2009 WSOP Events #50-#53: Wrap-Up Reports

by Bodog Poker | Jul 1 2009

Here in Vegas we're getting ever closer to the WSOP Main Event, but there are still a few events that have to wrap up before we can concentrate on the big one. The poker rooms at the Rio are stuffed with players and poker fans from all over the planet that have come to see the biggest poker show on earth. 50 of the 57 events are complete, with another four events expected to be finished soon.

Event #50 $1500 Limit Holdem Shootout had 571 entries for a combined prize pool of $779,024. The final table featured Team Bodog professional David Williams trying to win his second bracelet, but he was unable to make it happen and had to settle for fourth place. He managed to take home a $51K payday, but for David it's all about the bracelet.

Ahead of him in third place was Millie Shiu, who recorded her fifth WSOP cash of her career and took home $77K for her efforts. In second place was Marc Naalden, who narrowly missed capturing his second bracelet of the '09 campaign, earned just over $120K. The winner was Greg Mueller, who was able to win his second bracelet this year, earning almost $195K for first place.

In the No-Limit Holdem $1500 Event #51 Joh Carsten won his first WSOP bracelet in his first ever WSOP cash. He took home $664K after beating out the huge field of 2,781 players. In second place was Andrew Chen, who had the biggest of his three WSOP cashes this year. Second-place money was worth $412K. In third was David Walasinski, who took home the tidy sum of $272K in his first WSOP cash.

The Triple Chance No-Limit Holdem $3000 Event #52 had 854 entries for a prize pool worth over $2.3 million. They are down to the final eight and should decide the winner some time in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Also playing out the final table is the $50K H.O.R.S.E. event, which still has six players remaining and could go very late into Wednesday morning as well. Still in contention is Huck Seed, who also made last year's $50K H.O.R.S.E final table, finishing in seventh place. He's guaranteed to go deeper this year, and will certainly be considered one of the best H.O.R.S.E players in the world regardless of how he finishes.

The $1500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better Event #53 is also down to the final table with only five players still trying to take down the winner's share of a $657K prize pool. David Halpern has a slight lead over William Kohler, but it's still anyone's tournament to win. That event was expected to be finished late on Tuesday night, but it also has the potential to go on for a long time.