Poker Tournament Results

40th World Series of Poker 2009

Ken Aldridge

Tournament Report

Tournament Highlights: The Winner The 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event is Ken Aldridge, from Pleasant Garden, NC. Aldridge is a 57-year-old former teacher. He spent 29-years teaching high school, including several different subjects. He is now retired. 'I really value the years I spent as a teacher, because I was always around such a wonderful group of people,' Aldridge said in a post-tournament interview. 'I hope that I helped them to become better people. That's the lesson I hoped to teach the most – to become better people.' Aldridge owns a small auto dealership located in central North Carolina. In his spare time, Aldridge enjoys playing golf and poker. He considers himself to be a recreational player. While at the final table, several of Aldridge's friends who play in his home game cheered him on to victory. This was only the second time Aldridge has ever cashed in a major poker tournament. It was his first in-the-money finish in a WSOP event. Aldridge's only previous cash took place at the Tunica Grand (Mississippi) in 2005. 'I really don't think I made many mistakes,' Aldridge said, somewhat stating the obvious. 'I was very happy with how things went. I think I was behind only one time the whole tournament when I was ‘all-in.' Aldridge collected $428,259 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet. This marked his first time to cash in a WSOP event. When asked what he plans to do with the prize money, Aldridge answered: 'I guess anyone can always use $428,000.' Aldridge revealed that he has almost no short-handed poker experience. 'I have never played short-handed, except when I get down to a final table (and players are eliminated),' he said. Aldridge revealed that he has no plans to play any more WSOP events this year, other than the $10,000 buy-in championship event. He is going to take a vacation with his family. The Players The final table was comprised of no former WSOP gold bracelet winners. This was the third event of nine held this year which guaranteed a first-time winner. The runner up was Carman Cavella, from Turnersville, NJ. The third-place finisher was Peter Gould, from London, England. This marked Gould's fifth time to cash in a WSOP. With this finish, he crossed the $300,000 mark in WSOP earnings. The fourth-place finisher was Bryce Yockey, from Torrance, CA. Yockey recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University. The 21-year-old part-time poker player has won some online tournaments, but this was his first foray in a WSOP event. The fifth-place finisher was Charles Furey, from Bridgewater, NJ. The sixth-place finisher was Manny Minaya, from Tampa, FL. Former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event include – Praz Bansi, Bill Chen (2 wins), Rafe Furst, Todd Witteles, David Daneshgar, and Carlos Mortensen (2 wins). Robert Firestone, from Santa Barbara, CA finished 13th place. He is part of the family which started the famous tire company. Former gold bracelet winner Rafe Furst, who cashed 31st in this event, is the co-founder of one of the first poker player-oriented charities, 'Put a Bad Beat on Cancer,' which started in 2003. Since then, the cause has raised nearly $2.5 million – all of which goes to the cause to fund cancer research. The defending champion in this event was Ralph E. Porter, from Woodinville, WA. This year, he did not cash. Odds and Ends This was the largest live Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em tournament in history – with 1,459 players. Attendance increased in this event by 18 percent over last year, when there were 1,236 entrants. Six-Handed tournaments are not commonly offered at most casinos. The reason is obvious. The tournaments require just as many tables, dealers, and resources as a standard nine-handed event. But in Six-handed tournaments, the number of players (and takeout) is reduced by a third. The WSOP believes the game merits gold bracelet status to the point where four Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em tournaments on this year's WSOP schedule. Six-Handed Hold'em emphasizes short-handed poker skills. Rather than a full table of nine players, each table is played six-handed (or less, as players bust out). This generally requires competitors to play cards out of the standard range of starting-hand requirements. It also makes post-flop skill paramount to victory. The game is included on the WSOP schedule in an effort to test as diverse a range of poker skills as possible. Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em made its WSOP debut in 2005. Three Six-Handed events were included on the 2006 schedule. Last year, there was only one Six-Handed event. Former champions from these events include Isaac "The General" Galazan, Dutch Boyd, Bill Chen, Jeff Madsen, Jason Warner, and Ralph E. Porter. The final table was streamed live on Bluff Media's online broadcast. For a complete broadcast schedule of all future events, go to: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/tourneydetails.asp?groupID=607 The Event The $1,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event attracted 1,459 entrants. This created a prize pool totaling $1,991,535. The top 144 finishers collected prize money. The tournament was played over a three-day period. Ken Aldridge, the winner, revealed a hand which took place early in the tournament which nearly left him busted. He was all-in and had the worst hand. But he managed to catch a queen on the river (making top pair) which gave him a critical early pot. That windfall led to an eventual payout of more than $400,000. The final hand of the night came when Aldridge was up against Carman Cavella. Holding a decisive chip advantage, Aldridge was dealt K-Q. Cavella was dealt K-4 and decided to move all-in in an attempt to steal a round of blinds and antes. But Aldridge called. Both players flopped top pair with a king, but in the end Aldridge's Q bested Cavella's weak kicker. That gave Aldridge the final pot of the tournament. The tournament officially began on Wednesday, June 3rd, at 12:00 noon. The tournament officially ended on Saturday, June 6th, at 12:40 am. WSOP Statistics Through the conclusion of Event #8, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 13,804 entries. $24,180,105 in prize money has been awarded to winners. Through Event #9, eight Americans have won gold bracelets. One Russian player has won. No other nations have been represented at the WSOP gold bracelet ceremony so far, which takes place on the day following the winner's victory. The ceremony takes place on at center stage of the main tournament room and begins during the break of the noon tournament. The ceremony usually starts around 2:20 pm.