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Poker Tournament Results

39th World Series of Poker 2008

Event #3 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

June 2, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Tournament Schedule

Buy-In	$1,500
Prize Pool	$1,069,500
Entries	713
Report Available Live Coverage

David Singer

Place	Name	Prize
1	David Singer (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$214,131
2	Jacobo Fernandez (Hollywood, FL, USA)	$136,643
3	Greg Alston (Miami Beach, FL, USA)	$82,725
4	Robby Lipkin (Buffalo Grove, IL, USA)	$67,640
5	Russel Harriman (Clarkston, MI, USA)	$55,474
6	Joseph Tehan (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$43,796
7	Zachary King AKA "Carter" (Marietta, GA, USA)	$34,063
8	Al Barbieri AKA "Sugar Bear" (Philadelphia, PA, USA)	$26,764
9	Glen Bean (Gridley, CA, USA)	$19,464
10	Ryan Fair (Coral Springs, FL, USA)	$12,165
11	Brandon Schaefer AKA "Koga" (Seattle, WA, USA)	$12,165
12	Douglas Carli AKA "Rico" (Alliance, OH, USA)	$12,165
13	Scott Seiver (Cold Springs Harbor, NY, USA)	$9,732
14	Philip Yeh (Stenungsund, Sweden)	$9,732
15	Eric Shanks (Encinitas, CA, USA)	$9,732
16	Robert Fischman (Glenwood Springs, CO, USA)	$7,299
17	Justin Young (Moorhead City, NC, USA)	$7,299
18	Bobby Law (Chetek, WI, USA)	$7,299
19	Gregg Merkow (Plano, TX, USA)	$5,547
20	Jeff Gibralter (Rockwall, TX, USA)	$5,547
21	Brent Bibby (Cambridge, ON, Canada)	$5,547
22	Vadim Trincher (New York, NY, USA)	$5,547
23	Anthony Keshish (Tampa, FL, USA)	$5,547
24	Harry Thomas (Hamilton, OH, USA)	$5,547
25	Tom McEvoy AKA "pokerchump" (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$5,547
26	Brian Miller (Atlanta, GA, USA)	$5,547
27	Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)	$5,547
28	Mark Muchnik (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$4,574
29	Martin Green (Brighton, UK)	$4,574
30	Gerard Denham (Odenton, MD, USA)	$4,574
31	David Levi (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$4,574
32	Eugene Todd (Brooklyn, NY, USA)	$4,574
33	Evan Jarvis (Toronto, ON, Canada)	$4,574
34	David Paul Steicke (Hong Kong)	$4,574
35	Robert Wisiak AKA "wiz" (Ridgewood, NY, USA)	$4,574
36	Michael Katz (Manalapan, NJ, USA)	$4,574
37	Kyle Hegeman (Long Island, NY, USA)	$3,601
38	Fred Berger (Slidell, LA, USA)	$3,601
39	Kazuki Ikeuchi (Japan)	$3,601
40	Wolfbert Bartlema (Nieuw Beerta, Netherlands)	$3,601
41	Sven Schmithuysen (Norderstedt / Hamburg, Germany)	$3,601
42	Mathias Kuerschner AKA "the real magic" (Duesseldorf, Germany)	$3,601
43	Hani Awad (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$3,601
44	Gilbert Salas (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$3,601
45	Lou Esposito (Glendale, NY, USA)	$3,601
46	Noah Schwartz (Bay Harbor Island, FL, USA)	$3,309
47	Gebon Barnoski (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)	$3,309
48	David Daneshgar (Westlake Village, CA, USA)	$3,309
49	Nathan Doudney (Dallas, TX, USA)	$3,309
50	Jeffrey Lowenhar (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$3,309
51	Robert Workman (Greenup, KY, USA)	$3,309
52	Abe Stevens (Fortuna, CA, USA)	$3,309
53	Calen McNeil AKA "BigWheel" (Victoria, BC, Canada)	$3,309
54	William Davis	$3,309
55	Leo Wolpert (Fairfax, VA, USA)	$3,017
56	Craig Crivello (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)	$3,017
57	Dennis Wamsley (Dayton, OH, USA)	$3,017
58	Roscoe Derrod (Chula Vista, CA, USA)	$3,017
59	Tyler Adams (Calgary, AB, Canada)	$3,017
60	Lawrence Barbetta (Wayzetta, MN, USA)	$3,017
61	George Lusby (Georgetown, KY, USA)	$3,017
62	George Bronstein (Tampa, FL, USA)	$3,017
63	Ronnie Hofman (Dordrecht, Netherlands)	$3,017
64	Donald Carlton (Woodstock, IL, USA)	$2,725
65	Nirvair Sandhu (Brampton, ON, Canada)	$2,725
66	Andy Philachack (Garland, TX, USA)	$2,725
67	Neil Channing AKA "Bad Beat" (London, UK)	$2,725
68	Daniel Hendrickson (Faribault, MN, USA)	$2,725
69	Geoff Mulligan (Warman, SK, Canada)	$2,725
70	Pat Cruse AKA "thakilla" (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,725
71	Michael Melkersen (New Market, VA, USA)	$2,725
72	Ted Leva (Houston, TX, USA)	$2,725

Tournament Report

WSOP GOLD BRACELET WINNER EVENT # 3 - DAVID SINGER

The winner of the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em tournament was David Singer, from Las Vegas, NV. He is 41-years-old. He has been playing poker professionally since 2001.
Prior to playing poker, Singer worked for as an attorney for a non-profit agency which was involved in environmental issues. He worked in legal cases which ultimately helped to clean Long Island Sound of pollution and other toxic materials.
He has been a professional poker player since 2001.
Singer is known for wearing flashy jewelry. His favorite fashion items are silver rings. Singer often plays with at least one silver ring on every finger. He said he started wearing just one or two a few years ago. But he liked the look fo them and started buying one everywhere he went when traveling. He say he owns more than 70 silver rings -- and now one gold bracelet.
This marked Singer's 18th time to cash at the WSOP. He is the only player to have made it to the final table of the $50,000 HORSE event both years it's been played. He also won the inaugural Caesars Palace Classic in 2007, worth $1 million or first place. Oddly enough, while Singer has nearly $4 million in career tournament earnings, he had never finished higher than fourth at the WSOP prior to this victory.
Singer's fiancé expected the couple's first child to be born on the same day as the final table was played. In fact, the child is/was due at any moment. Incredibly, prior to the finale, Singer stated that he would depart the poker tournament - no matter what the situation - in order to be at his fiancé's side when she gave birth. The moment she goes into labor, I am quitting the tournament," he said on the night before the final table was to be played. "I don't care even if I am playing heads-up for the (gold bracelet).
Singer plans to get married at the end of this summer.
Singer was interviewed by the official WSOP media team following his victory. Here are some of the highlights of that interview (quotes were recorded and may be used by all media):
I started out this tournament not really caring much about it. I was (registered) in the other tournament ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em) and I cashed in that one. I was running back and forth between tables at the start of this one, and obviously it worked out.
I won a $25,000 heads-up poker tournament last week (which was worth $560,000). When we got heads-up in this event, I was expecting to run over (Fernandez). I did not know much about him. But he sure turned out to be pretty tough (Note: Heads-up play lasted over 100 hands)
This is not the most money I have ever won in a poker tournament. But it makes me the happiest, I would say for sure. This really feels great. I've waited for this for a very long time.
We have a baby due today or tomorrow. That's pretty exciting. But to win this makes it all the better.
I feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world already, no matter if I had won, or not.
· This was the second Pot-Limit Hold'em tournament on the 2008 WSOP schedule. The first tournament which was held four days ago generated the largest Pot-Limit Hold'em prize pool in poker history. This tournament had a $1,500 buy-in with 714 entries, which created a prize pool totaling $973,245.
· This was the first non-ESPN final table of the 2008 WSOP. The final table was played adjacent to the main stage, which featured Event #4, the $5,000 buy-in Mixed Hold'em event in what was an overlapping time slot. While the crowd was not as large for this finale, several players had their own cheering sections, full of friends and relatives.
· The World Series of Poker has become an international attraction. Of the 72 players who finished in-the-money, six different nations were represented - including England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, and the United States.
· Jacobo Fernandez enjoyed the chip lead when final table play began. He had about a quarter of the total chips in play. He held the chip lead until play became heads up against David Singer. After a four hour battle which took out seven players, Fernandez and Singer battled for nearly five hours before the winner was determined.
· The $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em champion is David Singer, from Las Vegas, NV. He is originally from Brooklyn, NY. Singer was a formally an attorney who worked for a non-profit environmental firm. He has been a professional poker player since 2001.
· This marked Singer's 18th time to cash at the WSOP. He is the only player to have made it to the final table of the $50,000 HORSE event both years it's been played. Oddly enough, while Singer has nearly $4 million in career tournament earnings, he had never finished higher than fourth prior to this victory.
· Singer's wife is expecting the couple's first child very soon. In fact, the child is due at any moment. Incredibly, Singer stated that he would depart the poker tournament - no matter what the situation - in order to be at his wife's side when she gave birth. "The moment she goes into labor, I am quitting the tournament," he said on the night before the final table was to be played. "I don't care even if I am playing heads-up for the (gold bracelet)."
· Singer was playing heads-up against a very tough opponent named Jacobo Fernandez. The final hand of the tournament pitted Singer's queen-four against Fernandez' seven-three. It proved to be a very exciting last hand for players and spectators alike, as the turn showed 7-5-3-6. Singer held the made straight against Fernandez' two pair. Singer put his opponent to the test with an all-in move and Fernandez reluctantly called with his sevens and threes. A blank on the river sealed Singer's victory.
· Through this event, poker professionals have now won 2 gold bracelets, versus amateurs, who have won 1.
· The second-place finisher was Jacobo Fernandez, who put up a valiant fight. He held onto the chip lead a majority of the time, but could never manage to close out the win. Fernandez is from the Dominican Republic. He now lives in Hollywood, FL.
· Gregory Alston finished in third place. Two years ago, he made a final table appearance in this event as well, finishing ninth. This was Alston's 11th career WSOP cash.
· Joe Tehan took sixth place. He has as strong a tournament record as anyone over the last three years, with 39 major cashes and over $2.2 million in tournament earnings.
· Seventh-place finisher Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri has been a fixture at the WSOP for more than a decade. The Philadelphia native proudly calls himself a protégé of three-time gold bracelet winner John Bonetti, who has been suffering health problems in recent months.
· Doug Carli, a.k.a. "Rico" is the unofficial World Series of Poker Circuit's Most Valuable Player. He finished 12th in this event. Carli has enjoyed astounding success over the last four years at the 12 annual Circuit events. He has nearly twice as many cashes (33) and final table appearances (19) as the player in second place.
· Former gold bracelet winner Harry Thomas (1985 Seven-Card Stud) took 24th place.
· Four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and 1983 world champion Tom McEvoy finished in 25th place. That put McEvoy across the $2 million mark for lifetime tournament earnings (for all major events).
· Lou "The Big Easy" Esposito, the champion of last year's Bayou Poker Challenge at Harrahs New Orleans, took 45th place.
· The tournament was played over three days. The final table of nine players was played on Day Three and started at 2 pm and ended at 10:00 pm.
· Last year, this tournament was won by Michael Spegal. He entered this year, but did not cash.