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2007 World Series of Poker
Events 16 to 20

Event #16 | #17 | #18 | #19 | #20

Event #16 June 9 Saturday 5:00 PM
H.O.R.S.E. 3 day event $2,500.00

The $2,500 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. championship attracted 381 players, which became the largest H.O.R.S.E. tournament in WSOP history. An incredible tour-de-force has shown up with pros like Chip Reese, Andy Bloch, Michael Mizrachi, Steve Zolotow, David Grey, Layne Flack, Scotty Nguyen, Darrell Dicken, Erick Lindgren, Doyle Brunson, John D'Agostino, David Chiu, Robert Mizrachi and Daniel Negreanu. The games of H.O.R.S.E. which are Limit Hold'em and Omaha Hi/Lo, and will continue with Razz, Stud and Stud Hi/Lo will be rotated every 30 minutes. Prize pool amount is $878,600, and cash goes to the top 40 finishers. Making the cut for Day 2 also includes players David Williams with 19,825 chips, John Gale 19,325, Justin Bonomo 18,875, Mark Vos 17,500, Darrell Dicken 16,850, Jean Robert Balande 16,575, Jeff Madsen 16,025 and Andy Bloch 13,175. Action stopped at 3:00 a.m. and there will be 210 that return for the next round of this tournament.

Day 2 was a long day for these players lasting 12 1/2 hours. And for that reason, there will be 15 players on Day 3 playing down to the final table and champion. It's Event #16 and players are already stating how tired they are. Play began with Omaha Hi/Lo with lots of big pots were chopped on the river, followed up by Razz. During play, a number of top players began to notice that some of the cards in the decks were being marked at numerous tables and removed them. If any cards survived, they didn't help period as players were dropping like flies during the different games and their levels. But gears shifted after dinner which was 9:00 p.m. as a return to Omaha Hi/Lo saw less than 10 bust in the following hour. Even though great names were sent to the sidelines, the 15 that remain will make sure it will be a tough run to the finish. Names like Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken, Thayer Rasmussen and Alexandra Vuong were included in the list. The last roundup for this tourney should get together at 2:00 p.m. to determine the champion.

At around 2:10 p.m PST, the last round began. The eight for the final table were reached at 5:00 p.m. with Alexandra Vuong who just missed the final table by coming in 9th, receving $12,213 for her efforts. Final table play began with seven card stud hi-lo, then switched to Hold'Em a few minutes later. That is when Harry Kazazian busted in 8th place in a 3-way hand with Tom Schneider who tripled up and Robert Mizrachi. With the game still at Hold'Em, Herb Van Dyke went out in 7th after losing to James Richburg by a kicker. After a hand of Seven Card Stud, Robert Mizrachi joined the spectators in a 6th place finish once Chris Bjorin produced a King high flush. Switching to Hold'Em, Ali Eslami busted out in 5th when his paired 5's could not outperform the paired 10's of James Richburg. With the game now at Seven Card Stud, next in the line of Richburg victims was Tom Schnieder who lost to Richburg's pocket K's, finishing 4th. A few minutes later the table is playing Hold'Em and Chris Bjorin leaves the table in 3rd, when Richburg paired his 2 card.

Chip counts for the heads up are James Richburg -- 1,273,000 and Walter Browne -- 637,000. Browne was slowly losing chips when the winning hand came while playing RAZZ. Both players were all in with Richburg having (4 2) 3 and Browne with (5 2) 7. When the cards were dealt, Richburg made a 6 4 3 2 A on sixth street and Browne had a ten low. So James Richburg wins the title, being rewarded with earning the cash, a Corum watch, and the gold and diamond WSOP bracelet. It will go nicely with the other bracelet he won in 2006 taking the title in the RAZZ tournament.

Final Table results:

1. James Richburg -- $238,881
2. Walter Browne -- $131,445
3. Chris Bjorin -- $83,467
4. Tom Schneider -- $54,913
5. Ali Eslami -- $42,612
6. Robert Mizrachi -- $32,069
7. Herb Van Dyke -- $24,536
8. Harry Kazazian -- $17,964

Event #17 June 10 Sunday 12 Noon
World Championship Ladies Event No-Limit Hold�em 3 day event $1,000.00

In a group of players with a lot less testosterone, 1,286 ladies entered today's event, creating a prize pool of $1,755,390. The Ladies Championship bracelet features four black diamonds, two rubies and 87 blue sapphires. Money goes to the top 99. Ok, so what's so different about the ladies tournament? Besides smelling a lot nicer, they ARE a lot nicer. (A number of them look very good!) When bustouts occurred, they gave hugs and showed compassion for the loser which has been rare in the WSOP so far. In a table dispute even the tournament official who mediated got a hug. But God knows they take care of business at the tables. Seen in play were Jennifer Tilly, Clonie Gowen, Erica Schoenberg, Susie Isaacs, Shirley Williams who is the mother of David Williams, Vanessa Selbst, Devi Ortega, Nikki LeTran, Evelyn Ng and Jane Gold who is the mother of 2006 Main Event winner Jamie Gold. Table play went on until 2:00 a.m. when the 66 remaining ladies bagged their chips to come back tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.

Day 2 continued the competitiveness of yesterday with 25 gone in the first hour of play. Another hour and a half the player count was down to 21. One reason for the rate of eliminations, is the blinds and antes are rising putting the ladies into make it or break it situations. When the player count reached 14, the blinds were up to $6,000/$12,000 and a $1,000 ante. Mary Jones who won last year, busted out in 16th place. And by 9:00 p.m. the final table players were reached. After getting a night of well deserved sleep, they will be back at 4:00 p.m. PST to see who the new champion is!

When the final table got underway, some players were very aggressive (one was described as a table bully) and other tight. First to go in 9th place was short stacked Julie Dang after Katja Thater paired her Ace card. After that Katja Thater built her chips up to become a monster stack and for a while no one wanted to play against her! Eventually Vanessa Selbst stood up to Katja...and went out in 8th place when her Ad 4d lost to Katja's pocket 7's. Two hours later Mindy Trinidad collected the winnings for 7th place after Randi Calabro's pocket J's pointed the way for her. Sixth place went to Frauke Ritter Von Sporschill after her all-in move with Ad 6h was stopped by Anne Heft also sporting pocket J's. Meanwhile, Katja lost lots of chips in a couple of big hands and walked away in a 5th place finish when her A 10 ran into Anne Heft's A Q and no other cards helped either player. In 4th place was Kathleen Gliva who's Ac Kc was beaten by Sally Anne Boyer with pocket 4's. A third place finish for Randi Calabro came when her hand was crushed by the quad 6's of Sally Anne Boyer. (Randi was paid well, but now has no job because her former employer was upset she didn't show up for work. If anyone can help her out, she'd appreciate it. And trust me, it's not the first time something like this has happened.)

The quest for the bracelet is now between Anne Heft with 1,600,000 chips and Sally Anne Boyer with 985,000. For the next 25 minutes it was an "all-in" war between them. But the winning hand came when Sally moved in with Kd 2c and was called by Anne producing Ks 10s. Table felt showed them 4c 5s 3d 8c 2s and Sally wins by a pair of 2's!

Final Table results:

1. Sally Anne Boyer -- $262,077
2. Anne Heft -- $166,177
3. Randi Calabro -- $106,177
4. Kathleen Gliva -- $70,216
5. Katja Thater -- $49,151
6. Frauke Ritter Von Sporschill -- $37,448
7. Mindy Trinidad -- $28,086
8. Vanessa Selbst -- $20,480
9. Julie Dang -- $14,628

Event #18 June 10 Sunday 5:00 PM
World Championship Limit Hold'em 3 day event $5,000.00

A total of 257 players entered this tournament and were started out with $10,000 in chips each. Prize pool reached $1,207,900 and the top 27 get paid. Some of the players who were sitting at the tables were Clonie Gowen, J.J. Liu, Liz Lieu, Chau Giang, Doyle Brunson, Ted Forrest, Vanessa Rousso, Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken, David Chiu, Joe Sebok, Daniel Negreanu, Daniel Alaei and Chad Brown. Play was pretty slow with the higher level of chips and low blinds of the levels. By the end of the dinner break 10:30 p.m., there were 238 players remaining. The pace eventually picked up and eliminations did occur, but the ones who made the cut will make Day 2 tough. Included in that list of 115 players are Mimi Tran, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Eli Elezra, Berry Johnston, David Benyamine, Howard Lederer, John Cernuto, Jennifer Harman, Eric Froehlich and Vanessa Rousso. Day 2 will begin at 3:00 p.m. June 11th.

The cards began flying at 3:00 p.m. with more bustouts continuing on Day 2. There were 15 gone in the first hour, 40 by the end of the second hour. But at the other end of the spectrum, there were those who caused the bustouts. Player William Thorsson and Thor Hansen had solid performances both making the final table. When 3:30 a.m. came all the names for the last round were reached. Play will resume at 4 p.m. on June 12th.

Final table action began with blinds at the $8000/$15000 level. In the first 15 min, Gabriel Nassif was eliminated in 9th place after his opponent Geoff Sanford paired his A K with another that hit the board. Sanford also sent Don Todd home in 8th with a set of 3's. Then Ray Dehkharghani laid claim to a 7th place finish. Ray had his pocket A's cracked on the prior hand and was on tilt as he raised and reraised William Thorsson in the dark pre-flop. His bravado was not rewarded and Thorson's K Q remained dominate in the hand. Tom Koral finished 6th when his pocket 7's lost to the straight of David Gee. David Gee then was eliminated in 5th when the pocket 10's of William Thorsson turned into a set. Two time WSOP bracelet holder Thor Hansen had to take 4th spot when his hand was overcome by the set of 7's held by Saro Getzoyan. Finally, William Thorsson left in 3rd courtesy of Geoff Sanford.

In the heads up battle, Saro Getzoyan has 1,580,000 in chips while Geoff Sanford has 970,000 with the bracelet on the table in reach of both. When the final hand took place Sanford raised and Getzoyan called seeing a flop of Js 8h 4c. Both continued raising until Sanford was all-in. Sanford shows 9h 8s and Getzoyan has Qh Jh. Turn card of Qs gave Getzoyan two pair with the river card a 7d. He then went to claim his cash, the bracelet and a beautiful Corum watch. Getzoyan was happy, but tired as he stated he will now have to catch a redeye flight back home so he can be at work in the morning. And so goes the life of a WSOP champion.

Final table results:

1. Saro Getzoyan -- $333,379
2. Geoff Sanford -- $200,511
3. William Thorsson -- $136,493
4. Thor Hansen -- $93,008
5. David Gee -- $68,850
6. Tom Koral -- $54,356
7. Ray Dehkharghani -- $41,069
8. Don Todd -- $30,198
9. Gabriel Nassif -- $21,742

Event #19 June 11 Monday 12 Noon
No-Limit Hold�em 3 day event $2,500.00

There were 1,013 players that came to this event, which was not as many as the 1,290 which attended last year. But the field has an incredible landscape of top talent. On the floor were Phil Gordon, Steve Dannenmann, Lee Watkinson, Johnny Chan, Isabelle Mercier, Melissa Hayden, Layne Flack, Roland DeWolfe, Jamie Gold, Mike Matusow, Mark Seif and Eric Lynch. So the players were off and running with bustouts happening. Leaving the tourney were Jamie Gold, Amnon Filippi, David Ulliot, Erick Lindgren, Phil Laak, Freddy Deeb, Allen Cunningham and Joe Sebok. Kudos go to John Esposito who stood up for a woman who was being berated by none other than Davood Mehrmand. Spewing crap about people is nothing new for Davood, but he was really bad to this woman at his table. When Esposito got there he not only told Davood to keep his mouth shut, he also scolded the other male players for letting this go on. Now someone just has to keep Karen Thomas under control as she got so excited when her pocket A's won a hand, she lifted up the back of her dress and flashed her behind to those standing at the rail. In poker you get all kinds. By the time 2:00 a.m. rolled around, there were 99 left. Those 99 will make the money. (Sorry guys, Karen did not make the cut!) NOTE: We found out later that Karen did make the cut. Apologies to Karen in stating earlier that she did not.

On Day 2 fatigue showed it's ugly head as lots of people complained about being tired. Nonetheless, the next round of the tourney did continue on as aggressive play, comedy (provided by Humberto Brenes and others) and bustout drama took place. Big names were sent to the rail which include Rob Hollink, Chad Brown, Shawn Buchanan, the colorful Karen Thomas who went out in 71st position, Jason Levine, Dustin Woolf, David Levi, Kido Pham, Greg Mueller and Mike Matusow who just missed the final table leaving in 11th. Humberto Brenes managed to double up a few times, once through Mike Matusow, to make the final table. Devin Porter was a monster at the tables, growing his stack almost as fast as Exxon's corporate earnings, busting Matusow in the process with a pair of pocket K's. Also, size of the prize pool reached $2,329,900 with money going to 99 players.

Action for the final table began a little after 2:00 p.m. PDT and in the first hour Bertrand Grospellier was out of the tourney in 9th place thanks to the two pair A's/5's of Devin Porter. Alex Bolotin was busted in 8th after running into the set of 8's belonging to Marcus Obser. Next was Humberto Brenes in 7th place when his A K could not overcome the pocket 9's of Devin Porter. Brenes has entered 6 events at this years WSOP and cashed in 3 of them. Lars Bonding received a 6th place payout when his Kc Qc was crushed by John Phan's set of 7's. Shawn Hattem took a 5th place finish when he lost out in a 4-way hand involving Fran�ois Safieddine, Devin Porter, and John Phan. Devin Porter went to the rail in 4th place after losing to Fran�ois Safieddine's set of 7's. Marcus Obser claimed a 3rd place finish when he was beaten with the paired Aces of Fran�ois.

Chip count for the heads up battle was Fran�ois Safieddine 3,600,000 and John Phan 1,450,000. It took an hour to bring things to a climax, but an exciting hand it was. On a preflop move, Francois Safieddine moved all in with pocket 4's and John Phan called holding...pocket A's. The felt showed Js 8c 2c, turn card a 5h and the river card was a 4s! (Can you say ouch!) So with the final card, Fran�ois laid claim to his diamond and gold WSOP bracelet and the title of champion.

Final table results:

1. Fran�ois Safieddine -- $521,785
2. John Phan -- $330,846
3. Marcus Obser -- $212,021
4. Devin Porter -- $139,794
5. Shawn Hattem -- $97,856
6. Lars Bonding -- $74,557
7. Humberto Brenes -- $55,918
8. Alex Bolotin -- $40,773
9. Bertrand Grospellier -- $29,124

Event #20 June 11 Monday 5:00 PM
Seven Card Stud Hi-Low/8 or Better 3 day event $2,000.00

340 players entered creating a prize pool of $618,800, top 27 will get paid. Some of the names who entered are Brett Jungblut, Chau Giang, Tom Franklin, Erick Lindgren, Jeff Madsen, Men "The Master" Nguyen, James Van Alstyne, Michael Mizrachi, Greg Raymer and David Williams. Even with the eliminations that took place, there were good performances and lucky streaks that will keep the field full of top players. Outside of the top 8, others who made the cut include Mike Wattel 19,600, John Heneghan 18,825, Dan Heimiller 15,850, John Juanda 15,250, Ted Forrest 15,775, Douglas Carli 14,150, Annie Duke 12,800, Glyn Banks 8,950 and Men Nguyen 8,125. 136 players were left for the next day and will come back at 3:00 p.m. to see who makes the final table.

The second day of the tourney established the front runners such as a great performance by Greg Raymer who is now in contention for another WSOP bracelet. Steve Grabowski and Ryan Hughes have so many chips that this final table is lopsided with short stacks. There may be a lot of all-ins from the start of final table play. Some of the bustouts were bad enough to make you say "Ouch!". Young Phan started an all-in with pocket K's in his hand only to be busted by the other players flush. Annie Duke lost out in a 3-way with John Sacha and another player when she missed her open ended straight draw with 5 6 7 8. Perry Friedman was sent to the sidelines when he got the losing hand in a 4-way pot. So tune in tomorrow to see who won, same bat time, same bat channel!

With the sound of "Shuffle up and deal!", play was underway at 3 p.m. to see who would become champion of Event #20. Short stacked Adam Spiegelberg was the first to go in 8th place after Graboski got the cards he needed to make the wheel. Ron Ware was eliminated in 7th place courtesy of Greg Raymer. Raymer also took out Jim Weir in 6th and Steve Graboski in 5th as well. At this point Raymer is the chip leader with more chips than the remaining players combined. But fate has a twisted way of balancing things as Raymer soon lost hand after hand and was eliminated in 4th by Ryan Hughes. Next on the hit list will be Doug "Rico" Carli in 3rd, falling to a full house produced by Hughes.

It took only 12 hands to produce a champion tonight. The beginning has Ryan Hughes leading with 1,000,000 in chips, while Min Lee has 360,000. On the final hand to make a long story short, Hughes hit four 10's which he proudly held up in the photo session. As champion he will surely wear the gold bracelet he earned with pride as well.

Final table results:

1. Ryan Hughes -- $176,358
2. Min Lee -- $97,461
3. Doug Carli -- $61,880
4. Greg Raymer -- $41,460
5. Steve Graboski -- $32,178
6. Jim Weir -- $24,443
7. Ron "Grumpy" Ware -- $18,873
8. Adam Spiegelberg -- $13,923