2007 World Series of Poker Recap and Highlights

2007 WSOP Highlights

The 2007 World Series of Poker came to an end early Wednesday morning when 39-year-old psychologist/social worker Jerry Yang eliminated his final opponent, Tuan Lam, to claim the $8.25 million first place prize and earn the title of 2007 World Champion.

While the poker world looks forward to the 2007 WSOP Europe in September, here's a look back at some of the highlights of the 2007 World Series of Poker.

- Poker pro Steve Billirakis won Event #1, $5,000 World Championship of Mixed Hold 'em Limit/No-Limit. At the age of 21 years and 11 days, Billirakis became the youngest bracelet winner in WSOP history, breaking the record set in 2006 by Jeff Madsen. Billirakis went on to cash four more times at the 2007 WSOP, ending the series with almost $600,000 in earnings.

- Tournament circuit regular Burt Boutin won Event #7, $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ rebuys. Boutin collected the second bracelet of his career, along with one of the biggest cash prizes of the 2007 WSOP: more than $865,000

- Alex Kravchenko won Event #9, $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, becoming the first Russian citizen to win a WSOP bracelet. Kravchenko would go on to cash six times and make three final tables at the 2007 WSOP, including the Main Event, where he finished 4th for more than $1.85 million.

- Former Atlantic City cab driver turned poker pro, Chris Reslock, won Event #11, $5,000 World Championship of Seven Card Stud. The bracelet was Reslock's first, and he adds it to the WSOP Circuit Championship ring he won in '05/'06 after beating John Juanda in a marathon heads-up match.

- Allen Cunningham won Event #13, $5,000 World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold 'em. The bracelet was Cunningham's 5th, and it marked his third WSOP bracelet in as many years.

- Phil Hellmuth won Event #15, $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em, becoming the first player in WSOP history to capture 11 bracelets. Hellmuth beat a field of 2,628, the largest of his career, and banked $637,254, the largest cash prize of his career aside from his Main Event win in '89.

- Scott Clements won Event #23, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha. The bracelet capped off an outstanding 12 months of poker in which Clements won two WSOP bracelets, made six final tables, and won the WPT's Canadian Poker Open.

- Eli Elezra, known as Mr. Vegas and widely considered one of the best poker players in the world, won his first WSOP bracelet in Event #24, $3,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better.

- Katja Thater won Event #29, $1,500 Seven Card Razz, becoming the first woman to win a WSOP bracelet in an open field since Annie Duke did it in 2004.

- Hoyt Corkins won Event #30, $2,500 No-Limit Hold 'em / Six Handed, collecting the second bracelet of his career and the first since returning to poker after more than a decade long hiatus.

- Jeffrey Lisandro, cash game specialist and WSOP Circuit Champion, won Event #32, $2,000 Seven Card Stud. The bracelet was Lisandro's first, and it came less than two weeks after he suffered a bad beat to finish as the runner-up to Allen Cunningham in the World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold 'em.

- Freddy Deeb won $2.2 million for his victory in Event #39, $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.. Considered by many to be the premier tournament of the year, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event attracts all the big name pro's and tests their skill in a variety of games. Deeb outlasted 147 other players, including a final table featuring Thor Hansen, Barry Greenstein, David Singer, Kenny Tran, Amnon Filippi, John Hanson and Bruno Fitoussi.

- Bill Edler, tournament circuit regular, picked up his first major tournament win in Event #45, $5,000 No-Limit Hold 'em / Six Handed. Edler earned over $900,000 for his victory, the largest first place prize of the 2007 WSOP outside of the Main Event and the H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. Edler also finished 23rd in the 2007 Main Event, cashing for more than $330,000 and bringing his 2007 WSOP earnings to more than $1.2 million.

- Tom Schneider won his second WSOP bracelet in Event #46, $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better. Schneider had previously won Event #5, $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better. He was the only player to win multiple bracelets at the 2007 WSOP, and along with a third final table performance in Event 16, $2,500 H.O.R.S.E., Schneider was named the 2007 World Series of Poker Player of the Year.

- Blair Rodman, who has cashed 27 times at the WSOP dating back to 1991, picked up his first bracelet in Event #47, $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'em. Rodman collected more than $700,000 for the win.

- Rafi Amit, winner of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2005, won the second bracelet of his career in Event #48, $1,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball w/ Rebuys

- Chandrasekhar Billavara beat 3,151 players, the largest non-Main Event field in the history of live poker, to claim the bracelet in Event #49, $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em. Billavara collected $722,914 for his win.

- Robert Mizrachi won more than $765,000 and his first bracelet in Event #50, $10,000 World Championship of Pot-Limit Omaha. Robert is credited with introducing poker to his brothers, Eric Mizrachi and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. Robert became the first of the three Mizrachi brothers to win a WSOP bracelet. He beat a final table consisting of, among others, Doyle Brunson, Marco Traniello, Tommy Ly and Patrik Antonius.

- Ram Vaswani won Event #53, $1,500 Limit Hold 'em Shootout, becoming the first of the famous Hendon Mob members to win a WSOP bracelet. Vaswani won $217,438 along with his first bracelet.

- Erik Seidel won Event #54, No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ Rebuys. The victory gave Seidel his 8th WSOP bracelet, placing him fourth on the all-time bracelet winners list and tying him with poker legend Johnny Moss.

- Jerry Yang, an unknown in the poker world, won the 2007 WSOP Main Event after outlasting the second largest field in the history of live poker. Yang, a 39-year-old psychologist/social worker from Temecula, CA, won his way into the Main Event for $225 in a satellite at his local casino. He went on to parlay his investment into $8.25 million and the title of World Champion.

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by: Erin Davis - theSpread.com - Email Us

News Added: 30 August, 2007

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