It’s not every day that a member of the online poker community records a first. However, on Friday, Mitch mitchman1114Schock (pictured) became the first ever World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner from North Dakota. That’s right -until Friday, no one from the Peace Garden State had ever nabbed a gold bracelet. Schock took down Event #39 of the 2011 WSOP, a $2,500 Mixed Pot Limittournament.

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There were 606 players who coughed up the $2,500 buy-in for the event on Wednesday. By Friday, North Dakota finally put itself on the map and Schock boosted his home state’s GDP by $310,000. His heads-up match against California’s Rodney Brown took three hours before the 40-year-old poker bro from Bismark came away with the win.

Schock’s no newbie to the WSOP. In fact, his cash in Event #39 nearly put him over the $1 million mark in career WSOP earnings. He reached his fifth final table, but his largest in the money finish in the annual tournament series came in 2006, when he took 29th in the Main Event for $326,000.

Schock is active in charity poker tournaments in North Dakota and, according to a tournament wrap-up sent by WSOP officials on Saturday, has “also invested in a bar poker league as well as heads-up poker machines, which are still found in various places around the country.”

On winning a piece of hardware for the state of North Dakota, Schock told WSOP staff, “This is great. There are probably like 500 people following me online back in North Dakota… So, I am going to go back home with the gold bracelet and everyone is going to be patting me on the back – and buy me free drinks.” He added, “This money will come in pretty handy. I am a simple man. I have a simple house. The kids and I get by like anyone else, and this is sure going to help out.”

Also of note in Event #39 was the presence of Rami arbianight Boukai (pictured) at the final table. Boukai won the $2,500 Mixed Pot Limit tournament two years ago and ultimately landed in ninth place on Friday for $23,000. Boukai bested a field of 453 players in 2009 for $244,000.

Schock’s bracelet is the 14th by members of PocketFives.com during the 2011 WSOP. Here were the final results from Event #39:

1. Mitch mitchman1114 Schock – $310,225
2. Rodney Brown – $191,618
3. Jan Collado – $135,921
4. Carter Gill – $97,773
5. Tyler Patterson – $71,317
6. James redwalked Vanneman – $52,747
7. David davester Lestock – $39,539
8. Jonas donut604 Mackoff – $30,040
9. Rami arbianight Boukai – $23,119

Elsewhere in the Rio, PocketFives Traininginstructor Thomas hittheholeMiddleton (pictured) finished third in Event #36, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, after entering the final day of play with the chip lead. Five players took to the felts on Friday to finish out the bracelet event and Russia’s Mikhail Lakhitov ultimately brought home the gold.

Incredibly, Lakhitov recorded his fifth in the money finish at the 2011 WSOP and banked $749,000 for edging out the 1,734-player field. He candidly told WSOP officials, “Last year in 2010, I finished near the top in one tournament and came in eighth place. I did not know there was such a thing as a gold bracelet. Later, I saw there were pictures with the winner and the bracelet. So, this year on my way to Las Vegas, I promised to my lovely wife that I would win a gold bracelet. That was my motivation.”

Here’s how the final nine cashed out in Event #36:

1. Mikhail Lakhitov – $749,610
2. Hassan Babajane – $463,480
3. Thomas hitthehole Middleton – $305,015
4. Thomas T Money Miller – $219,885
5. Eddy Sabat – $160,949
6. Matthew berkey11 Berkey – $119,528
7. James St. Hilaire – $90,021
8. Conrad Monica – $68,719
9. Kent Padgett – $53,137

Finally, we’ll turn to a post on our WSOP Twitterpage from poker coachAndres andressopranoPereyra (pictured), who was entering today’s $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. Pereyra quipped, “I decided to stop hating WSOP $1,500s and try to win one instead.” Congressman Joe Barton, fresh off introducing a bill to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States, will issue the event’s “Shuffle up and deal” command.

Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest 2011 WSOP coverageof the online poker community, brought to you by 24hPoker.