Poker Tournament Results

39th World Series of Poker 2008

Event #42 - WSOP Seniors - No Limit Hold'em World Championship

June 23, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Tournament Schedule

Buy-In	$1,000
Prize Pool	$2,018,380
Entries	2218
Report Available Live Coverage

Daniel Lacourse

Place	Name	Prize
1	Daniel Lacourse (Toledo, OH, USA)	$368,832
2	Dale Eberle (Akron, OH, USA)	$131,194
3	Marc Fluss (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)	$156,424
4	Jerry Yamachika (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$131,194
5	Fred Berger (Slidell, LA, USA)	$106,974
6	Charles Wood (Austin, TX, USA)	$84,771
7	Peter Silverstein (Houston, TX, USA)	$64,588
8	Edward Clark (Sacramento, CA, USA)	$49,450
9	Martyn Wilson (Bridgenorth, England, UK)	$34,312
10	Ronald Puelo (Sarasota, FL, USA)	$22,202
11	Mike Allis (Post Falls, ID, USA)	$22,202
12	Chris Platt (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$22,202
13	Edgardo Villareal (Torrance, CA, USA)	$17,156
14	Michael Bentrup AKA "Mick" (Menomonee Falls, WI, USA)	$17,156
15	James Duke (Houston, TX, USA)	$17,156
16	Henry Hudson (Greenville, NC, USA)	$12,110
17	John Bonar (Lakeside Park, KY, USA)	$12,110
18	Gary Dishongh (Houston, TX, USA)	$12,110
19	Gregory Alston (Danville, CA, USA)	$9,688
20	Mike Thulson (Centennial, CO, USA)	$9,688
21	Bob Bland (Larange, GA, USA)	$9,688
22	Daniel Spear (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$9,688
23	Duane Gerleman (Ridgeway, IA, USA)	$9,688
24	Harold Hensley (Amarillo, TX, USA)	$9,688
25	Theodore Brooks (Waco, TX, USA)	$9,688
26	Dennis Otto (Victoria, TX, USA)	$9,688
27	James Maxwell (Maiden Rock, WI, USA)	$9,688
28	Tom McEvoy AKA "pokerchump" (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$7,669
29	Tim Sciscoe (Omaha, NE, USA)	$7,669
30	Jerry Price (Mead, WA, USA)	$7,669
31	Anthony Campagna (Manorville, NY, USA)	$7,669
32	Lawrence Bass (Tamarac, FL, USA)	$7,669
33	Stephen Carpenter (Janesville, WA, USA)	$7,669
34	Steve Fager (Sequiem, WA, USA)	$7,669
35	Marsha Waggoner (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$7,669
36	P Alan Dorfman (Oak View, CA, USA)	$7,669
37	Greg Henry (Choctaw, OK, USA)	$6,055
38	Roland Schroeder (Phoenix, AZ, USA)	$6,055
39	Tom Dallman (Zap, ND, USA)	$6,055
40	John Stansell (Seattle, WA, USA)	$6,055
41	Daniel Zeihen (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)	$6,055
42	Edmond Schwartz (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$6,055
43	Lonnie Boeding (Lees Summit, MO, USA)	$6,055
44	Horace Thomas (Lake Geneva, FL, USA)	$6,055
45	Men "The Master" Nguyen (Bell Gardens, CA, USA)	$6,055
46	Ronald Brown (Spirit Lake, ID, USA)	$5,449
47	Gerald Shebar (Palo Alto, CA, USA)	$5,449
48	Michael Gann (Tucson, AZ, USA)	$5,449
49	Kevin Bushey (Canyon Lake, CA, USA)	$5,449
50	Bruce Scheiner (Forth Myers, FL, USA)	$5,449
51	Richard Barstow (Fresno, CA, USA)	$5,449
52	John Wrona (Templeton, CA, USA)	$5,449
53	Ernest Ward (Gulfport, MS, USA)	$5,449
54	Ralph Wetterhann (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$5,449
55	Robert Kahan (Tiburon, CA, USA)	$4,844
56	Paul Moore (Descanso, CA, USA)	$4,844
57	James David Jaquess (Stephenville, TX, USA)	$4,844
58	Bud Tufeld (Redondo Beach, CA, USA)	$4,844
59	Perry Burrell (Calgary, AB, Canada)	$4,844
60	Dolph Arnold (Houston, TX, USA)	$4,844
61	Avi Mukherjee (San Jose, CA, USA)	$4,844
62	Gerald Stensrud (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$4,844
63	Milton Kawashima (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)	$4,844
64	Captain Tom Franklin (Gulfport, MS, USA)	$4,238
65	Ken Adams AKA "DC Kid" (Washington, DC, USA)	$4,238
66	Mark Hamlett (Queen Creek, AZ, USA)	$4,238
67	Dempster Ross (Plymouth, MI, USA)	$4,238
68	Jeff Doane (Rockford, IL, USA)	$4,238
69	Bill Seymour (Greenville, NV, USA)	$4,238
70	Robert Barley (Lubbock, TX, USA)	$4,238
71	Joseph Aldridge (Napa, CA, USA)	$4,238
72	Jerry Kersey (St Augustine, FL, USA)	$4,238
73	Ernesto Gonzalez (Montebello, CA, USA)	$3,633
74	Vince Palma (Buffalo, NY, USA)	$3,633
75	Matt Satterwhite (Canyon, TX, USA)	$3,633
76	Ian McDonald (Woodland Spa, UK)	$3,633
77	Charles Kemner (Sevierville, TN, USA)	$3,633
78	Mark Bershad (New York, NY, USA)	$3,633
79	Harris Schnall (Henderson, NV, USA)	$3,633
80	Rick Catalano (Fair Oaks, CA, USA)	$3,633
81	Jerry Simon (Temecula, CA, USA)	$3,633
82	James Cottingham (Lawton, OK, USA)	$3,229
83	Joe Capps (Henderson, NV, USA)	$3,229
84	Lindsey Bryan (New Braunfels, TX, USA)	$3,229
85	Howie Eintracht (Paia, HI, USA)	$3,229
86	Galen Sliver (Seven Valleys, PA, USA)	$3,229
87	Terry Ackley (Lawndale, CA, USA)	$3,229
88	Dana Parham (Pembroke Pines, FL, USA)	$3,229
89	Daniel Olarnick (Brooklyn, NY, USA)	$3,229
90	David Jackson (Columbia, PA, USA)	$3,229
91	Amarillo Slim Thomas Preston (Amarillo, TX, USA)	$2,825
92	Michael Stansell (Waukesha, WI, USA)	$2,825
93	Elfigo sanchez (Santa Fe, CA, USA)	$2,825
94	Richard Winberg (Clio, MI, USA)	$2,825
95	Royce Davis (Mabank, TX, USA)	$2,825
96	Robert Willis (Granada, MS, USA)	$2,825
97	Avery Cardoza (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,825
98	George Mosby (Lincoln, CA, USA)	$2,825
99	William Purcell (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA)	$2,825
100	Donald Belanger (Welland, ON, Canada)	$2,422
101	Myers Vanburen (San Diego, CA, USA)	$2,422
102	Dave Wooster (Pinole, CA, USA)	$2,422
103	Barry Bounds (Littleton, CO, USA)	$2,422
104	David Hahn (Mission Viejo, CA, USA)	$2,422
105	Phil Routsis AKA "PhillyRoot" (Spokane, WA, USA)	$2,422
106	Thomas Dickey (La Porte, TX, USA)	$2,422
107	John Esposito (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,422
108	Unknown	$2,422
109	Joe Pharo (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)	$2,422
110	William Egar (Livingston, MN, USA)	$2,422
111	Charles Sippl (Hermosa Beach, CA, USA)	$2,422
112	Frederick Kung (Ann Harbor, MN, USA)	$2,422
113	Scott Gibbs (Buttle, MT, USA)	$2,422
114	Bob Keegan (Agoura Hills, CA, USA)	$2,422
115	Michael T. Davis (Durango, IA, USA)	$2,422
116	Michael Mjehovich (Montclair, NY, USA)	$2,422
117	Randall Davis (Burr Ridge, IL, USA)	$2,422
118	Bob Jarman (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,422
119	Dennis Anderson (Lexington, KY, USA)	$2,422
120	Colin Fink (Princeton, WV, USA)	$2,422
121	William Haggerty (Ponsford, MN, USA)	$2,422
122	Joseph Green (Millsboro, DE, USA)	$2,422
123	Paul Gratsch (Cocoa, FL, USA)	$2,422
124	Paul Zibits (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$2,422
125	Johnny Kidd (Knoxville, TN, USA)	$2,422
126	Paul Dhal (Vancouver, CA)	$2,422
127	Harold Miller (Laporte, CO, USA)	$2,018
128	Bruce Mack (Houston, TX, USA)	$2,018
129	Bill MacDonald (Dewinton, AB, Canada)	$2,018
130	Steven Shulman (Corona Del Mar, CA, USA)	$2,018
131	Bob Feduniak (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,018
132	Ronnie McMillan (Downy, CA, USA)	$2,018
133	Bobby Sanders (Canton, TX, USA)	$2,018
134	Eric Schaps (La Fayette, CA, USA)	$2,018
135	Ernest Bell	$2,018
136	Charles Vreed (Seattle, WA, USA)	$2,018
137	Jeff Lee (Stanwood, WA, USA)	$2,018
138	Gary Herstein (Chicago, IL, USA)	$2,018
139	Gary Gibbs (Hot Springs, AR, USA)	$2,018
140	Wayne Stanford (Brantford, ON, Canada)	$2,018
141	Charles Vite (Lowell, ID, USA)	$2,018
142	Herald Waite (Wichita, KS, USA)	$2,018
143	David Solomon (Austin, TX, USA)	$2,018
144	Jack Thomas (North Hollywood, CA, USA)	$2,018
145	Billy Ingram (Palestine, TX, USA)	$2,018
146	Anthony Celeste (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,018
147	Stephen Hester (Trenton, OH, USA)	$2,018
148	James White (Austin, TX, USA)	$2,018
149	Larry Ross AKA "Rose" (West Covina, CA, USA)	$2,018
150	Eddylee Martin (Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands)	$2,018
151	Alexander Weiland (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,018
152	Paula Halford (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,018
153	Dennis Richardson (Louisville, KY, USA)	$2,018
154	William Huo (Seaford, WA, USA)	$2,018
155	William Bertram (Reno, NV, USA)	$2,018
156	Gerald Martello (Baker, FL, USA)	$2,018
157	Clifford Carlson (Minneapolis, MN, USA)	$2,018
158	Jerry Smith (Pembroke Pines, FL, USA)	$2,018
159	Michael Comer (Castle Hill, Australia)	$2,018
160	Lloyd Newman (Virginia Beach, VA, USA)	$2,018
161	Robert Autrey (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$2,018
162	Curtis Kuehn (Patterson, NY, USA)	$2,018
163	Rae Rocco (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,018
164	Jim Cromie (Canyon Country, CA, USA)	$1,816
165	Marcus Crow (Loop, TX, USA)	$1,816
166	Andrew Klivan AKA "Mr. K" (New York, NY, USA)	$1,816
167	Ronald Saccavino (Henderson, NV, USA)	$1,816
168	Charles Han (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,816
169	Exxon Feyznia (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
170	Bruce Uyeda (Mountain View, WA, USA)	$1,816
TIE	Judith Vigoren (Snohomish, WA, USA)	$1,816
TIE	Judith Vigoren (Snohomish, WA, USA)	$1,816
172	William Osborne (Pilot Point, TX, USA)	$1,816
173	Richard Dunberg (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
174	Billy Gifford (Houston, TX, USA)	$1,816
175	Thomas Monegan (Grover, MO, USA)	$1,816
176	Jeff Litzau (St Louis, MO, USA)	$1,816
177	Robert Aden (Port Orange, FL, USA)	$1,816
178	Emmett Hickey (Arlington, TX, USA)	$1,816
179	Gorge Hays (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
180	Jerry Tilton (Kelseyville, CA, USA)	$1,816
181	Michael Casella (Irvine, CA, USA)	$1,816
182	Peter Sullivan (Roscoe, IL, USA)	$1,816
183	Lee Grove (Superior, NE, USA)	$1,816
184	John Vogt (Eagle, ID, USA)	$1,816
185	Candy Kolfage (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
186	Hieu "Tony" Ma (S El Monte, CA, USA)	$1,816
187	James Keith (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
188	Ira Flusberg (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,816
189	Samuel Hays (Tampa, FL, USA)	$1,816
190	Steve Khan (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)	$1,816
191	Lloyd Shinn (Coppell, TX, USA)	$1,816
192	Gary Goad (Flushing, MI, USA)	$1,816
193	Steven Bowles (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
194	Danny Pourat (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$1,816
195	John Derose (MA, USA)	$1,816
196	Ray Koerntgen (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
197	Johnny Sayre (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,816
198	Stanley Barton (Spruce Grove, AB, Canada)	$1,816

Tournament Report

Tournament Notes:

• The $1,000 buy-in Seniors World Championship (Event #42) attracted 2,218 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $2,018,380. The top 198 finishers collected prize money.
• This was the largest seniors' event in poker history. The turnout shattered last year's record of 1,882. The 2008 figure represents an 18 percent increase over 2007.
• To be eligible for entry into the Seniors championship, the entrant must be age 50 or older - which means the player had to have been born prior to June 23, 1958.
• The Seniors World Championship was first played in 1993. It was spread at various locations in California and Nevada during the first eight years. Then, in 2001 the seniors event was added to the WSOP schedule. Jay Heimowitz won the first official seniors gold bracelet.
• The tournament was played over three consecutive days. The final table was played on the ESPN main stage and was broadcast live by Bluff Media on ESPN360. Play-by-play announcer Howard David was joined by color commentators 'Oklahoma Johnny' Hale and Max Shapiro on the broadcast.
• Ernest Bennett, who won this event in 2007, entered this tournament but did not cash. This brings the current streak to 42 straight non-cashes for defending champions in their respective events.
• The 2008 Seniors World Champion is Dan LaCourse, from Toledo, Ohio. He is a 56-year-old retired police detective.
• LaCourse also administered polygraphs as an examiner during his work as a detective. In a post-tournament interview, he stated that his training as a detective and examiner helped him at the poker table. LaCourse stated that most people reveal themselves (through subtle gestures and mannerisms) within three seconds of being of being confronted with a question or decision.
• When it appeared that LaCourse would end up at the final table, he called his wife late at the end of Day Two, which was early morning back home in Ohio. His wife packed quickly, drove to the airport, and arrived at the Rio just as players were taking their seats at the final table. In fact, she pulled a suitcase through the crowd and took her seat. The long trip turned out to be worth the effort.
• LaCourse stated that senior players are not as aggressive as younger players, in general. But he observed that seniors tend to be more patient at the poker table.
• LaCourse was thrilled to win his first WSOP gold bracelet. 'It's an honor I wanted my entire life,' he said. 'I have always wanted this and to be standing here with a gold bracelet and this moment is very special to me.'
• LaCourse won $368,832 for first place. This was the highest poker prize ever paid out to any winner of a senior event.
• The second-place finisher was Dale Eberle. He was a firefighter for 25 years before his retirement in 2002.
• Oddly enough, the heads-up match included a firefighter versus a policeman, two traditional civic rivals in most communities. Both players were also from Ohio - Toledo and Akron respectively, which are also rivals in college football.
• Former WSOP gold bracelet winner Fred Berger (2003 Pot-Limit Hold'em champion) finished in fifth place.
• The sixth-place finisher was Charles Wood, a disabled Vietnam veteran. This was his highest cash ever at the WSOP.
• 'Mad Marty' Wilson took ninth place in what was his first-ever WSOP final table appearance. Wilson is a master of trivia and has won many contests in England.
• For the second consecutive year, poker legend and 1972 world champion 'Amarillo Slim' Preston cashed in this event. He finished 91st. When Preston busted out late on Day Two, the entire room stopped play, and burst into a spontaneous ovation which collectively paid tribute to the master showman and poker promoter.
• Other former WSOP gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event included Tom McEvoy (28th), Men 'the Master' Nguyen (45th), 'Captain' Tom Franklin (64th), John Esposito (107th), and Tony Ma (186th).
• With his cash in this event, Tom McEvoy has now finished in-the-money 39 times in his WSOP career. He is currently tied for 17th place on the all-time list.
• With his cash in this event, Men 'the Master' Nguyen has now finished in-the-money 58 times in his WSOP career. He ranks second on the all-time list, behind only Phil Hellmuth.
• Through Event #42, only two players have made three final table appearances - Jacobo Fernandez and David Benyamine.
• Nikolay Evdakov, from Moscow, Russia is the only player at this year's WSOP who has cashed seven times - just one off the all-time record mark. Evdakov is positioned to break the record set for 'Most WSOP Cashes in a Single Year,' shared by five players -- Michael Binger (2007), Chad Brown (2007), Phil Hellmuth (2006), Richard Tatalovich (2006), and Humberto Brenes (2006), with eight.
• Winner Dan LaCourse is officially listed as being from Toledo, Ohio. Through the conclusion of Event #42 at this year's World Series of Poker, the gold bracelet count by nations and states reads as follows:
10 - Nevada
7 - California
4 - New York
2 - Canada
2 - Germany
2 - Italy
2 - Missouri
1 - Belgium
1 - Denmark
1 - Florida
1 - France
1 - Georgia
1 - Holland
1 - Maryland
1 - Michigan
1 - Ohio
1 - Pennsylvania
1 - Russia
1 - South Carolina
1 - Wisconsin
• Nine different nations have produced a gold bracelet winner at this year's WSOP. This list now includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Russia, and the United States.
• The Event #42 winner Dan LaCourse is to be classified as an amateur poker player since he retired recently. Accordingly, the 'Pro-Am' gold bracelet scoreboard currently reads:
Professionals - 32 wins
Amateurs -- 8 wins
Semi-Pros -- 2 wins
• Duane Gerleman was the chip leader at the End of Day One in this event. He finished as the 23rd place finisher. Through Event #42, the End of Day One chip leaders have gone on to cash 77 percent of the time -- 31 of 40 occasions (the chip leader was not applicable on two events). Twelve of these same 40 chip leaders (30 percent) made it to the final table. Only one chip leader went on to win the event. That lone wire-to-wire winner was Vanessa Selbst in Event #19.
• Dale Eberle was the chip leader at the start of this final table. He ended up as the second-place finisher. Through Event #42, seventeen of 40 chip leaders at the start of the final table (43 percent) went on to win the event. Twenty-four of 40 chip leaders (60 percent) went on to finish in the top three spots. Two events did not have a chip leader (Heads-Up and Shootout tournaments).
• It should be noted that the Milwaukee's Best Light 'Player of the Year' rankings will now include points accrued from the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. championship.
• The Milwaukee's Best Light 'Player of the Year' standings currently shows Jacobo Fernandez as the current leader, with David Benyamine close behind. Here are the top five ranked players:
1. Jacobo Fernandez - 222 points
2. David Benyamine - 220 points
3. John Phan - 200 points
4. Barry Greenstein - 190 points
5. Erick Lindgren - 185 points
For a complete 'Player of the Year' points list, see:
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/2008.asp?sort=poypts
• David Benyamine is now the leader on the 2008 prize money list, having won the most money at the WSOP, to date. His accrued winnings total $941,651.
CORRECTIONS / ADDITIONS:
EVENT #41 - Please note that in the discussion of multi-event winners within a single year at the WSOP, Jeff Madsen's name was mistakenly omitted from the list dating back to 2000. Madsen won two events in 2006.
EVENT #41 - A small technicality: In yesterday's report of 2-7 lowball, the A-5 hand was referred to as a straight. This is not true for 2-7 lowball, since an ace always plays as a high card.

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