WSOP: Preliminary Events Update

By Jake Gosselin
BodogNation Contributing Writer

The preliminary WSOP events have been both grueling and exciting with plenty of table talk from the usual suspects. (Mike Matusow, I’m looking at you.) Even better, Team Bodog has received outstanding performances from its online qualifiers and pros alike.

Team Bodog

Event No.2 - No-Limit Holdem $1,500 Buy-in

Don Leone and Alex Porter of Team Bodog both played themselves into the money. They finished 43rd and 175th, respectively, banking $9,094 and $3,400 - a strong showing considering the large field of 2776 entrants.

Event No.4 - Limit Holdem $1,500 Buy-in

It proved a pretty exciting time for Team Bodog member, Steven Howard. Steven made it deep and then found himself approaching the bubble at a ridiculously tough table. Dustin Woolf, Allen Cunningham and chipleader Phil Ivey were all on his left. Despite a valiant effort, Steven was eliminated just out of reach of the money.

Event No. 10 - Seven-Card Stud Buy-in $1,500

Team Bodog Pros, Josh Arieh and David Williams, both played well in this event. It started Wednesday, July 5, and went until 3 A.M. Arieh was eliminated at around 2 A.M. and just shy of the money. Williams finished the day second in chips with $5,500. The total prize pool for this event is $652,470 with $163,118 going to first place. Play resumes Thursday.

Winners

Event No.2- No-Limit Holdem $1,500 Buy-in

The winner of Event No.2 was Brandon Cantu who won $757,839. Cantu, with his quiet playing style and demeanor, has flown under the radar and avoided the spotlight despite being a four-time bracelet winner and having lifetime poker earnings of $2,500,000.

Event No.3 – Pot-Limit Holdem $1,500 Buy-in

Rafe Furst stole first prize in event No. 3. Furst’s aggressive style of play has both helped and hindered him. In 2005 he won the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Ultimate Poker Challenge, but in the 2003 WSOP Main Event he was the first player to bust out.

Interesting fact: Furst and Phil Gordon have worked together and helped to raise money for their “Put a Bad Beat on Cancer” initiative.

Event No.4 – Limit Holdem $1,500 Buy-in

A victory in Event No.4 gave Kianoush Abolfathi his first Championship Title, the Gold Bracelet and $335,289. Kianoush is from Marina Del Rey, Calif. He beat out Phil Ivey (finished 21st) on his way to first place.

Event No.5 – No-Limit Holdem Short Handed $2,500 Buy-in

Russ “Dutch” Boyd took first place in Event No.5. Boyd arrived on the poker scene with a 12th place finish in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Since then he has amassed a lifetime winning total of $707,460.

Boyd busted out last year’s Main Event champion, Joe Hachem, to win his first bracelet. Boyd has A5 and Hachem had AQ. The flop was AK9. The turn was a J and fortunately for Boyd, the river was a 5.

Event No.6 – No-Limit Holdem $2,000 Buy-in

Although Mark Vos of Australia has only been playing poker for a couple years he just increased his total earnings of $62,763 by $803,274 with this first place finish.

Event No.7 – Limit Holdem $3,000 Buy-in

William Chen of Layfayerre Hill, Penn. just exploded his lifetime earnings from $40,175 with his first place finish in Event No.7 and the $343,618 that came with it.

Event No.8 – Omaha Hi-Low Split $2,000 Buy-in

Poker pro Jack Zwerner took first place in Event No.8. You might not have heard of Jack since his previous earnings have been pretty small potatoes. However, with the $341,426 he just made, you can probably expect to be seeing more of Zwerner at the tables.

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