruthenberg for winning the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Championship and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson finished second to collect $202,406
Jose Luis Velador Wins 2008 WSOP Event #32
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Jose Luis Velador, 2008 WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Champion
Jose Luis Velador eceived his first WSOP bracelet after defeating Anthony Signore in heads-up play at Thursday's feature table. The win was good enough for $573,734 in cash from the total prize pool of $3,144,960. The victory was no easy task because of the 2,304 players that entered the event. Anthony Signore finished second and received $366,387. Osmin Dardon completed the top three to collect $243,734 for third place.
Congratulations to Jose Luis Velador for scooping his first WSOP champion's bracelet.
photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Jose Luis Velador and Anthony Signore chat moments after Jose Luis won event #32, 2008 WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
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