Poker News Archive

Allen Cunningham Wins Fifth Bracelet

Congratulations to Allen Cunningham who pulled off one of the most amazing three-peats in WSOP history, by winning his third bracelet in as many years.

Cunningham's latest victory came in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'em tournament where he out-battled a star-studded final table, including Jeff Lisandro and Humberto Brenes. In addition to his newest bracelet, Cunningham walked away with $487,287 in first-place prize money.

Cunningham is now one of just 16 players who own a total of five or more WSOP bracelets, and is tied on the all-time winner's list with Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Layne Flack, and Berry Johnston.

Jennifer Harman Rides to Second in the WSOP Europe's HORSE Event

Congratulations to Jennifer Harman who claimed second place in the World Series of Poker Europe's £2,500 HORSE Event.

Harman worked her way through a star-studded field to reach the final table, where she faced one of the toughest final tables in recent WSOP history, including Chris Ferguson, Joe Beevers, and Alex Kravchenko, who finished fourth at the WSOP Main Event in July.

Harman's impressive performance in the HORSE event earned her £40,688 ($82,527) and once again showed why she is widely considered to be one of the world's top poker players.

Chris Ferguson Finishes Fourth at the WSOP Europe's HORSE Event

Congratulations to Chris Ferguson who played his way to fourth place at the World Series of Poker Europe's inaugural HORSE event.

Ferguson battled his way back from a short stack at the start of the final table, taking home more than £21,650 ($42,000) for his strong performance.

Gazes Stares Down Competition at Ladies Night

Congratulations to Kristy Gazes who claimed the title of WPT Ladies Night V Champion after defeating a star-studded final table that included defending champion JJ Liu along with Mimi Tran, Melissa Hayden, and Pam Brunson.

Gazes made quick work of the competition, grabbing the chip lead and knocking Liu out on the first hand of final-table play when her full house bested the defending champ's two-pair. Gazes never relinquished her lead, and took the title – along with a $25K entry to the WPT Championship – when her pocket Kings held up against Linda Johnson's pocket Jacks.

Jerry Yang Wins 2007 WSOP Main Event

Congratulations to Jerry Yang – the new 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion.

Yang dominated final table action, eliminating seven of his eight opponents on his way to a massive $8.25 million top prize. The final hand of the tournament saw Yang catch a miracle card on the river to complete his gut-shot straight draw and knock off his last remaining competitor.

An ecstatic Yang celebrated with his friends and family after the victory. The socially conscious Yang will donate 10% of his winnings to various charities.

Alex Kravchenko Takes Fourth in Main Event

Congratulations to Alex Kravchenko, who finished fourth in the World Series of Poker Main Event, earning him $1,852,721. Alex came to the Main Event final table as the short stack, but managed to hang on until fourth place, when his A-K did not improve against eventual champion Jerry Yang's pocket Eights.

The fourth-place finish in the Main Event completed an impressive 2007 World Series of Poker for Kravchenko, where he won more than $2 Million in total prizes and became the first Russian player ever to win a bracelet, taking first place in the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event.

Jon Kalmar is a Main Event Millionaire

Congratulations to Jon Kalmar who posted an incredible fifth-place finish in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Kalmar, a former punk rocker and IT consultant from Chorley, Lancashire in England, earned his entry to the Big Dance in a last chance satellite.

After battling his way to the final table, Kalmar was eliminated when his Ace-King ran into pocket Jacks and failed to improve. His solid play throughout the Main Event was good for more than $1.25 million in prize money.

Lee Childs Takes 7th at WSOP Main Event

Congratulations to Lee Childs, who came in seventh at the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Childs, who quit his job a month ago to play poker full time, took home more than $700,000 for his tremendous effort.

"My goal when I came in to the tournament was to trust my instincts, make the right decision and hopefully not get unlucky," Childs said. "I was that close to doubling up."

Lee Watkinson Leaves the Main Event in 8th Place

Congratulations to Lee Watkinson who took home more than $585,000 for his incredible eighth-place finish at the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Watkinson's success at the Main Event marks his fourth World Series of Poker final table and his 10th cash overall.

Lee, who already has one WSOP bracelet to his name, navigated a field of 6,358 players to reach the final table, establishing himself as one of the best professionals in the game.

Philip Hilm Finishes 9th at the Main Event

Congratulations to Philip Hilm who finished ninth at this year's WSOP Main Event. Hilm collected nearly $526K for his impressive performance.

Hilm, who came to the final table as chip leader, was involved in a number of pots before tangling with eventual winner Jerry Yang. Hilm pushed all-in with a flush draw and was eliminated when Yang's pair of Kings held up on the river.

The Mouth Speaks Volumes at the Bellagio Cup III

Congratulations to Mike "The Mouth" Matusow on his second-place finish at The Bellagio Cup III Championship Event. Playing from a short stack for most of the tournament, Mike fought through the field of more than 500 players in this prestigious WPT event.

In final heads-up play, Mike went all-in with a straight flush draw against his opponent's pocket queens, but failed to connect on either the turn or the river. Although we know that Mike is never satisfied with anything less than first-place, perhaps he can take comfort in the $671,320 he earned for his impressive finish.

Ram Vaswani Wins a Bracelet

Ram Vaswani notched yet another bracelet for the pros, taking first in the $1,500 Limit Hold 'em Shootout and winning his first World Series of Poker championship. Vaswani looked impressive throughout, maneuvering his way through 720 players and earning $217,438 for his stellar effort.

The win adds to Vaswani's impressive resume, which already includes three WSOP final tables and a record three EPT final tables.

Mizrachi Takes Home First WSOP Bracelet

Congratulations to Robert Mizrachi for taking home his first World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship. Mizrachi bested a star-studded field of 314 players, which included David Chiu, Andy Bloch, Eric Froehlich, and Joe Beevers.

Mizrachi's victory caps an incredible run through this year's Series. In addition to his victory, Robert has made three final tables and has cashed in five different events. Mizrachi's first bracelet netted him a purse of $768,889, bringing his total prize money at this year's World Series of Poker to more than $831,000.

Chip Jett Flies High in the $1,500 SHOE Event

Congratulations to Chip Jett for his third-place finish in the $1,000 SHOE event at this year's World Series of Poker. Jett's performance earned him more than $55,000.

Not far behind Jett was author Michael Craig, who finished seventh in the event. Craig's total winnings at this year's World Series of Poker are now more than $38,000.

Another pro hitting his stride was Marco Traniello. Marco took fifth in the $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event, eighth in the $5,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud, and ninth in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold 'em event. With total earnings of more than $190,000, Traniello was one of this year's biggest winners.

Erica Schoenberg's Model Performance

Congratulations to Erica Schoenberg who posted an impressive third-place finish in the WSOP's $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament.

Erica battled her way through a field of almost 2,800 players to start the final table with the second-largest chip stack. Erica took a bad beat, losing more than half her chip stack, and played short-stack poker until finally finishing third. Still, Erica managed to turn her $1,500 buy-in into more than $261,000.

David Singer Rides the HORSE – Again

Congratulations to David Singer on making the final table of the $50,000 HORSE event at the World Series of Poker for the second year in a row.

David battled a field of 148 of the world's best players to finish in sixth place for a cool $337,440. This is on the heels of his performance in the same event last year, where his final table placement netted him more than $400,000.

Half-Time at Series 2007

Halfway through the 2007 WSOP, the pros had netted an amazing $2.3 million, almost 5% of the total combined prize pools to date.

Some of the most notable finishes included Allen Cunningham's fifth career bracelet, second-place finishes from Phil Ivey, Gavin Smith and Greg "FBT" Mueller, as well as 15 other final-table finishes. Overall, the pros tallied 73 combined cashes, with many having multiple cashes.

Phil Ivey is a Seven-Card Stud

Congratulations to Phil Ivey for his second-place finish in the WSOP's $5,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud tournament.

Ivey narrowly missed out on winning his sixth-career bracelet when he was bested by long-time Seven-Card Stud specialist Chris Reslock in heads-up play. Still, Ivey's performance earned him a tidy $143,820 in second-place prize money.

Joining Ivey at the final table were David Oppenheim who collected $93,060 for third, and Marco Traniello who pocketed $19,458 for eighth.

The Onslaught Continues...

The 2007 WSOP had only been running for five days, and the pros were already dominating the field.

In addition to Greg Mueller and Gavin Smith's superb second-place finishes in Event 1 and Event 4 respectively, three other pros made final tables:

Event 5: $2,500 Omaha/7-Card Stud – Chris Ferguson, 4th place: $50,391. David Benyamine, 6th place: $29,708.

Event 7: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/Rebuys – John Juanda, 7th place: $107,196. Andy Black had a notable 11th place finish earning $40K.

Gavin Smith Scoops a Huge Payday in Event 4

Congratulations to Gavin Smith, who played his way to a $155,645 payday and a second-place finish in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold 'em event.

Gavin battled his way through a field of 780 players and looked to be a strong favorite going into the final table. He started heads-up play with an early chip lead over his opponent. However, a few key hands eliminated this advantage. On the final hand, Gavin pushed his pre-flop advantage with a small pocket pair, but unfortunately it just couldn't hold up against Ace-Ten suited.

Greg Mueller Blows the Series Wide Open

Congratulations to Greg "Full Blown Tilt" Mueller on his thrilling second-place finish in the first event of the 2007 World Series of Poker.

One of the chip leaders for most of the tournament, Greg went into heads-up play with a commanding chip lead. However, his opponent hit two successive full houses to seize the lead. Crippled by these hands, Greg was forced to make some marginal plays, and unfortunately Lady Luck wasn't as kind. Although he just missed winning his first bracelet, Greg's runner-up finish rewarded him with $328,000.

Carlos Mortensen Wins WPT Five Star World Poker Classic

Congratulations to Carlos "The Matador" Mortensen, who rallied through three hours of grueling heads-up play against Kirk Morrison to win the 2007 WPT Five Star World Poker Classic – making him the first player to ever win both a WPT World Championship and a WSOP Main Event.

Mortensen's $3.9 million win moves him into the top-10 all-time money list and is a crowning achievement in an already impressive career. Besides winning the 2001 Main Event, Mortensen owns another World Series of Poker bracelet, and a second WPT title.

Roland de Wolfe Finishes Second at the Irish Poker Open

Congratulations to Roland de Wolfe who finished second at the Irish Poker Open. De Wolfe, who was always among the leaders of the 708 player event, claimed nearly $436,000 for his performance.

JJ Liu is a Shooting Star

Congratulations to JJ Liu who finished second at the World Poker Tour's Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament after battling through the longest final table in WPT history.

When Liu took her seat at the table, she was third in chips. When she left nine hours later, she had earned a place in poker history and $600,000 in prize money after waging a dramatic heads-up battle with eventual tournament winner, Ted Forrest.

Allen Cunningham Joins Team Full Tilt

Allen "Clever Piggy" Cunningham was named to Team Full Tilt in recognition of his overall poker skill and his recent accomplishments, most notably at the 2005 and 2006 World Series of Poker. Allen brought four WSOP bracelets to the team.

Although only 29, Allen had been playing poker professionally for seven years. In that time, he quietly earned a reputation as one of the top players of his generation and was voted the Best All-Around Player under 35 by his peers.

Roland de Wolfe Devours the Competition in Dublin

Congratulations to Roland de Wolfe who took home first place and more than 544,000 euro ($691,000) at the 5,000 euro buy-in European Poker Tour event in Dublin.

De Wolfe outlasted more than 388 entrants to claim the title and knocked seven of the final eight players out of the tournament on his way to victory. Having previously won the 2005 World Poker Tour title at the Grand Prix de Paris, de Wolfe became the first player to win championships on both the WPT and the EPT.

Phil Gordon Wins the Championship at Red Rock

Congratulations to Phil Gordon who celebrated Thanksgiving in high style, taking home the Championship at Red Rock title and $600,000 in first-place prize money.

Gordon faced tough competition in the live, televised tournament, including John Juanda and Erick Lindgren. Also finishing in the money were Roland de Wolfe and Toto Leonidas.

Sunny Days for Robert Mizrachi at the WPT

Congratulations to Robert Mizrachi who pocketed nearly $410,000 for his fourth-place finish at the World Poker Tour's Caribbean Adventure tournament. Mizrachi's finish was his best since May 2006, and his biggest cash prize ever.

Erick Lindgren Wins AU$1 Million at Aussie Millions

Congratulations to Erick Lindgren who pocketed a cool AU$1 million after winning the AU$100,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em tournament at the Aussie Millions.

The high buy-in limited the field to 18 of the world's best pros, including Phil Ivey, John Juanda, and Erik Seidel, who collected AU$550,000 for his second-place finish.

Gus Hansen Wins the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event

Congratulations to Gus Hansen, winner of the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event. Gus outlasted 746 other players to take home the first-place prize of AU$1,500,000 (almost $1.2 million U.S.). One of the highest profile wins of his career, this first-place prize was Gus' biggest ever tournament payout.

Andy Black and Kristy Gazes joined Gus at the final table, finishing in third place and seventh place respectively. Andy took home AU$700,000 for his performance, while Kristy took home AU$220,000.