Highlights from day 15 of the 2012 WSOP (June 10)
It will be one of those nights that will go down in WSOP folklore; the night Phil Hellmuth jnr (pictured left, thanks to wsop.com) won his 12th gold bracelet. The victory came in the $2500 buy-in Seven-Card Razz tournament. He collected $182,793 in prize money – which it would be fair to day was the very last thing on his mind.
Hellmuth now holds a two-bracelet lead over his two closest rivals – poker legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who each have 10 wins. All of Hellmuth’s 11 previous gold bracelet wins had taken place in one form of Hold’em or another. Of those, his most memorable win was his initial triumph, which took place in the 1989 Main Event Championship.
On Sunday night – five years to the very day when the great one had won gold bracelet number 11 – all that stood between Hellmuth and number 12 was a poker pro named Don Zewin. Coincidentally, he finished third in that 1989 Main Event won by Hellmuth 23 years ago.
• On a night when he would most certainly have been the toast of the town and the talk of the poker world, Andy Frankenberger’s astounding heads-up victory in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em World Championship over eight-time WSOP champion Phil Ivey was upstaged by the Hellmuth celebrations.
Frankenberger will be remembered here not just for winning a second gold bracelet and pocketing more than USD $455,000, but also for crashing the party and raining on the parade that would have been the ultimate WSOP headline – a Phil/Phil quinella.
One of the most unorthodox players in the game, the 39-year-old professional poker player was a highly successful equity derivatives trader on Wall Street but quit to travel the world.
Two years ago, he started playing full-time on the tournament circuit winning two major events in 2010 and, in the process, earning World Poker Tour Player of the Year honours. Then last year, Frankenberger added a $1500 No Limit Hold’em title.
• Speaking of $1500 No Limit Hold’em events, Event #19, is down to 19 players with Gregg Wilkinson and Ismael Bojang well clear of the field, which includes former WSOP Europe Main Event winner Barry Shulman and prolific South African Greg Ronaldson.
Event #20, the $5000 buy-in Limit Hold’em tournament is also reaching its conclusion with Matthew Woodward atop the chip count with 17 players remaining but looming in second chip position is Canadian Limit Hold’em specialist Terrence Chan, who has already cashed in five events on the 2012 WSOP schedule.
The latest $1000 No Limit Hold’em event drew a massive field of 2799, with 222 returning to contest day two. Edward Locke of Redlands, California is the chip leader as the field eyes a slice of the huge USD $2,519,100 prizepool.
Canada’s Shawn Buchanan is the man to catch after day one of Event #22, the $2500 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven (Limit) Triple-Draw Lowball tournament with 79 of the 228 starters still in contention.
New events kicking-off at the Rio today are Event #23 ($3000 buy-in Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em) and Event #24 ($5000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split World Championship).
• Additional reporting, Nolan Dalla, WSOP.com
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