Poker Tournament Results

40th World Series of Poker 2009

Event #34 - WSOP No Limit Hold'em

June 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Tournament Schedule

Buy-In	$1,500
Prize Pool	$2,859,675
Entries	2095
Report Available Live Coverage

Eric Baldwin

Place	Name	Prize
1	Eric Baldwin (Henderson, NV, USA)	$521,932
2	Jonas Klausen (Odense, Denmark)	$322,371
3	James Taylor (Cumming, GA, USA)	$213,046
4	Benjamin Scholl (Philadelphia, PA, USA)	$150,133
5	Roland de Wolfe (London, UK)	$112,957
6	Andrew Youngblood (Dearborn, MI, USA)	$89,222
7	Steven Bradbury (Yorkshire, UK)	$74,352
8	Martin Jacobson (Lidingo, Sweden)	$65,487
9	Eric DeFontes (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$60,335
10	Young V Phan (Garden Grove, CA, USA)	$42,895
11	Rob Mason (Oak View, CA, USA)	$42,895
12	Pete Sawitzki (Vancouver, BC, Canada)	$42,895
13	Bertrand Grospellier AKA "ElkY" (Paris, France)	$30,398
14	Sean Mullaghy (Billings, MT, USA)	$30,398
15	Joseph Grenon (Orleans, ON, Canada)	$30,398
16	Pete Kevorkian (El Cajon, CA, USA)	$21,533
17	Joseph Cada (Shelby Township, MI, USA)	$21,533
18	James Mackey (Columbia, MO, USA)	$21,533
19	Praz Bansi (London, UK)	$15,242
20	Matt Heiligenthaler (Medina, NY, USA)	$15,242
21	Marc Whitford (Rochford, MI, USA)	$15,242
22	Jonathan Plens AKA "The Rookie" (Toronto, ON, Canada)	$15,242
23	Dean Bui (Seattle, WA, USA)	$15,242
24	R M (Anytown, Unknown)	$15,242
25	Steven Ayoub AKA "Big Mummbles" (Castic, CA, USA)	$15,242
26	Topias Wahlbeck (Espoo, Finland)	$15,242
27	Jared Hamby AKA "TheWacoKidd" (Henderson, NV, USA)	$15,242
28	Hal Hall (Wasilla, AK, USA)	$12,325
29	Thandat Tran (El Monte, CA, USA)	$12,325
30	Victor Lento (Sunrise, FL, USA)	$12,325
31	Mike Souza (San Diego, CA, USA)	$12,325
32	William Burton (Rochester, NY, USA)	$12,325
33	Julien Becquart	$12,325
34	Andrew Teng AKA "Golfpro699" (London, UK)	$12,325
35	Helge Stjernvang (Kolsas, Norway)	$12,325
36	Gary Gibbs (Hot Springs, AR, USA)	$12,325
37	Nelson Mirabal (Caracas, Venezuela)	$9,465
38	Jon Brenneman (Overland Park, KS, USA)	$9,465
39	Mikael Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden)	$9,465
40	Chris Woodbury (Warwick, RI, USA)	$9,465
41	David Rohrbach (Chancy, Switzerland)	$9,465
42	Scott Pendergrast (Pendergrast, NJ, USA)	$9,465
43	Cody Slaubaugh AKA "Thugmoneymkr" (Rugby, ND, USA)	$9,465
44	Benjamin Haun (San Francisco, CA, USA)	$9,465
45	Andras Nemes (Budapest, Hungary)	$9,465
46	Leon Yanovsky (Haifa, Israel)	$7,606
47	Richard Adam Geyer (Austin, TX, USA)	$7,606
48	Edelzito Ferreira (Florianopolis, Brazil)	$7,606
49	Leeroy Fernandez (Carnan, France)	$7,606
50	Scott Dorsch (Independence, MO, USA)	$7,606
51	Tommy Le AKA "TOM" (San Jose, CA, USA)	$7,606
52	Steve Hohn (Overland Park, KS, USA)	$7,606
53	Peter Nguyen AKA "Byrd Man" (Tustin, CA, USA)	$7,606
54	Jeremiah Vansant (Murfreesboro, TX, USA)	$7,606
55	Andrew H Lichtenberger (E Northport, NY, USA)	$6,319
56	Zachary Clark (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$6,319
57	Steven King (Visalia, CA, USA)	$6,320
58	Michael Harrold (Anchorage, AK, USA)	$6,320
59	Domenico Denotaristefani (Mendham, NJ, USA)	$6,320
60	Matt Vance (Lowville, NY, USA)	$6,320
61	Luke Vrabel (West Hartford, CT, USA)	$6,320
62	Michael Haag (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$6,320
63	Rodeen Talebi (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$6,370
64	Dana Davidson (Hermitage, PA, USA)	$5,405
65	Anthony Nguyen (Bellflower, CA, USA)	$5,405
66	Mahir Cengil (Burgwedel, Germany)	$5,405
67	Cristiano Galeazzi (Roma, Italy)	$5,405
68	Bill Kontaratos AKA "Dr. Evil" (Laval, QC, Canada)	$5,405
69	Colby Calonica (Los Altos, CA, USA)	$5,405
70	Nils Bardsley (Denver, CO, USA)	$5,405
71	Benjamin Scherner (Denver, CO, USA)	$5,405
72	Robert Little (Neosho, MO, USA)	$5,405
73	Santtu Leinonen (Oulu, Finland)	$4,718
74	Joe Pelton (Newport Beach, CA, USA)	$4,718
75	Jose Gallegos (Ft Worth, TX, USA)	$4,718
76	Hieu "Tony" Ma (S El Monte, CA, USA)	$4,718
77	Mark Brockington (Edmonton, AB, Canada)	$4,718
78	Andrew Seden (Southampton, UK)	$4,718
79	Kim Frederiksen (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$4,718
80	Mario Delis (Bakersfield, CA, USA)	$4,718
81	Michael Labarbera (San Jose, CA, USA)	$4,718
82	Shawn Glines (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$4,118
83	Jeff Mills (Waxahachie, TX, USA)	$4,118
84	Darren Elias (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$4,118
85	Melchor Taclan (Honolulu, HI, USA)	$4,118
86	Benjamin White (Milwaukee, WI, USA)	$4,118
87	Paul Darden (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$4,118
88	Saul Requenez (Mission, TX, USA)	$4,118
89	Marc Berens (Tucson, AZ, USA)	$4,118
90	Quinn Do (El Monte, CA, USA)	$4,118
91	Martsev Andrey (Saint Petersburg, Russia)	$3,632
92	Randy Pfeifer (E.Amherst, NY, USA)	$3,632
93	Omar Hikary (Biloxi, MS, USA)	$3,632
94	Harold Weaver (San Diego, CA, USA)	$3,632
95	Phong Ly (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$3,632
96	Yin-Hur Lai (Fremont, CA, USA)	$3,632
97	Michael Hong (Cupertino, CA, USA)	$3,632
98	Ryan Karp (West Chester, PA, USA)	$3,632
99	Jude Ainsworth (Galway, Ireland)	$3,632
100	David Cline (Durham, NC, USA)	$3,231
101	Dylan Linde (Coeur ‘d Alene, ID, USA)	$3,231
102	David Bauman (Riverside, CA, USA)	$3,231
103	Peter Lockwood (Arlington, TX, USA)
104	Bud Lehmkuhler (Aurora, CO, USA)	$3,231
105	Gavin Polone (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$3,231
106	Ray Spencer (Sammamish, WA, USA)	$3,231
107	Adrian Vizmanos (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$3,231
108	Chris Miller (Richardson, TX, USA)	$3,231
109	Jeff Duvall (Surrey, UK)	$3,231
110	Brandon Prust (Watertown, WI, USA)	$3,231
111	Sammy Elkassir (Fort Lee, NJ, USA)	$3,231
112	David Chicotsky AKA "The Maven" (Fort Worth, TX, USA)	$3,231
113	Phil Hellmuth Jr (Palo Alto, CA, USA)	$3,231
114	Al Rapaport (Norwich, UK)	$3,231
115	Morris Goldstein (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$3,231
116	Patrick Poels (Mesa, AZ, USA)	$3,231
117	John McGuinness (Toms River, NJ, USA)	$3,231
118	Scott O'Leary (Lawrence, MA, USA)	$3,231
119	Eric Peterson (Glen Ellyn, IL, USA)	$3,231
120	Dale Hackney AKA "MILKMAN" (Durand, MI, USA)	$3,231
121	Joel Shulruf (Buffalo Grove, IL, USA)	$3,231
122	David Patent (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$3,231
123	Justin Pechie (Thompson, CT, USA)	$3,231
124	Ed Perry (Beachwood, OH, USA)	$3,231
125	Jeff Gressard (San Luis Obispo, CA, USA)	$3,231
126	David Kronick (Minneapolis, MN, USA)	$3,231
127	Elliott Merlin (Miami Beach, FL, USA)	$3,231
128	Roberto Correa (Conroe, TX, USA)	$3,231
129	Rolando Lozano (Channelview, TX, USA)	$3,231
130	Mark Friedman (London, UK)	$3,231
131	Jeff Blenkarn (Grand Rapids, MI, USA)	$3,231
132	Mark Utterback (San Antonio, TX, USA)	$3,231
133	Thomas Antonucci AKA "Nooch" (Germantown, MD, USA)	$3,231
134	Gabriel Torres (Valinda, CA, USA)	$3,231
135	Amie Martini (Shanghai, China)	$3,231
136	Ben Korte (Tucson, AZ, USA)	$2,945
137	Robert Fett (Berkeley, CA, USA)	$2,945
138	Devin Porter (Riverton, UT, USA)	$2,945
139	Dennis Bender (Yakima, WA, USA)	$2,945
140	Ken McKay (Langley, BC, Canada)	$2,945
141	Kevin Sherrill (Conover, NC, USA)	$2,945
142	Kurt Maier (Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA)	$2,945
143	Oddvar Brendo (Stavanger, Norway)	$2,945
144	Chris Petrick (Hudsonville, MI, USA)	$2,945
145	Roberto Romanello (Swansea, Wales, UK)	$2,945
146	Benjamin Jensen (Herning, Denmark)	$2,945
147	Daniel Tupper (Aberdeen, WA, USA)	$2,945
148	David Pleat AKA "pleatski" (Destin, FL, USA)	$2,945
149	Robert McLaughlin AKA "Jeremy" (Washington, DC, USA)	$2,945
150	Travis Green (Irvine, CA, USA)	$2,945
151	Steven DAmico (Helmetta, NJ, USA)	$2,945
152	Dean DeGross (Cranberry Twp, PA, USA)	$2,945
153	Andrew Touchette AKA "bankrollme87" (Wakefield, MA, USA)	$2,945
154	Alex Jacob (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,945
155	Paul Taylor (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,945
156	Jian Liu (San Gabriel, CA, USA)	$2,945
157	Dan Schmiech (Houston, TX, USA)	$2,945
158	Eugene Katchalov (Brooklyn, NY, USA)	$2,945
159	Franklin Grigsby (Austin, TX, USA)	$2,945
160	Steven Wagner (Dallas, TX, USA)	$2,945
161	Catherine Colelli (Simi Valley, CA, USA)	$2,945
162	Donna Lawton (Ogden, UT, USA)	$2,945
163	Reginald Simmons (Tampa, FL, USA)	$2,945
164	Brian Cospolich (New Orleans, LA, USA)	$2,945
165	Alex Kravchenko (Moscow, Russia)	$2,945
166	Matthews Schlicher (Dayton, OH, USA)	$2,945
167	Gordon Lamb (Rochester, NY, USA)	$2,945
168	Larry Kozlove AKA "wizard of koz" (Louisville, KY, USA)	$2,945
169	Ronald Pall (N Fort Myers, FL, USA)	$2,945
170	Nick Howard (Manlius, NY, USA)	$2,945
171	Jordan Harris (Venice, CA, USA)	$2,945
172	Christian Kruel (Rio de Janiero, Brazil)	$2,745
173	Priyan Demel (London, UK)	$2,745
174	Michael O'Brien (Poway, CA, USA)	$2,745
175	Ed Tatro (Arcata, CA, USA)	$2,745
176	Peter Blei (Mukwonago, WI, USA)	$2,745
177	Oliver Patzel (Hamburg, Germany)	$2,745
178	Matt Keikoan (Richmond, CA, USA)	$2,745
179	Brad Steinberg (Westlake Village, CA, USA)	$2,745
180	Ken Koski (Howell, MI, USA)	$2,745
181	Clerc Yann (Dinan, France)	$2,745
182	Paul Wasicka AKA "Kwickfish" (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,745
183	Thor Hansen (El Segundo, CA, USA)	$2,745
184	Kent Washington (Oakland, CA, USA)	$2,745
185	John Lowry (Brandon, MS, USA)	$2,745
186	Mike Conway (Esperance, NY, USA)	$2,745
187	Robb Glietz AKA "MrEstate" (Yucaipa, CA, USA)	$2,745
188	Raymond Steinmetz (Leander, TX, USA)	$2,745
189	Brandon Meyers (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,745
190	Evan Jarvis (Toronto, ON, Canada)	$2,745
191	Kenny Hallart (Hansbeke, Belgium)	$2,745
192	Tim Racine (Edmonton, AB, Canada)	$2,745
193	Jeremiah Plager (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$2,745
194	Stian Stabell (Hesseng, Norway)	$2,745
195	Josh Kirtland (Wasilla, AK, USA)	$2,745
196	Michael Fetter (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$2,745
197	Phyllis Meyers (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,745
198	Jody Howe (Delta, BC, Canada)	$2,745
199	Trent Cherry AKA "Bass" (Landis, NC, USA)	$2,745
200	Dennis Phillips (Cottage Hills, IL, USA)	$2,745
201	John Buettner (Indianapolis, IN, USA)	$2,745
202	Gareth Derbyshire (London, UK)	$2,745
203	Shawn Delciotto (Coquitlam, BC, Canada)	$2,745
204	Frank Sarubbi (Pebble Beach, CA, USA)	$2,745
205	Benjamin Alcober (Chino Hills, CA, USA)	$2,745
206	Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (Pacific Palisades / Las Vegas, CA, USA)	$2,745
207	William Myers (Wildomar, CA, USA)	$2,745
208	Sean Chen (San Diego, CA, USA)	$2,745
209	Chris Platt (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,745
210	Tim Vance (Millstadt, IL, USA)	$2,745
211	Allen Cunningham (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,745
212	Tyler Patterson (Everett, WA, USA)	$2,745
213	Dr. Tricia Cardner (Round Rock, TX, USA)	$2,745
214	Marcel Vonk (Lisbon, Portugal)	$2,745
215	Tom Dobrilovic (West Nyack, NY, USA)	$2,745
216	Mark Wilds (Biloxi, MS, USA)	$2,745

Tournament Report

Tournament Highlights:

Event Headlines –

1. Local Poker Pro Eric Baldwin Wins His First WSOP Gold Bracelet and $521,991 Cash Prize

2. Baldwin Tops 2,000+ Player Field in Latest No-Limit Hold’em Competition at WSOP

3. Phil Hellmuth Widens His Lead on All-Time WSOP Cashes List – Now Up to 71

The Winner --

The 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Eric Baldwin, from Henderson, NV.

Baldwin is a 26-year-old professional poker player. He moved to the Las Vegas area about a year ago to concentrate on playing poker full-time.

Baldwin was born in Peoria, IL. But he grew up in Beaver Dam, WI.

Baldwin attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He earned his college degree in psychology, with a minor in mathematics.

Baldwin was a member of the UW-Whitewater college baseball team that won the Division 3 National Championship in 2005. The name of the team was the Warhawks. He played right field.

During Baldwin’s junior year of college, his team finished third in the Division 3 World Series (baseball). He won during his senior year.

A few of Baldwin’s college baseball coaches were present. By coincidence, they were on a recruiting trip and learned that Baldwin was playing for a WSOP gold bracelet.

Prior to winning his WSOP title, Baldwin had enjoyed success in several tournaments. Most notable were wins at the Venetian (Deep Stack Series) for $198,000 and the Bellagio (WPT preliminary) for $147,000.

Baldwin plays mostly live poker. However, he also plays online tournaments, particularly on Sundays when some bigger events are offered.

Baldwin collected $521,991 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.

According to the official records, Baldwin now has 1 win, 2 final table appearances, and 7 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.

Baldwin currently has $649,711 in career WSOP winnings.

Winner Quotes (Eric Baldwin) –

On what it means to win a WSOP gold bracelet: “I’m head over heels. It’s far above anything else that I have ever done. I can’t event talk about it accurately right now, because it hasn’t sunken in yet.”

On earning a degree in psychology with a minor in mathematics: “That translates pretty well to poker.”

On moving to Las Vegas to play poker: “Last year, I was coming out here several times a year, not just for the WSOP. I would come out for some tournaments and I was here for almost half the year. So, I figured I’d just buy a place out here. Plus, I hate shoveling snow.”

On his final opponent, Jonas Klausen: “First of all, he’s just an amazing player. He’s aggressive but also knows when to put the brakes on. He’s an unbelievable player. He looks so comfortable and confident that I am sure he will be back here (to a final table).”

On live poker versus online poker: “I enjoy playing live more.”

On having his friends around to support him: “Some of the people who came here are not just some of the best poker players, but they are my best friends. We are all from different parts of the country. But we share common characteristics. I think we make each other better. I am so glad to have a base of friends like that.”

On his future plans and goals. “My dream is to be sponsored by Miller Lite. That’s kind of a joke. But I like to drink Miller Lite. I want to throw that out there. If Miller Lite needs a guy in the poker world, just give me a free supply, and we’re golden.” Note: WSOP official sponsor Milwaukee’s Best Light is made by Miller Brewing Company, which also makes Miller Lite.

On what he will do with $521,991 for first place: “One of my friends told me that if I ever cash for more than a quarter-million I have to buy an old junk used car and then throw $10,000 rims on it. I hope he does not make me do it. But if he does, I am probably going to go out and buy an old Cutless (Oldsmobile) or something like that, and put some rims on it.”

The Final Table --

The final table contained only former WSOP gold bracelet winner – Roland de Wolfe (1 win).

The final table included players from four different nations – including Denmark, England, Sweden, and the United States.

The runner up was Jonas Klausen, from Odense, Denmark. This was his fourth time to cash at the WSOP and second final table appearance. Klausen collected $322,371 in prize money for second place.

The runner-up’s hometown is the same as the reigning world poker champion, Peter Eastgate. Odense, Denmark’s greatest export might very well be great poker players.

Had Klausen won, this would have been gold bracelet number seven for Danes.

The third-place finisher was James Taylor, from Cumming, GA. He is a 22-year-old student who attends Georgia Tech University. This was his first time to cash in a live poker tournament. Taylor collected $213,045 in prize money.

The fourth-place finisher was Benjamin D. Scholl, from Philadelphia, PA. He is a recent graduate of New York University. Scholl now works as a trader. This was Scholl’s first cash at the WSOP.

The fifth-place finisher was Roland de Wolfe, from London, England. Four days ago, he won his first WSOP gold bracelet in the $10,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split world championship. De Wolfe had a shot at becoming the third double-winner at this year’s WSOP. But he instead busted out midway through the finale on Day Three and settled for fifth place.

The sixth-place finisher was Andrew Youngblood, from Dearborn, MI. He is a 26-year-old poker pro making his third WSOP in-the-money finish.

The seventh-place finisher was Steven Bradbury, from Mirfield, England. This was Bradbury’s first time to cash at the WSOP.

The eighth-place finisher was Martin Jacobson, from Stockholm, Sweden. Jacobson has done quite well in tournaments over the past year – with a second-place finish at WPT Venice and a third-place finish at EPT Budapest.

In-the-Money Finishers --

Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Roland de Wolfe, Phil Hellmuth, Quinn Do, Gary Gibbs, James Mackey, Allen Cunningham, Steven Hohn, Paul Darden, Roland De Wolfe, Patrick Poels, Matthew Keikoan, Alexander Kravchenko, Thor Hansen, Chris Ferguson, and Dan Schmiech.

Phil Hellmuth’s cash gives him 71 for his WSOP career – which ranks first on the all-time list.

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson’s cash gives him 58 for his WSOP career – which ranks third on the all-time list.

Thor Hansen’s cash gives him 45 for his WSOP career – which places him into a 14th-place tie on the all-time list.

Allen Cunningham’s cash gives him 38 for his WSOP career – which places into a 20th-place tie on the all-time list.

The defending champion from 2009 was Jesper Hougaard, from Copenhagen, Denmark. He did not event this event.

Odds and Ends --

This is the 23rd of 34 tournaments completed thus far at this year’s WSOP, with more than a $1 million prize pool.

This is the fourth of seven $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournaments on the 2008 WSOP schedule. This game and buy-in level has consistently proven to be the most popular draw on the schedule in recent years, aside from the Main Event.

An alternative lower buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament (less than $10,000) has been included as part of the WSOP schedule every year since 1973. Over the years, these buy-in amounts have ranged from $1,000 up to $5,000. However, more $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments have now taken place at the WSOP over the past 39-years than any other event.

The previous three $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em events held this year attracted 2,791 -- 2,506 -- and 2,638 players respectively. Attendance this year is consistent with previous years when the earlier events tend to attract bigger fields, followed by a slight decline at the WSOP enters its third and fourth week.

The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony 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. The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played. The entire presentation is open to public and media. Video and photography is permitted by both media and the public.

The Event --

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship attracted 2,095 entries. The total prize pool amounted to $2,859,675. The top 216 finishers collected prize money.

The tournament was played over three consecutive days.

The End of Day One chip leader was Jonas Klausen, from Odense, Denmark. He ended up finishing in second place.

Klausen was also the chip leader coming into the final table.

Eric Baldwin came into the final table ranked second out of nine players. He seized the chip lead when play became heads-up in what was a 7-hour finale.

The decisive hand of the tournament took place late when Klausen was dealt Q-10 and flopped top two pair. But Baldwin had 4-4 and flopped a set of fours. The board was a nightmare for Klausen, which showed Q-10-4. Baldwin’s set of fours held up, which did massive damage to Klausen’s stack. Baldwin later described the course of events as a “cooler hand.” His comment reflected the notion that neither player could have gotten away from the hand, thus it was somewhat fortunate for Baldwin that he was on the favorable side of the break.

The final hand of the tournament came when Baldwin had about an 8 to 1 chip advantage. Baldwin’s 10-10 raced against Klausen’s A-Q. With the large crowd shouting for aces, queens, and tens – neither player improved his hand. That mean the pocket tens dragged the final pot of the night, giving Baldwin his victory.

The moment he won, Baldwin jumped into the crowd and was mobbed by about a dozen supporters, including his girlfriend.

The tournament officially began on Tuesday, June 16th, at 12 noon. The tournament officially ended on Friday, June 18th, at 12:05.

WSOP Statistics –

Through the conclusion of Event #34, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 34,237 entries. $66,977,288 in total prize money has been awarded to winners.

Through Event #34 – the nationalities of WSOP gold bracelet winners reads as follows:

United States – 24

United Kingdom – 2

Canada – 2

Russian Federation – 1

Finland – 1

Australia – 1

Sweden – 1

Mexico – 1

Note: Last year 19 of the 59 gold bracelet events were won by non-Americans (32 percent). In, 2007, the number was 15 of 55 (29 percent). In 2006, the number was 5 of 45 (11 percent).

Event #34 winner Eric Baldwin is to be classified as a professional player. He has played professionally for about two years. Accordingly, the “Pro-Am” gold bracelet scoreboard (excluding Event #1 – Casino Employees) currently reads:

Professionals -- 23 wins

(Thang Luu, Steven Sung, Jason Mercier, Phil Ivey-1, Rami Boukai, Anthony Harb, Ville Wahlbeck, Keven Stammen, Brock Parker-1, Jeffrey Lisandro, Daniel Alaei, Brock Parker-2, John-Paul Kelly, Jeff Carris, Nick Schulman, Phil Ivey-2, Pete Vilandos, Tomas Alenius, Roland de Wolfe, J.C. Tran, James Van Alstyne, Angel, Guillen, Greg Mueller, Eric Baldwin)

Amateurs -- 5 wins

(Freddie Ellis, Ken Aldridge, Travis Johnson, Zac Fellows, Michael Eise)

Semi-Pros -- 4 wins

(Vitaly Lunkin, Brian Lemke, Lisa Hamilton, Leo Wolpert)

Nine of the 34 winners this year (26 percent) were previous gold bracelet winners. There have been two double winners in 2009 -- Brock Parker and Phil Ivey.

Through the conclusion of Event 34, the WSOP “Player of the Year” standings reads as follows (with point totals)

255 – Ville Wahlbeck

225 – Phil Ivey

220 – Brock Parker

220 – James Van Alstyne

175 – Pete “the Greek” Vilandos

165 – Steve Sung

160 – Daniel Negreanu

155 – Jeffrey Lisandro

150 – Rami Boukai

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