From official WSOP reports … (with a WSOP historical info, Phil Ivey bio stuff, and post-game interview):
The Winner —
· The 2009 World Series of Poker $2,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split / Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split champion is Phil Ivey, from Las Vegas, NV.
· Ivey collected $220,538 for first place. He was also awarded his seventh WSOP gold bracelet.
· With this victory, Ivey joins Billy Baxter with seven WSOP titles, which ranks sixth on the all-time wins list. Remaining ahead of Ivey are Phil Hellmuth (11 wins), Doyle Brunson (10 wins), Johnny Chan (10 wins), Johnny Moss (9 wins), and Erik Seidel (8 wins).
· According to the official records, Ivey now has 7 wins, 19 final table appearances, and 33 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.
· Ivey currently has $3,439,386 in WSOP winnings.
· Ivey won three of his WSOP gold bracelets at the 2002 WSOP.
· Ivey has never won a WSOP gold bracelet in Hold’em.
More…
For those who are curious, here’s how the USPC has changed over the years, in terms of the size of the main event field, and thereby payouts:
(Top 2 finishers in parentheses)
2002 — 72 players* (John Hennigan beats Erik Seidel)
2003 — 99 players (Toto Leonidas beats Erik Seidel)
2004 — 177 players (John Aglialoro beats Joe Cassidy)
2005 — 226 players (James “Capo” Caporuscio beats Ralph Pecorale)
2006 — 261 players (Alex Jacob beats Jordan Morgan)
2007 — 164 players (Winner TBD / Not Gavin Smith)
Not sure what all this says about the level of competition or the poker world in general, but the numbers are telling of something. This tourney did lose its TV contract this year, which certainly alters the field. But what becomes of it from here remains to be seen.
Click here to see the top-heavy payout structure.
And/or click here to dig into the history of this boldly named event. (Pre- and post-poker boom.) Do you think it’s possible that “struggling” tourneys like this one might change their payout structures to make them more appealing? Because while the 1st Place prize is plenty hefty, pros know how hard it is to actually win one of these things … and I gotta think if they knew a final table provided a bigger ROI it might be easier to put it on their schedule. Just a thought …
* Buy-in in 2002 was $7,500. Raised to $10,000 thereafter.
An update on the US Poker Championship at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City as they get near the money bubble. For all you Louis Lee fans out there:
Up to 460,000 chips. 22 players left. Ramdin crippled Bill gaze. Pocket 10 held up to pocket 7. Gaze out. got most of my chips from ramdin.
Excellent. Final table in his sights.
Coverage from PokerPages here.
Coverage from PokerListings here.
UPDATE: From PokerListings:
As we start hand-for-hand play, Victor Ramdin turns to seatmate Louis Lee and tells him, “I promise by the end of the tournament I’m going to take every one of your chips. I promise. And you know why? Because you play bad. You’re playing bad poker. And people who play bad poker, I take all of their chips.”
Awesome … Ramdin sounds like a break-even online player.
With 27 players remaining in the U.S. Poker Championship, held at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, Louis Lee from Plano will start Day 4 tomorrow 4th in chips. Jeff Madsen is the fairly dominant chip leader, followed by his party pal Gavin Smithr. Other recognizable names still alive in this $10k event include Allen Kessler, Victor Ramdin, Cliff Josephy (aka JohnnyBax), and Bill Gazes.
Eighteen get paid, with first prize being a little more than $600,000. (164 players started — kinda small, no?)
PokerPages is the only outlet following the action semi-live …
CORRECTION: PokerListings is at the USPC tables, too.
Louis’ up-and-coming tournament history here.
