2009 WSOP: By the Numbers
With 14 events having kicked off at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), tournament officials have released the event’s vital stats. Through the first 10 completed events, PocketFivers have taken down two bracelets, or 20%. Jason treysfull21Mercier blasted through the field in a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament, adding a bracelet to a tournament resume that already includes two European Poker Tour (EPT) titles, a WSOP Europe final table, and a Full TiltOnline Poker Series (FTOPS) gold jersey. Also taking part in a bracelet ceremony inside the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino was Rami arbianightBoukai, the champion of a $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha event. All of the action has been tracked on PocketFivesLive.com, your home for WSOP coverage of online poker players.
Oh say can you see! Nine of the first ten bracelet winners at the 2009 WSOP were from the United States. The lone exception is Vitaly Lunkin, the winner of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament held in honor of the 40th running of the esteemed tournament series. Lunkin, who hails from Russia, recorded his second WSOP bracelet; the first came in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament last year. He has just four WSOP cashes to his name; half are for bracelets. The United States has sent 14,502 entrants, or 84.8% of the 17,093 registrations recorded so far.
All 50 states have been represented at the 2009 Las Vegas tournament series, with California sending 3,306 players to lead the way. A total of 1,649 players have made the close commute and hail from Nevada, while Texas (987), Florida (896), and New York (819) round out the top five states. Similarly, all ten of Canada’s provinces have been represented. Ontario leads the group with 355 entrants, followed by British Columbia (221), Quebec (114), Alberta (98), and Manitoba (20). Canada was represented by two players at the 2008 WSOP Main Event final table: PocketFivers Scott r_a_yMontgomery and Darus BejoMasSuharto. Other popular Canadian poker personalities include Mike SirWattsWatson, Team PokerStarsPro member Daniel Negreanu, and Full Tilt Poker‘s Gavin Smith.
A total of 861 entrants from the United Kingdom have turned out through 14 events. Other top countries sending players to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino include the United Kingdom (269), Germany (170), France (113), Russia (111), and the Netherlands (83). Fifty-seven countries have been represented overall, currently the third largest tally in WSOP history behind only the 2007 WSOP (87 countries) and 2008 WSOP (124 countries). Last year, players came to the Nevada desert from as far away as Azerbaijan, Benin, Chad, Chile, Latvia, and Senegal.
In Event #3, which boasted the largest Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better event in WSOP history, Thang Luu accomplished a rather remarkable feat of his own. Luu became the first poker player in two decades to win an event twice and finish as its runner-up in three consecutive years. Luu won the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better tournament in 2009 and 2008 after finishing as its runner-up in 2007. Johnny Chan won the 1987 and 1988 Main Events before Phil Hellmuth defeated him heads-up to conclude the 1989 feature tournament.
Events #4, #7, and #9 were sold out, marking the first time that three of the first nine WSOP tournaments have reached capacity. Event #4 was the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special and attracted the largest non-Main Event field in WSOP history at 6,012 runners. Event #7 was the next No Limit Hold’em tournament on the docket and carried a price tag of $1,500. In the end, Travis Johnson banked $666,000 for his efforts, besting the 2,791 player field. Event #9 generated 1,459 players and was won by Ken Aldridge.
Highlights for PocketFivers in the first 10 tournaments included five members of the online poker community reaching the final table of the $40,000 buy-in event. Dani ansky451Stern grabbed fourth place for $548,000, Justin ZeeJustinBonomo (pictured at right) banked $413,000 for fifth place, Alec trahehoTorelli saw his bankroll grow by $329,000 for taking sixth place, Lex RaSZiVeldhuis finished in seventh place for $277,000, and Noah fouruhatersSchwartz pocketed $246,000 for eighth place. Mercier and Boukai each took home WSOP bracelets and PocketFivers collectively banked over $3.4 million through ten events.
PocketFivers’ presence at the WSOP has grown every year. In 2006, site members won three bracelets and earned $7.8 million. In 2007, PocketFivers snagged six bracelets and pocketed $15.0 million. Last year was a record one for members of the online poker community, who racked up eight bracelets and a colossal $20.2 million.
Stay tuned to PocketFivesLive.com for the latest WSOP coverage of online poker players. If you’re planning to play in any of the 57 bracelet events, we’ll cover you free of charge. It’s a simple way to let your friends and family back home know how you’re doing.
