World Series of Poker Event 53: New Orleans Resident David Halpern Wins

David Halpern from New Orleans, LA won the $1500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or Better Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Halpern outlasted 467 other players to win $159,048 for winning the tournament. Halpern has already cashed once this year (Pot Limit Omaha), but this is his first WSOP bracelet. The $657,455 prize pool was spread out amongst 48 players who cashed. Halpern battled William Kohler for over three hour heads-up. Battled is a strong word, as both players seemed enamored of each other and even went to dinner together during the break. They traded the chip lead back and forth until Kohler seized it for good. Other notable players who cashed includes Chad Brown (4th), Matt Savage (5th), Andy Bloch (23rd), and Norman Chad (32rd).

Last year Ryan Hughes from Phoenix, Arizona won the event for the second year in a row. He was the first player to ever win a second Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo bracelet. Last year's event attracted 544 entrants. Those players accumulated a prize pool totaling $742,560. 56 finishers got a cut, with the largest piece going to Hughes ($183,341). Other notable players included David Sklansky (8th), Men 'The Master' Nguyen (17th), and Phil Hellmuth (33rd). Hughes finished in 29th place in this year's event.

Final table coverage can be found here.

Place Prize Name

1 $59,390 David Halpern

2 $98,550 William Kohler

3 $64,484 Max Stern

4 $44,589 Chad Brown

5 $32,465 Matt Savage

6 $24,828 Zak Gilbert

7 $19,901 Brian Swinford

8 $16,682 Allie Prescott

9 $12,149 Richard Sklar

10 $2,149 Vince Burgio

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