2010 World Series of Poker
Introduction The '''2010 World Series of Poker''' was the 41st annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada, and ran from May 28 to July 17.There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship that began on July 5.The November Nine concept returned for the third year, with the Main Event finalists returning on November 6.A notable change from 2009 was the revamping of the $50,000 buy-in tournament. From its inception in 2006 through 2009, it had been a H.O.R.S.E. event in which play rotated between Texas hold 'em, Omaha 8-or-better, Razz, stud, and stud 8-or-better, all played with a limit betting structure. In 2010, it became an "8-game" tournament, rotating between the five H.O.R.S.E. games followed by rounds of no-limit hold 'em, pot-limit Omaha (high only), and limit 2–7 triple draw. Once the final table was reached, play switched exclusively to no-limit hold 'em (as was the case in the 2006 H.O.R.S.E. event). The tournament, now known as The Poker Player's Championship, was moved to the second spot on the WSOP schedule, preceded only by the restricted $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em event. Thus, the 2010 WSOP open events started with The Poker Player's Championship and ended with the No Limit Hold'em Championship/Main Event. Several celebrities were in attendance, including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Ray Romano.
Event schedule  # Event Entrants Winner Prize Runner-up Results 1 $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em 721 Hoai Pham $71,424 Arthur Vea Results 2 $50,000 Poker Players Championship 116 Michael Mizrachi $1,559,046 Vladimir Shchemelev Results 3 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em 4,345 Aadam Daya$625,872 Deepak Bhatti Results 4 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better 818 Michael Chow $237,140 Dan Heimiller Results 5 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 2,092 Praz Bansi $515,501 Vincent Jacques Results 6 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout 358 Joshua Tieman $441,692 Neil Channing Results 7 $2,500 2–7 Triple Draw Lowball 291  Peter Gelencser $180,730 Raphael Zimmerman Results 8 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 2,341  Pascal LeFrancois $568,974 Max Steinberg Results 9 $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em 650 James Dempsey $197,470 Steve Chanthabouasy Results 10 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship 150 Men Nguyen $394,807 Brandon Adams Results 11 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 2,563 Simon Watt $614,248 Tom Dwan Results 12 $1,500 Limit Hold'em 625 Matt Matros $189,870 Ahmad Abghari Results 13 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em 3,042 Steven Gee $472,479 Matt Vance Results 14 $1,500 No Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball 250 Yan Chen $92,817 Mike Wattel Results 15 $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship 170 Frank Kassela $447,442 Allen Kessler Results 16 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed 1,663 Carter Phillips $482,774 Samuel Gerber Results 17 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em 792 Jason DeWitt $818,959 Sam Trickett Results 18 $2,000 Limit Hold'em 476 Eric Buchman $203,607 Brent Courson Results 19 $10,000 No Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball Championship 101 David Baker $294,321 Eric Cloutier Results 20 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha 885  John Barch $256,919 Thibaut Klinghammer Results 21 $1,500 Seven Card Stud 408 Richard Ashby $140,467 Christine Pietsch Results 22 $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship 1,054 Vanessa Hellebuyck $192,132 Sidsel Boesen Results 23 $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six Handed 384 Dutch Boyd $234,065 Brian Meinders Results 24 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em 3,289 Jeffrey Tebben  $503,389 J.D. McNamara  Results 25 $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship 212 Sam Farha $488,241 James Dempsey Results 26 $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed 1,245 William Haydon $630,031 Jeffrey Papola Results 27 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better 644 David Warga $208,682 Maxwell Troy Results 28 $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha 596 Miguel Proulx $315,311 Loren Klein Results 29 $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship 171 Matt Keikoan $425,969 Daniel Idema Results 30 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 2,394 Mike Ellis $581,851 Christopher Gonzales Results 31 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. 828 Konstantin Puchkov $256,820 Al Barbieri Results 32 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed 568 Jeffrey Papola $667,433 Men Nguyen Results 33 $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha 482 Luis Velador $260,517 David Chiu Results 34 $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold'em Championship 3,142 Harold Angle $487,994 Michael Minetti Results 35 $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold'em Championship 256 Ayaz Mahmood $625,682 Ernst Schmejkal Results 36 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em 3,102  Scott Montgomery $481,760 Mick Carlson  Results 37 $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. 478 Phil Ivey $329,840 Bill Chen Results 38 $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em Championship 268 Valdemar Kwaysser $617,214 Matt Marafioti Results 39 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout 1,397  Steven Kelly $382,725 Jeffrey King Results 40 $2,500 Seven Card Razz 365 Frank Kassela $214,085 Maxwell Troy Results 41 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better 847 Steve Jelinek $245,871 John Gottlieb Results 42 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 2,521 Dean Hamrick $604,222 Thomas O'Neal Results 43 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship 241 Ian Gordon $611,666 Richard Ashby Results 44 $2,500 Mixed Hold'em 507 Gavin Smith $268,238 Danny Hannawa Results 45 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 3,097  Jesse Rockowitz $721,373 Raymond Coburn Results 46 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better 284 Chris Bell  $327,040 Dan Shak Results 47 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em 3,128 Shawn Busse $485,791 Owen Crowe Results 48 $2,500 Mixed Event 453 Sigurd Eskeland $260,497 Steve Sung Results 49 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em 2,543 Michael Linn $609,493 Taylor Larkin Results 50 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha 460 Chance Kornuth $508,090 Kevin Boudreau Results 51 $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold'em 965 Ryan Welch $559,371 Jon Eaton Results 52 $25,000 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed 191 Dan Kelly $1,315,518 Shawn Buchanan Results 53 $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout 548 Brendan Taylor $184,950 Ben Yu Results 54 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em 3,844 Marcel Vonk $570,960 David Peters Results 55 $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship 346 Daniel Alaei $780,599 Miguel Proulx Results 56 $2,500 No Limit Hold'em 1,942 Tomer Berda $825,976 Vladimir Kochelaevskiy Results 57 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship (The Main Event) 7,319 Jonathan Duhamel $8,944,310 John Racener Results
Achievements *Robert and Michael Mizrachi's appearance at the final table of the $50,000 Player's Championship is only the third time in WSOP history that two siblings faced each other at the final table of a WSOP event. In 1995, Howard Lederer and Annie Duke made the final table in a pot-limit Hold'em event and in 2002, Ross and Barny Boatman made it to the final table in a pot-limit Omaha event. *While the event is called the "Ladies Championship," the WSOP cannot ban men from participating. In past years, a few men have played in the Ladies Championship, but in 2010 at least half a dozen and "some estimates on the floor are that the number of men who entered the event is in the double digits." WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky called the men "scumbags" and declared, “The good news is at the World Series of Poker, we have the right to refuse service to anyone at any time at any point that we deem, as operators of the event.”* Robert and Michael Mizrachi were also part of another sibling milestone. They and their brothers Eric and Donny became the first set of four siblings ever to cash in the same Main Event. Eric finished in 718th place on Day 4, Donny finished in 345th place on Day 5 and Robert finished in 116th place on Day 6, while Michael made the final table and played for the title in November, when he finished fifth. * Breeze Zuckerman won the 2010 Last Woman Standing Cup in the Main Event, finishing 121st and cashing for $57,201.
Main Event The $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'em Championship Main Event began on July 5 with the first of four starting days. Each of the participants at the 2010 WSOP Main Event received 30,000 in tournament chips for the $10,000 buy-in event. After reaching the final table of nine players on July 17, the final table was delayed until November 6.The total number of entrants in the 2010 Main Event was 7,319 with a prize pool of $68,798,600 with the winner receiving $8,944,138 for first place. The payout "bubble" was reached during Day 4 at 747 players, each of whom earned a minimum of $19,263.The bubble finisher (748th place) was Tim McDonald, a professional angler and recreational poker player from Lexington, Kentucky; he received the consolation prize of a guaranteed seat in the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Matt Affleck, with his 15th-place finish in this year’s championship combined with an 80th-place in 2009, outlasted 13,718 players in back-to-back years, which is the fourth-most in WSOP history. (Stefan Mattsson - 15,052 in 2006 & 2007, Humberto Brenes - 15,012 in 2006 & 2007, Joseph Hachem - 14,153 in 2005 & 2006)Ray Romano at the main eventThe Main Event was a draw for many celebrities to play including: *Day 1A: Ray Romano, David Alan Grier, Sara Jean Underwood, Petter Northug, René Angélil, Irving Lorenzo*Day 1B: Orel Hershiser*Day 1C: Scott Ian, Shanna Moakler, Anthony Rapp, Sully Erna, Gabe Kaplan, Alexia Portal, Shane Warne*Day 1D: Bruce Buffer, Shannon Elizabeth, Emmitt Smith, Audley Harrison, Hank Azaria, Jason Alexander, Trishelle Cannatella, Sam Simon, Jeff FenechOf these celebrities, Northug (653rd),  Fenech (585th), and Buffer (478th) made the money.===Performance of past champions=== Name ChampionshipYear(s) Day ofElimination Doyle Brunson 1976 & 1977 2B Bobby Baldwin 1978 2A Tom McEvoy 1983 2A Berry Johnston 1986 2A Johnny Chan 1987 & 1988 6 (156th Place) Phil Hellmuth 1989 1C Jim Bechtel 1993 3 Dan Harrington 1995 4 Huck Seed 1996 1C Scotty Nguyen 1998 5 (209th place) Chris Ferguson 2000 2B Carlos Mortensen 2001 2A Robert Varkonyi 2002 4 Chris Moneymaker 2003 3 Greg Raymer 2004 1A Joe Hachem 2005 1D Jamie Gold 2006 1B Jerry Yang 2007 1C Joe Cada 2009 3===Other notable high finishes===''NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.'' Place Name  Prize 14th Hasan Habib $500,165 17th David Baker $396,967 18th Scott Clements $396,967 22nd William Thorson $317,161 24th Ronnie Bardah $317,161 27th Johnny Lodden $317,161 28th Bryn Kenney $317,161 30th Theo Jørgensen $255,242===November Nine=== NameNumber of chips(percentage of total)WSOPBraceletsWSOPCashes*WSOPEarnings*  Jonathan Duhamel  65,975,000 (30.0%)  0  2  $43,000  John Dolan  46,250,000 (21.1%)  0  5  $105,340  Joseph Cheong  23,525,000 (10.7%)  0  2  $31,064  John Racener  19,050,000 (8.7%)  0  10  $157,528  Matthew Jarvis  16,700,000 (7.6%)  0  0  0  Filippo Candio  16,400,000 (7.5%)  0  1  $3,460  Michael Mizrachi  14,450,000 (6.6%)  1  23  $2,271,327  Soi Nguyen  9,650,000 (4.4%)  0  0  0  Jason Senti  7,625,000 (3.5%)  0  1  $17,987===Final Table=== Place Name Prize 1st  Jonathan Duhamel  $8,944,310 2nd  John Racener  $5,545,955 3rd  Joseph Cheong  $4,130,049 4th  Filippo Candio  $3,092,545 5th  Michael Mizrachi  $2,332,992 6th  John Dolan  $1,772,959 7th  Jason Senti  $1,356,720 8th  Matthew Jarvis  $1,045,743 9th  Cuong Soi Nguyen  $811,823
Bracelet American jewelry designer Steve Soffa was chosen by the World Series of Poker to design and manufacture the entire set of bracelets for the 2010 World Series of Poker.
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