WSOP GOLD BRACELET WINNER
EVENT # 4 – ERICK LINDGREN
The winner of the $5,000 buy-in Mixed Hold'em event is Erick Lindgren. He is 31-years-old. Lindgren has been a professional poker player for nearly ten years.
Lindgren was born in Burnley, CA which is a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. He was a football and basketball star in high school.
He worked as a blackjack dealer at an Indian casino in Northern California. However, Lindgren started playing poker regularly during his free time and discovered both a passion and talent for the game. He gradually transitioned to the status of a full-time pro. He now plays in most high-profile tournaments held around the world.
Lindgren now has 16 WSOP career cashes. He has also won nearly $1.5 million at the WSOP and WSOP Circuits alone.
Lindgren's victory was a real crowd pleaser, considering that prior to this event he had won just about everything in poker except a WSOP gold bracelet. Lindgren was often mentioned up this point on the very short list of "best poker players never to have won at the WSOP." In a post-tournament interview, Lindgren told ESPN's Norman Chad, "I thought I'd be sitting here presenting you with your bracelet before I got mine."
This victory almost never happened. According to Lance Bradley at Bluff Media, he pointed out that Lindgren had only 8,400 in chips at the start of Day Two in this tournament, while the average chip count was 35,400.
As cherished as the prize was to Lindgren after so many tries, he revealed that he would be sending his WSOP gold bracelet to his father.
Lindgren 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):
Limit Hold'em tournaments have been very good to me in the past. I wanted to use that as my strength. We had a lot of No-Limit (Hold'em) strength at this final table, but I wanted to use Limit to make my moves.
Until the final card turned, I was just panicked and worried that (Bonomo) might come back and I would blow another one. I was just so happy and so lucky that it finished early.
My strategy when playing heads-up was just to keep my head down, keep betting, and hope (my opponent) folds. Seriously, I decided I would put the pressure on him because that is what he likes to do.
I woke up my father at 1:30 am to tell him I had won. He had not been up at 1:30 in the morning in a long time. It was a good call to make. It was really special. I can't wait to send him the bracelet.
The best of this year's World Series is yet to some. The biggest events are still coming up, so stay tuned!
Tournament Notes:
· This marked the second consecutive year that the WSOP has offered a $5,000 buy-in "Mixed Hold'em" tournament on the schedule. Mixed hold'em means that two games are played – Limit Hold'em and No-Limit Hold'em. The games alternate as each game is played for 30 minutes per (one-hour) level.
· The World Series of Poker is truly global. Of the 36 players who finished in-the-money, five different nations were represented – including Canada, England, Ireland, Monaco, and the United States.
· This was the third WSOP event of the year to be televised by ESPN. The final table was played on the ESPN main stage, surrounded by the Milwaukee's Best Light All-In Lounge. Daily seating for WSOP final tables remains free and open to the public. Most final tables begin in the afternoon.
· Once again, this final table attracted a standing-room only crowd of spectators. David Rheem and Erick Lindgren brought the largest and most vocal cheering sections. Nevertheless, a few bona fide superstars ensured that the outcome of this finale would attract widespread interest.
· Of the nine finalists, only two players were previous gold bracelet winners, Howard Lederer (with two previous wins) and David Williams (with one win).
· The chip leader when final table play began was David Rheem. He started with about 26 percent of the total chips in play. Rheem ended up going out fifth.
· The winner was Erick Lindgren. He is a 31-year-old professional poker player from Las Vegas, NV. Lindgren was born in Burley, CA, which is a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
· Lindgren rarely had the chip lead at the final table until the final moments. He was in second or third place most of the way. But he ultimately prevailed over tough competition.
· Lindgren made a straight (ace-to-five) as his winning hand. He had A-2 and called rival Justin Bonomo all-in bet on the turn when the cards showed 10-5-3-4. Bonomo had 5-4, good for two pair. But Lindgren scooped the final pot of the night with his wheel.
· Justin Bonomo, a.k.a. "ZeeJustin" ended up as the second-place. Although disappointed, Bonomo expressed his admiration for Lindgren and understood what the victory meant to his final adversary. In a touching moment that showed real class, Bonomo's parents went over to Lindgren immediately after his victory and expressed their congratulations.
· Lindgren's win wrote the closing chapter of one of poker's great human interest stories, particularly amongst poker aficionados. One of the most popular touring pros, Lindgren had been snake bitten at the WSOP for years. He has won just about everything in poker except a WSOP gold bracelet. Lindgren was often mentioned up this point on the very short list of "best poker players never to have won at the WSOP." His name will now be removed from that list, and be placed on countless others.
· With his sixth place finish in this event, Howard Lederer currently ranks 20th on the all-time number of cashes list in WSOP history, with 35. His cash in this event also pushes him over the $4 million mark in lifetime tournament winnings (for all major events). Lederer is widely-known at "The Professor." He won the $5,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low event in 2000. The following year, he won the $5,000 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Lowball championship. He also finished fifth in the 1987 WSOP Main Event. Much of his recent time has been spent fighting for the rights of poker players and lobbying government officials to accept poker as a game of skill.
· David Williams finished in seventh place. In 2004, he burst upon the poker scene as the runner up in the WSOP Main Event to Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. Williams went on to win a gold bracelet in the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event in 2006.
· Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Chau Giang just missed making it to the final table. He finished 11th.
· Former gold bracelet winner Barry Shulman finished in 33rd place. Shulman is the owner of Card Player magazine and Shulman Media.
· Other well-known poker celebrities who performed well and cashed in this event included Andy Bloch (who finished second in Event #1) taking 16th, Phil "Unabomber" Laak taking 24th, and Mori Eskandani, taking 32nd.
· Mori Eskandani is the Executive Producer of the popular television program "Poker After Dark."
· One of the more humorous moments of this year's World Series occurred at this final table when 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, Jr. tromped across the stage to greet a few of the players. When the tournament announcer Robbie Thompson acknowledged Hellmuth and delivered what would normally be an applause line, the crowd sat silently. Then, a few of the more boisterous onlookers began booing and the entire audience joined in. Hellmuth, shocked by the crowd's reaction shouted out, "tough crowd!"
· Through the conclusion of this event (#4) eight players have cashed twice at this year's WSOP. They include Andy Bloch, Phil Laak, Patrik Antonius, David Bach, Nikolay Evdakov, Raphael Zimmerman, Matthew Graham, and Kanzuki Ikeuchi.
· Last year, this tournament was won by Steve Billirakis. At age 21 years and 11 days, Billirakis set a new record as the youngest gold bracelet winner in WSOP history (which has since been broken). Billirakis played in this event but did not cash.
· About half an hour prior to Lindgren's win, touring pro David Singer won his first WSOP gold bracelet at final table held on an adjacent stage. This proved to be a real day of deliverance for two longtime poker stars, who had been denied poker's ultimate prize for too long.
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