Tournament Highlights:
The Winner
• The 2009 World Series of Poker Special 40th Anniversary Championship is Vitaly Lunkin, from Moscow, Russia.
• Lunkin is a 38 year-year-old business manager and poker player. His first occasion to cash in a poker tournament was in 2003. Aside from attending the WSOP the previous two years, most of Lunkin's past poker success has taken place in Russia.
• This was Lunkin's second WSOP-gold bracelet victory. At the 2008 WSOP, Lunkin won the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #39), where he pocketed $628,417.
• Incredibly, the two WSOP events won by Lunkin were very different. Last year's victory came in a massive field of 2,706 players. This year's title came in what must be considered the toughest No-Limit Hold'em tournament in history. The mega-sized buy-in ($40,000) mandated that just about every player in the field of 201 was at a world-class level.
• Lunkin is married and has two children.
• Lunkin has been playing poker since 2001.
• "This was the most difficult tournament of my life," Lunkin said through a Russian translator in a post-tournament interview.
• "When I was young, we did not have poker," Vitaly said about growing up in the former Soviet Union. When asked about his reaction to coming to Las Vegas and winning more money in the past two years than most people earn in a lifetime, Vitaly was quite diplomatic. "I think we don't have this barrier (between our countries) anymore. "Poker is one of the things that helped our countries come together."
• Lunkin collected $1,891,018 for first place. He was also awarded his second WSOP gold bracelet.
• Lunkin's victory came on the same day another player won his second WSOP gold bracelet. In an event which concluded about an hour earlier, Thang Luu won the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low title, after winning the same event last year.
• The massive cash prize for first place at nearly $1.9 million rocketed Lunkin into 34th place on the all-time WSOP money winner's list, one spot ahead of Chris Moneymaker. He now has $2,534,032 in three WSOP cashes.
The Players
• The final table was comprised of players from three different nations – The Netherlands, Russia, and the United States.
• Only one former WSOP Main Event champion made it to the final table, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer (2004).
• Only three former WSOP gold bracelet winners made it to the final table, Ted Forrest (5 wins), Vitaly Lunkin (1 win), and Greg Raymer (1 win).
• The runner up was Isaac Haxton, from Las Vegas, NV. Haxton started heads-up play against his Russian adversary as chip leader, but was unable to close out the victory. His nickname is "Ike." Haxton, who holds a degree in philosophy from Brown University, now has nine WSOP cashes and three final table appearances. He cashed three times last year. However, this was Haxton's biggest poker win, as $1,168,565 was paid to the second-place finisher.
• The third-place finisher was 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer. He was the chip leader during much of the 11-hour finale. When Raymer was eliminated late in the event, he received a rousing standing ovation. Raymer waved gracefully to the crowd as a true champion, obviously disappointed with the final result, but proving once again that he can play No-Limit Hold'em with the best in the world.
• The final table was a memorable experience for Raymer. While engaged in one of the toughest final table battles of his life, Raymer was simultaneously entered in the "Champions Invitational," which was being played in an adjacent area. The "Champions Invitational" was a competition of all the former living WSOP Main Event winners. Raymer was gradually blinded down while he remained at the final table. When Raymer busted out at about 11 pm, he transferred to the other tournament, only to bust out on the very first hand. It was still an impressive performance by the former patent attorney from North Carolina. Raymer's cut of the prize pool amounted to $774,927.
• The fourth-place finisher was Dani Stern, from New York, NY (Note: Name is pronounced "Donny"). He cashed in last year's No-Limit Heads-Up championship.
• The fifth-place finisher was Justin Bonomo, From Las Vegas, NV. Bonomo has joined the ranks of those players considered to be among the best of the game who have yet to win a gold bracelet. Bonomo was the runner up in the $5,000 buy-in Mixed Hold'em event at last year's WSOP. He also won the WSOP Circuit championship (gold ring) two months ago at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.
• The sixth-place finisher was Alec Torelli, from Orange County, CA,
• The seventh-place finisher was Alexander "Lex" Veldhuis, a.k.a. "RaSZi," from Rotterdam, Holland.
• The eighth-place finisher was Noah Schwartz, from Miami Beach, FL.
• The ninth-place finisher was Ted Forrest, from Las Vegas, NV. His bid for a sixth-gold bracelet came up short, as he was eliminated about 35 minutes into play at the final table.
• Finishing in tenth place was the bombastic Lithuanian-born Antanas Guaga, a.k.a. "Tony G."
• Former WSOP gold bracelet winner Keith Lehr finished in 11th place.
• Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner David Chiu finished in 21st place.
• Former WSOP gold bracelet winner David Pham finished in 24th place.
• The unfortunate 28th-place finisher (the "bubble") was Niel Chriss, from New York, NY. The difference in 28th and 27th place was $71,858.
• Among the 201 entrants were former WSOP champions – Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Doyle Brunson, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Chris Moneymaker, and Johnny Chan.
Odds and Ends
• The tournament began with WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel placed at center stage. Effel revealed to the crowd how the Special 40th Anniversary No-Limit Hold'em Championship was initially created. Effel stated that he and his wife Alicia were sitting down to dinner at their Las Vegas home several months ago when Effel asked what the WSOP might do to commemorate the tournament's 40-year anniversary. Alicia Effel contemplated the idea and suggested a new $40,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship might be added to the schedule. This was taken to Jeffrey Pollack and summarily approved by the WSOP Players Advisory Council.
• Pollack introduced the defending 2008 WSOP Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate, who received a warm ovation from the crowd, and was bestowed with the "Shuffle Up and Deal" honors. Pollack said of Eastgate's championship reign: "He has served with a quiet dignity and style that has done the WSOP proud. He is a terrific champion."
• Prior to the start of the event, the tournament room was filled with popular music from the year 1970. Since this is the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, much of the music and memories that his year's series will flashback to the earlier era. The three songs played as background music prior to the start were "American Woman" by The Guess Who, "Instant Karma" by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, and "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel.
• The event was filmed by ESPN. This is one of four primary broadcasts on this year's WSOP schedule which will air in the next few months.
• A massive crowd filled the Amazon Ballroom and ESPN stage area from start to finish. Crowd were even larger due to the "Champions Invitational," which started on the day the 40th Annual No-Limit Hold'em Championship ended.
• In ESPN's customary post-tournament interview with Norman Chad asking questions, Vitaly Lunkin used a translator. However, the first question was memorable. Chad asked Lunkin (in English) how he felt to win his first WSOP gold bracelet. Unfazed by the question he did not understand, Lunkin rattled off several lines in Russian. After a long-winded answer that few members of the audience understood, Chad deadpanned. "So, it was a good thing?" Chad's response brought more laugher to a good-natured finale.
• There were nearly a dozen Russian supporters cheering for Lunkin at the final table. Members of the Russian poker team (www.jokerteam.ru) were out in full force, waving Russian flags and singing songs which helped inspire Lunkin's victory.
• On the day following his victory, Lunkin is/was honored at the official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony. The national anthem of Russia was played inside the tournament room – a WSOP first.
• Vitaly Lunkin is one of only three Russians to win WSOP gold bracelets. The others are Alexander Kravechenko and Ralph Perry.
• The debate is now on as to which Russian player is the best – with Vitaly Lunkin, Alexander Kravchenko, and Ivan Demidov (last year's WSOP Main Event runner up) as the likely three top choices.
The Event
• This was the first-ever $40,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Championship. The $40,000 figure was selected in accordance with the WSOP's 40th anniversary which is taking place this year.
• This was the largest prize pool in WSOP history for any non-Main Event tournament. The total prize pool amounted to a whopping $7,718,400.
• Most observers (and the winner) considered this event to be the toughest No-Limit Hold'em tournament ever held. While huge tournaments such as WSOP Main Events require unmatched stamina, skill, and even some luck, this tournament required a completely different skill set.
• Mega buy-in poker tournaments have been held sporadically in recent years. But none has attracted nearly as many players nor has created anywhere close to the size of the prize pool.
• Six players of the 201 won their buy-ins via satellites.
• The tournament was played over a four-day period. This was due to a structure which allowed players a great amount of play. Virtually everyone in the tournament complimented the structure and conduct of the tournament.
• The tournament began with 201 entries, surpassing many estimates of a modest turnout. Day One lasted 13 hours and ended with 89 survivors.
• The End Day One chip leader was Bruno Fitoussi, from Paris, France. Many eyes were also on the second-place survivor, 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker. However, neither Fitoussi nor Moneymaker made it into-the-money.
• Players reached the prize money (27th place) late on Day Two. Day three began with 23 players.
• Day Three was relatively short, lasting only about six hours. The 23 survivors played down to the final nine.
• On Day Four, Isaac Haxton arrived at the final table on as the chip leader. After several hours of tribulation, he ended up with the chip lead over Vitaly Lunkin when heads-up play began. But after about 90 minutes of trading chips back and forth, Lunkin prevailed.
• The final table lasted 167 hands and lasted 11 hours and 10 minutes.
• The final hand came when Vitaly Lunkin won with pocket aces.
• The tournament officially began on Thursday, May 27th at 12:06 pm. The tournament officially ended on Monday, June 1 at 1:36 am.
WSOP Statistics
• Through the conclusion of Event #2, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 1,119 entries. $8,108,100 in prize money has been awarded to winners.
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