Another week, another bracelet captured by a PocketFiver. In a truly incredible seven days overall, Blair Rodman took down his first World Series of Poker bracelet and over $700,000 in Event #47, a $2,000 No Limit event. He beat out a field of over 2,000 players to set the bar for PocketFivers. Heads up, he took down Amato Galasso, a newcomer from the East Coast who cashed for the first time at the WSOP. Rodman had been in the hunt for a bracelet for 25 years. Event #47
Immediately following Rodman’s win, a thread popped up in Poker Discussion with a bevy of players congratulating him on his first bracelet. The 53 year-old from Las Vegas commented, “It was a real thrill. For me, it answers the question loud and clear as to why I put up with all the shit they throw at us and keep playing. However, now that I've got my bracelet, I plan to cut way back on my play next year at the WSOP. It's just too exhausting to play a full schedule. I'll play the events I really enjoy and skip the rest and play golf and have fun.” He’s played in the WSOP for the last quarter of a century, longer than many PocketFivers have been alive. According to a WSOP press release, Rodman (pictured at right) almost missed out on Event #47 entirely. He comments: “I almost didn’t play (in this tournament). If I would not have been knocked out of that Omaha High-Low event, I would not have been here. So, I guess getting busted in that event was a good thing!” He cashed for nearly $7,000 and 24th place in the Omaha event.Other PocketFivers taking home cash in Event #47 included SamENole (11th place for $33,012 and his second WSOP cash), GB2005 (25th place for $21,884 and his second WSOP cash), and lefort (29th place for $18,546 and his fourth WSOP cash). The 14 PocketFivers who cashed grabbed over $850,000 from this event, or over 425 buyins and nearly 25% of the prize pool.
Event #49In Event 49 ($1,500 No Limit Hold’em), Shaun Deeb captured over $24,000 and his third cash of this year’s WSOP, taking his total to over $50,000. Chris “MarvinGarden” Birchby (pictured at right) also added to his 2007 WSOP cashes, tacking on $14,409 from the same event. Mainly an online player, James “P0KERPR033” Campbell saw his first WSOP cash this week for $6,667. About a week ago, he placed first in Full Tilt Poker's $1,000 Monday for over $70,000. The previous day, he won the $14,000 Guaranteed with rebuys. His hectic schedule of live and online poker seems to be paying dividends so far and we look forward to great things in the Main Event from him.
Adam “akat11” made good on his fourth WSOP cash this year when he took $5,161, while not too far behind, Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little took $4,731 himself in Event #49. PocketFivers Jeffrey “jeffbeesdat” Gray and Jordan “scarface_79” Smith each managed to cash for $3,011. They’re ranked very near one another on the PocketFives.com Online Tournament Player Rankings. Peter “Nordberg” Feldman also won $3,011.
Events #50 and #51
Annie Duke was able to play her way into 17th place on Event #50’s $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha to add $28,040 to her WSOP total. Duke sits atop the ranks of all-time ladies money-winners in the WSOP. Another P5s player and WSOP bracelet winner, Eric “efro” Froehlich (pictured at right) placed 25th and added $25,089 to his WSOP total. Michael Craig made the final table for his second time this year and placed seventh in Event #51 ($1,000 S.H.O.E.). His cash of $15,943 was enough to put the poker author’s 2007 WSOP total over $40,000. It was his second top 10 finish so far (the other one came in Event #40).Event #52
PocketFivers made waves in Event #52 ($1,000 No Limit Hold’em w/Rebuys). The list of people that cashed is a veritable “who’s who” of top tournament players. Shawn “phatcat” Luman and Chad “M8kingMoves” Batista both made the final table. Luman’s stellar play had him finishing in third place, raking in $224,249. Batista was not far behind, nabbing fifth place and $129,064. Just missing the final table, Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan found that 12th place was worth a cool $54,000. While the Vegas native Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson was making money online winning the $100,000 Guaranteed on Bodog on June 24th, he also found time this week to grab $20,973.No stranger to cashing in this year’s WSOP, Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis took 33rd and $16,133. Billirakis already has a bracelet to his name to go along with five cashes for nearly $600,000. Steve “thorladen” Weinstein and Shaun Deeb, who took 35th and 36th, respectively, also cashed for $16,133. Carl “colson10” Olson and Chris “bushman” Bush each made $12,906 in the event, while Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo saw his way to $8,067. Finishing off the star-studded cast, Eric “Basebaldy” Baldwin and Kevin “Bel0WaB0Ve” Saul each ran away with $6,453.
The action isn’t over yet! The Main Event is underway and the PocketFivesLive.com crew is on the scene in Las Vegas. Check out your friends, family, and fellow PocketFivers right now on PocketFivesLive.com.
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