Tonight at 9PM Central on ESPN one young poker player takes down the most coveted bracelet in all of poker, and almost $9 Million.  If you want to be surprised when you watch the broadcast, stop reading now (and avert your gaze from the picture that follows).  If you're like this enthusiast and author, you just couldn't wait, and took in chunks of the nine-handed action, right through head's up play, on ESPN3.com.  The final table played from 9 down to 2 on Saturday afternoon, evening, and night for about 14 hours.  Then, last night, Florida Pro John Racener and French Canadian Jonathan Duhamel sat down to play for all the marbles. 

What follows, text and images, is courtesy of our friends at WSOP.com.

OVERVIEW

Jonathan Duhamel is the winner of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship.

Duhamel, from Boucherville, Quebec became the first Canadian citizen in history to win poker’s world championship.  Two Canadians had previously finished in the runner-up spot in the 41-year-history of poker's undisputed world championship.  Tuan Lam took second place in 2007, to Jerry Yang.  Fellow Canadian Howard Goldfarb did the same in 1995, losing to Dan Harrington.

Duhamel, a 23-year-old poker pro, collected a whopping $8,944,310 in prize money.  He was also presented with the widely-cherished and universally-revered gold and diamond-encrusted gold bracelet, representing the game’s sterling achievement.

The triumph was both a mental and physical marathon.  Duhamel overcame a huge field of 7,319 entrants who entered what was the second-largest WSOP Main Event in history.  The No-Limit Hold’em tournament began on July 5th, and took more than four months to complete, including the customary recess prior to the November Nine.

Duhamel's route to victory was a determined one, albeit peppered with a few unwanted detours. He arrived at the final table -- which began on Saturday, November 6th -- with the chip lead.  He held about one-third of the total chips in play when the customary “Shuffle Up and Deal“ announcement was made.  Duhamel lost some of his momentum during stage one of the finale, which included the elimination of seven players playing down to the final two.

Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi seized the chip lead at one point during play, but ultimately finished fifth.  Joseph Cheong also proved to be a formidable foe during the long battle, but ended up as the third-place finisher.

Stage two of the November Nine's grand finale was played on the main stage inside the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas.  The final duel was played in front of a packed house of nearly 1,500 spectators and a worldwide audience following the action over the Internet.  Millions more will watch the final crescendo of the WSOP Main Event on Tuesday night (November 9th), when the championship premiers on ESPN television.  The two-hour program will debut at 10:00 pm EST/7:00 pm PST.

The runner up was John Racener, from Port Richie, FL.  Despite the disappointment of defeat, he could take great pride in a noble effort that resulted in overcoming all but one of the thousands of players who began the pursuit of every poker player's greatest dream.  Racener collected poker's supreme consolation prize -- $5,545,955 in prize money.

As the Canadian champion, Duhamel was only the sixth non-American to ever win the WSOP Main Event.  He followed in the hallowed footsteps of Mansour Matloubi (UK - 1990), Noel Furlong (Ireland - 1999), Carlos Mortensen (Spain - 2001), Joe Hachem (Australia - 2005) and Peter Eastgate (Denmark - 2008).

A complete list of all those who cashed in the 2010 WSOP Main Event (OFFICIAL RESULTS) can be found here.

MEET JONATHAN DUHAMEL -- THE 2010 WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPION

Jonathan Duhamel is a 23-year-old professional poker player.  He lives in Boucherville, Quebec, which is near Montreal.

Duhamel is the first Canadian world poker champion in history.

Duhamel is fluent in both English and French.  However, as is the case with most citizens of Quebec, French is his first language.

Duhamel comes from a close-knit family.  His father (Luc) is an machinist-engineer who works for a major airplane engine designer and manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney Canada.  His mother (Johanne) works at a bank. 
He has one younger sister (Karine).

When he was younger, like many Canadians, Duhamel played amateur ice hockey.  His favorite team is the NHL’s Montreal Canadians.

Duhamel lives in a condominium.  Content with his present status, he is not sure if he will buy a larger home anytime soon.

Duhamel attended the Universite du Quebec at Montreal, otherwise known as UQUAM.  He studied finance, but left after two years of college.

Duhamel collected $8,944,310 in prize money.

Duhamel enjoyed three cashes at this year’s WSOP -- including 15th place in the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #56) and 50th place in the Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #16).  His best previous finish in any live tournament until winning the world championship was a 9th-place finish as a tournament held in New York State three years ago.

When Duhamel was introduced at the start of the final table, his chosen entrance song was “I’m Shipping up to Boston,” performed by the Drop Kick Murphys.

Duhamel is an avid fan of the NHL’s Montreal Canadians.  Most of his dozens of supporters who came to the Rio to cheer their favorite player were adorned in the iconic red, white, and blue “Habs” jerseys, with the familiar “CH” emblazoned across the chest.

When he returns to Canada, Duhamel says he intends to make a donation to a charity which helps disadvantaged children, which is partially administered by the Montreal Canadians.

Duhamel mostly plays poker online.  However, he plans to play many more live tournaments following his victory.  He has been a pro for nearly three years.

Duhamel’s big move took place on Day Eight (July 16th), which was the day the tournament went from 27 players down to the final nine.  He was the first player in the field to cross the 50,000,000 chip mark.  He was also the only player to ever reach more than 100,000,000 in chips at any point during the tournament.

Duhamel was presented with the WSOP gold and diamond bracelet by last year’s champion, Joe Cada.

INTERVIEWS:

Jonathan Duhamel

QUESTION:  So what does it mean to you to win the 2010 world poker championship? 
JD:  It means so much to me.  It is a dream come true.  All my life I have dreamed of this.  Now, to have the chance to be called the champion is so amazing.  I still do not realize what has really happened.  It’s so crazy.  I’m the happiest guy on earth right now.
 
QUESTION:  How did you feel coming into the final table?
JD:  It was a very tough final table.  I knew that if I made any mistakes, I was going to pay the price….I had some good spots and I won the (coin flip situations).  You have to do that if you are going to win tournaments.  I played the best I could.  But I also want to give credit to all the other guys, and especially to John Racener who played very well in heads-up.  It was an amazing run.

QUESTION:  So why did you all decide to wear the Montreal Canadian hockey jerseys here at the WSOP?

REPLY:  Jonathan loves the Canadians (hockey team).  He also decided to give a large donation to a charity for children which is run by the team.  We wanted to show our support for him and for who we are by wearing the team colors.  The Habs (nickname for the team) are a religion in Montreal and we take great pride in them.

THE FINAL HAND:

The final hand of the Main Event Championship was dealt at 10:04 pm PST. 

John Racener was massively out chipped after 42 hands of heads-up play.  Duhamel shoved all-in with .  Racener, who had patiently awaited potentially advantageous opportunities during most of the finale, decided he had to gamble at that point and made the call with . 

Indeed, Racener‘s call was probably the correct decision given the situation.  Opponent Duhamel has been quite aggressive up to that point, consistently raising pre-flop and forcing Racener to forfeit rounds of precious blinds and antes.

Unfortunately, for Racener he picked the wrong time to call.  Duhamel’s A-J was a 61 to 39 percent favorite over Racener’s suited K-8.

The final board gave neither player a pair, which meant Duhamel’s ace-high won the final pot of the tournament.  The board cards were:  FLOP -- ….TURN -- ….RIVER --

 OTHER QUICK FACTS:

Jonathan Duhamel became the sixth Canadian player at this year’s WSOP to win a gold bracelet.

The heads-up finale between Duhamel and Racener was the youngest in WSOP history, at a combined 47 years.  Duhamel is 23.  Racener is 24.  The previous youngest duel had been Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov in 2008.

At the conclusion of play, there were 219,960,000 total chips on the table.

The entire duration of the final table (nine players playing to the winner) took 262 hands.  Heads-up play between Duhamel and Racener took 43 hands.

Three nations were represented at the final table -- Canada (2 players), Italy (1 player) and the United States (6 players)

Duhamel is one of several French Canadians who have done well at the WSOP.  The first gold bracelet winner from Quebec was Andre Boyer, who won his title in 2005.  Boyer was among the first French Canadians to attend the WSOP and have a significant impact.

Filippo Candio was the first Italian citizen ever to appear at a WSOP Main Event final table.  With his $3,092,545 payout for fourth place, he becomes the all-time leading money winner in WSOP history from Italy, ahead of gold bracelet winners Max Pescatori and Dario Minieri.

Three different players held the chip lead at some point during final table play.  Jonathan Duhamel enjoyed the lead for most of the duration.  However, Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi held the lead for a few hours.  Joseph Cheong also held the chip lead at two different points during play -- once when play was at eight-handed and again when play was down to three players.

For only the second time ever, there were no residents of Las Vegas, NV at the Main Event final table.  The 2008 Main Event also had no Las Vegas locals.

There were 92 nations and territories represented among all players who entered this year’s WSOP Main Event.  The entire 2010 WSOP (all events combined) attracted participants from 117 different nations and territories.

This year’s Main Event was comprised of 67.9 percent Americans.  In other words, 32.1 percent of all participants were from other nations and territories.

There were no women players at the final table.  A female has not appeared at the championship final table since 1995.

There were no former world champions at the final table.  Johnny Chan (Las Vegas, NV) was this year’s top finisher, finishing in 156th place.  The last former winner to make it to a final table was Dan Harrington, back in 2004.

Several notable poker personalities were present for the finale.  Among those present near tableside were Jack Binion, Doyle Brunson, Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel, Phil Hellmuth, Chris “Jesus“ Ferguson, Greg Raymer, Howard Lederer, Joe Cada, Frank Kassela, Jeff Madsen, Gavin Smith and Mason Malmouth.

The final table officially clocked in at 14 hours and 8 minutes -- with both playing days/sessions combined (minus a 90-minute dinner break during the first session).  This was one of the shorter final tables in recent years.

ELIMINATIONS (9 DOWN TO 3)

9th Place – Cuong "Soi" Nguyen, a 37-year-old salesman and administrator from Santa Ana, CA was eliminated in 9th place and collected $811,823.

8th Place -- Matthew Jarvis, a 26-year-old pro poker player and student from Surrey, BC (Canada) was eliminated in 8th place and collected $1,045,743.

7th Place -- Jason Senti, a 26-year-old poker pro from St. Louis Park, MN (USA) was eliminated in 7th place and collected $1,356,720.

6th Place -- John Dolan, a 24-year-old poker pro from Bonita Springs, CA was eliminated in 6th place and collected $1,772,959.

5th Place -- Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, a 29-year-old poker pro from Miami, FL (USA) was eliminated in 5th place and collected $2,332,992.

4th Place -- Filippo Candio, a 26-year-old poker pro from Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy) was eliminated in 4th place and collected $3,092,545.

3rd Place -- Joseph Cheong a 24-year-old poker pro from La Mirada, CA (USA) was eliminated in 3rd place and collected $4,130,049.

THE NON-NOVEMBER NINE AND HOW THEY BUSTED:  ELIMINATIONS (27 DOWN TO 9)

27th place – Johnny Lodden (Jorpeland, Norway) was eliminated a few hands into play when he lost a critical race holding against Matt Affleck’s .  The turn was a real heartbreaker for Lodden as the ten fell, making a higher pair for Affleck.  The final board showed which meant the pair of tens scooped the pot over the pair of eights.  Lodden, a top online pro who has enjoyed success in major tournaments held in Europe, accepted $317,161 in his best WSOP finish. 

26th place – Matthew Bucaric (Knoxville, TN), a 25-year-old poker pro, graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee.  He described his playing style as someone who is “willing to put it one the line at any time.”  Unfortunately, Bucaric put his tournament life on the line at the wrong time when he was all-in holding against Filippo Candio’s after the flop came .  Both players flopped big draws, with Bucaric clearly in the lead holding the middle pair.  The turn was a killer for Bucaric as the fell, completing a flush for Candio.  Bucaric still had outs drawing to a higher flush, but the bricked on the river which sealed the fate of the Tennessean.  Bucaric could take some satisfaction in collecting $317,161 for his deep run in the Main Event.

25th place – Mads Wissing (Copenhagen, Denmark) is a 28-year-old online poker pro who has just recently converted to playing in live tournaments.  He had never cashed in a WSOP event before.  Wissing went out on a frustrating hand where he flopped top pair, but lost to a crippling turn card.  William Thorson was dealt versus Wissing’s .  Thorson made an aggressive move by check-raising all-in with bottom pair after the flop came .  Wissing was holding top pair (tens), with a weak kicker.  Wissing made the correct call.  The on the turn ripped Wissing, giving two pair to Thorson.  A black on the river meant the two pair held up.  Wissing could take some pride in earning $317,161 in his first WSOP cash.

24th place – Ronnie Bardah (Stoneham, MA) is a 27-year-old poker pro from Brockton, MA.  He has been a winning poker player for seven straight years, enjoying success in both tournaments and cash games.  This marked his biggest cash ever.  Bardah took his final dive when he was dealt which was steamrolled by Filippo Candio’s .  The pocket rockets held up as the blank board ran out .  Bardah pocketed more than $300,000 in his first-ever WSOP in-the-money finish. 

23rd place – Robert Pisano (Las Vegas, NV) enjoyed a strong run in the Main Event.  He was one the winning side of one of the tournament’s most exciting hands when he destroyed Johnny Chan’s giant stack, two days earlier (holding pocket Aces versus Chan’s pocket Kings on Day Six).  Pisano’s momentum finally expired when he was short stacked and was dealt .  The flop provided Pisano several extra possibilities as the appeared.  But his opponent Pascal LeFrancois held , giving the Canadian top pair.  The final two cards were the and , which meant LeFrancois had a pair of Queens (and deuces), besting Pisano’s Jacks up.

22nd place – William Thorson (Varberg, Sweden) a 27-year-old poker pro was eliminated when he made a final stand holding .  The all-in move came at a bad time, since John Dolan was sitting on a monster .  The board cards brought no help to Thorson who watched helplessly as the board ran , giving Dolan’s kings the pot.  Thorson became the highest-finishing Scandinavian player this year and ended up with $317,161 for a fine effort.       

21st place – Redmond Lee (London, UK) is a 26-year-old poker pro.  He was the last British player remaining in the Main Event until busting out on a dominated hand.  Lee was dealt the underdog and shoved all in hoping to steal a round of antes and blinds.  He was called instantly by Michiel Sijpkens, holding .  The board ran out , which meant the higher pair (tens) won the pot.  Lee earned $317,161.

20th place -- Patrick Eskandar (Gulfport, MS) is a 28-year-old poker pro who made his final stand with against Soi Nguyen’s .  The flop was ugly for Eskandar, coming .  The and on the turn and river gave Nguyen two pair and the large pot.  Meanwhile, Eskanfar had to settle for the $317,161 payout for his two weeks of poker playing.  He won his way into the Main Event via a $500 buy-in satellite tournament played at the Rio.  Eskandar certainly enjoyed a huge return on his initial investment.

19th place – Michiel Sijpkens (Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a 21-year-old student.  He could have become the youngest Main Event winner in history (besting Cada’s record by about two weeks) with a victory.  But instead, the Dutchman had to settle for the two-table bubble spot.  Sijpkens went bust with against John Racener’s .  The flop essentially killed Sijpkens shot of doubling up, as the came.  That was followed by the and , giving Racener the pot.  Sijpkens enjoyed an incredible first WSOP by finishing 19th, which paid $317,161.

18th place – Scott Clements (Mt. Vernon, WA) is a 29-year-old poker pro.  He is also a two-time gold bracelet winner, with victories in Pot-Limit Omaha (2007) and Omaha High-Low Split (2006).  Clements made his deepest Main Event run ever, but was the first player to bust when play went down to two tables.  Clements was low on chips and moved all in with .  He picked the wrong hand to make his final stand, since Matthew Jarvis made a quick call with .  The board came , which gave both players top pair.  But Clements lost the kicker battle.  Clements, one of the game’s best performers over the last five years added $396,967 in prize money to his WSOP winnings.  Clements now has 18 cashes and more then $1.5 million in career WSOP earnings.

17th place – David Baker (Katy, TX) is a 28-year-old poker pro.  He has enjoyed a breakthrough WSOP this year, capped by a 17th-place finish in the Main Event.  Baker finally went out with when he missed a flush draw.  He moved all in after the flop came .  Jonathan Duhamel called and tabled .  Two blanks fell on the turn and river and the and gave Duhamel the pot.  Baker ended up with $396,967 in prize money.

16th place – Benjamin Statz (Brooklyn, NY) is a 32-year-old stock trader.  His final hand took place when he was dealt .  Statz had the advantage when he got a call by Matthew Jarvis, with .  But the flop destroyed Statz’s hopes of making a double up.  The hit the felt, which was all but a knockout blow to Statz.  The meant Statz was drawing dead, and the on the river was a final fitting nail in the coffin of Statz’s dream.  He earned a well-deserved $396,967.        

15th place – Matt Affleck (Mill Creek, WA) is a 23-year-old poker pro.  Prior to playing for a living, he was a student at the University of Washington.  Affleck went out on a brutal beat.  He was dealt against Jonathan Duhamel’s .  After the flop came , the pot was up to 10 million.  The fell on the turn, giving Duhamel an outside straight draw to go along with his pair.  Affleck still held the best hand with pocket aces and made a grueling call for most of his chips after the turn card was shown.  With a 25 million pot hanging in the balance, one of the tournament’s most extraordinary hands was completed when the rained down on the river, wiping out Affleck’s dreams of a championship.  He received a nice consolation prize amounting to more than half-a-million dollars.

14th place – Hasan Habib (Downey, CA) is a 48-year-old professional poker player.  He was the oldest player among the final 27 and brought the most experience of any player to the last three tables.  In fact, Habib was the only player among the late survivors with any Main Event final table experience.  Habib finished fourth in the 2000 championship, won by Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.  Habib struggled with a low stack for about seven hours on Day Eight before finally busting out on what turned out to be a tough beat.  Habib was dealt on his final hand.  He was a big underdog to John Racener’s .  The flop of gave Habib some hope and s light edge, with a pair of nines.  The on the turn gave Racener some extra outs, and when the river brought the , that made Racener two pair with the better kicker (aces and tens).  Habib collected $500,165.  He won his gold bracelet in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (2004).

13th place – Duy Le (San Jose, CA) is a 27-year-old poker pro.  He went out in a battle of the blinds that escalated to the point of elimination.  John Dolan tried to pick up a round of blinds and antes when he moved all in with .  Le called instantly and tabled the better hand, .  The flop was not kind to Le, who watched helplessly as the gave Dolan a pair of Kings.  The and on the turn and river sealed his fate, which was the unlucky position of 13th place.  Le collected $500,165 in his biggest WSOP cash ever.

12th place – Adam Levy (Los Angeles, CA) is a 28-year old poker pro.  He ran deep in the 2008 Main Event, finishing in 48th place.  Levy ran into a roaring freight train on what became his final hand of the tournament when he was dealt and looked at the horrifying sight of seeing an opponent (Jonathan Duhamel) call and table .  The board gave Levy little hope as the cards ran out .  Levy’s pair of Kings were not good enough to take the pot, which resulted in him walking the poker plank off the final two tables in 12th place.  Levy accepted a whale of payday, ending up with $635,011. 

11th place – Pascal LeFrancois (Rosemere, Quebec-Canada) is a 24-year-old poker pro.  He won a gold bracelet earlier this year in a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event.  LeFrancois’ bid to become the first Canadian world champion in WSOP history was wrecked on a tough final hand.  LeFrancois was dealt and moved all in with top pair after the flop came .  But he was called and easily covered by Joseph Cheong, holding the .  When the fell on the turn followed by the , LeFrancois waved “au revoir.”  The Quebec champ enjoyed a huge WSOP this year, adding $635,011 in winnings from this tournament to an overall profit amounting to more than $1 million.

10th place – Brandon Steven (Wichita, KS) is a 35-year-old owner and operator of an automobile dealership.  He was one of only two amateurs among the final ten.  Aside from poker, Steven had done a lot of charity work.  He was cited for his work raising money for leukemia research.  Steven ended up as the unfortunate N9 “bubble” player in this tournament.  He lost a late race holding which was cracked by Matthew Jarvis’ .  The final board showed , which meant Jarvis’ pocket pair (queens) held up.  Steven lost his last 8 million in the hand and the chance for immortality.  The consolation prize was $635,011.

THE DAILY CHIP LEADERS – WHAT HAPPENED

Here is how the chip leaders from each day of this year’s Main Event fared:

1-A:  Corwin Cole, from Las Vegas, NV – Did Not Cash

1-B:  James Danielson, from LaPlata, MD – Did Not Cash

1-C:  Mathieu Sauriol, from Laval, Quebec (Canada) – CASHED in 532nd place

1-D:  Steve Billirakis, from Bourbonnais, IL – CASHED, in 257th place

2-A:  Boulos Estafanous, from Darien, IL – CASHED in 733rd place

2-B:  David Assouline from Hampstead, Quebec (Canada) – CASHED, in 44th place

3:  James Carroll, from Henderson, NV – CASHED, in 96th place

4:  Tony Dunst, Las Vegas, NV – CASHED, in 50th place

5:  Evan Lamprea, Woodstock, Ontario (Canada) – CASHED, in 46th place

6:  Theo Jorgensen, Copenhagen, Denmark – CASHED, in 30th place

7:  Joseph Cheong, La Mirada, CA – CASHED in 3rd place

8:  Jonathan Duhamel, Boucherville, Quebec (Canada) -- WON 1st place

2010 GOLD BRACELET WINNERS (HOW THEY FARED)

Here are the gold bracelet winners from the 2010 WSOP (including previous 56 events) who cashed in the Main Event:

Michael Mizrachi -- Cashed -- 5th Place

Pascal LeFrancois – Cashed – 11th place

Tomer Berda – Cashed – 134th place

Matt Keikoan – Cashed – 196th place

Praz Bansi – Cashed – 240th place

Jason DeWitt – Cashed – 274th place

Simon Watt – Cashed – 397th place

Carter Phillips – Cashed – 483rd place

Eric Buchman – Cashed – 554th place

Frank Kassela -- Cashed – 674th place

Gavin Smith -- Cashed – 730th place

MORE ODDS AND ENDS

This was the 53rd and final day of the 2010 WSOP.  The initial 51 days were played May through July.

WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel estimates the total number of hands dealt out in this tournament from start to finish is about 600,000.

This was the second-largest live poker tournament in history.  Only the 2006 WSOP Main Event, with 8,773 players was larger.

The total prize pool for this year's Main Event totals $68,799,059.  The figure is slightly higher than the actual combined entry fees that were collected, since bank interest is added to payouts for players who constituted the November Nine.

Based on the birthdates of all 7,319 players, the average age of all participants in the Main Event this year was 37 years and 4 months.  However, eight of the nine players who made it to the final table were age 29 or younger.

Four Mizrachi Brothers cashed -- a WSOP first.  Eric Mizrachi, Daniel Mizrachi, Robert Mizrachi,and Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi went out in 718th, 345th, 116th and 5th place, respectively.

Michael Mizrachi enjoyed a stellar WSOP.  Mizrachi’s victory in the Poker Players Championship in addition to his deep run in the Main Event (fifth place) stands as one of the top storylines and most impressive accomplishments of any player at this year’s World Series.

This is the 57th and final event on the 2010 WSOP schedule.  Five additional gold bracelet events took place in London, England, which were held at the Empire Casino during September 14 through 28th as part of the 4th Annual World Series of Poker Europe.   

This marks the sixth consecutive year the WSOP has been held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.  Prior to 2005, the WSOP was held at Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas.  As a testament to the expansion of the WSOP since Harrah’s Entertainment assumed ownership and control of the world most prestigious poker event, more than three quarters of the $1.2 billion in prize money has been awarded to winners within the Rio – three times the amount awarded during the entire 35-year period at the Horseshoe.

This is the 890th gold bracelet event in World Series of Poker history.  Note:  This figure includes every official WSOP event played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded.  It also includes the 16 gold bracelets awarded to date at WSOP Europe.

In the 41-year history of the WSOP, the total combined amount of prize money that has been awarded amounts to $1,228,375,121.

The total number of entrants in the WSOP Main Event (all 41 years combined) is 50,756.

The WSOP title sponsor the last two years has been Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.  As part of a fun promotion, Jack Links gives away large quantities of their product to Main Event players who make big hands.  This year’s key hand is four jacks.  60 players made the token hand this year.

MORE ON THE NOVEMBER NINE

The Main Event took a 110-day break between Day Eight and the start of the final table.  This marks the third year of a so-called “delayed” final table.  While the decision to suspend Main Event play was initially controversial in poker circles, most poker players and fans now realize the advantages of the recess.

The final table will began Saturday, November 6th.  After playing down to the final two, there was an off day, followed by heads-up play (the final two) which took place on Monday, November 8th. 

For the third consecutive year, the final table was played inside the Penn and Teller Theatre at the Rio Las Vegas.

WOMEN IN THE MAIN EVENT

Special Note:  The WSOP recognizes that player characteristics such as gender, race, etc. do not typically warrant special mention.  However, since many members of the media wish to know details about female participation and status, the staff is providing this information for media use.

Breeze Zuckerman (Moorpark, CA) was the top female finisher this year – cashing in 121st place.

The unofficial total number of females who participated in this year’s Main Event was 216.  There is no official record since entrants are not designated by their gender.  However, it has been customary to count every player at the start of Day One and take an unofficial head-count of female players.  This figure represents about 3 percent of the field.

Here are the highest-female finishers (by year) in the WSOP Main Event (Note:  Only players who finished in-the-money were recorded):

No female cashed in the Main Event between the years 1970-1985.

1986 – Wendeen Eolis (25th)

1987 – None

1988 – None

1989 – None

1990 – None

1991 – None

1992 – None

1993 – Marsha Waggoner (19th)

1994 – Barbara Samuelson (10th)

1995 – Barbara Enright (5th)

1996 – Lucy Rokach (26th)

1997 – Marsha Waggoner (12th)

1998 – Susie Isaacs (10th)

1999 – None

2000 – Annie Duke (10th)

2001 – None

2002 – None

2003 – Annie Duke (47th)

2004 – Rose Richie (98th)

2005 – Tiffany Williamson (15th)

2006 – Sabyl Cohen-Landrum (56th)

2007 – Maria Ho (38th)

2008 – Tiffany Michelle (17th)

2009 – Leo Margets, a.k.a. Leonor Margets (27th)

2010 – Breeze Zuckerman (121st) 

MAIN EVENT SUMMARY (NOTABLE PLAYERS)

Here is a final summary of this year's performances of all former WSOP Main Event Champions:

1975/1976:  Doyle Brunson – Eliminated Day 2-B

1978:  Bobby “the Owl” Baldwin – Eliminated Day 2-A 

1983:  Tom McEvoy – Eliminated Day 2-A

1986:  Berry Johnston – Eliminated Day 2-A

1987/1988:  Johnny Chan – CASHED – 156th PLACE

1989:  Phil Hellmuth – Eliminated Day 1-C

1993:  Jim Bechtel – Eliminated Day 3

1995:  Dan Harrington – Eliminated Day 4

1996:  Huck Seed – Eliminated Day 1-C

1998:  Scotty Nguyen – CASHED -- 209th PLACE

2000:  Chris “Jesus” Ferguson – Eliminated Day 2-B

2001:  Carlos Mortensen – Eliminated Day 2-A

2002:  Robert Varkonyi – Eliminated Day 4

2003:  Chris Moneymaker – Eliminated Day 3

2004:  Greg “Fossilman” Raymer – Eliminated Day 1-A

2005:  Joe Hachem – Eliminated Day 1-D

2006:  Jamie Gold – Eliminated Day 1-B

2007:  Jerry Yang – Eliminated Day 1-C  

2009:  Joe Cada – Eliminated Day 3

Hence, only two of 19 former champions cashed in the Main Event.  The top finisher of the group was Johnny Chan.

Here is a final summary of performances by last year’s November Nine:

Joe Cada – Eliminated Day 3

Darvin Moon – Eliminated Day 2-B

Antoine Saout – Eliminated Day 2-B

Eric Buchman – CASHED -- 554th PLACE

Jeff Shulman – Eliminated Day 2-B

Steven Begleiter – Eliminated on Day 1-C

Phil Ivey – Eliminated Day 2-B

Kevin Schaffel – Eliminated Day 1-B

James Akenhead – Eliminated Day 2-A

Hence, only one of nine former final table participants from 2009 cashed in the Main Event.  The top finisher of the group was Eric Buchman.

Here is a summary of former WSOP Players of the Year:

Daniel Negreanu – Eliminated Day 3

Allen Cunningham – CASHED – 581st PLACE

Jeff Madsen – Eliminated Day 1-C

Tom Schneider – Eliminated Day 2-B

Erick Lindgren – Eliminated Day 1-B

Jeffrey Lisandro – Eliminated Day 1-D

Hence, only one of six former Players of the Year cashed in the Main Event.  The top finisher of the group was Allen Cunningham.

WSOP MAIN EVENT ALL-TIME RECORDS

MOST LIFETIME FINAL TABLE APPEARANCES

Doyle Brunson (5)

1976 1st

1977 1st

1980 2nd

1982 4th

1983 3rd

Jesse Alto (5)

1988 9th

1985 6th

1978 5th

1986 4th

1984 3rd

Johnny Moss (5)

1974 1st

1971 1st

1985 7th

1979 5th

1980 4th

Dan Harrington (4)

1995 1st

1987 6th

2004 4th

2003 3rd

T.J. Cloutier (4)

1988 5th

1998 3rd

1985 2nd

2000 2nd

Stu Ungar (4)

1997 1st

1980 1st

1981 1st

1990 9th

Note 1: Johnny Moss’ victory in 1970 is not included amongst final table records, since the winner that year was determined by a vote.

Note 2: Crandall Addington actually holds the record with nine Main Event final table appearances. However, most of these did not include a prize-money payout (field sizes were considerably smaller during the 1970s when most of Addington’s appearances occurred).

Note 3: Final table appearances were counted only if the player also received a payout.

Note 4: WSOP Main Event final tables were played six-handed during a 16-year span. However, the top nine finishers during those years are included in final table records.

Most Main Event Wins (Career):

3 – Johnny Moss (*first win was by vote)

3 – Stu Ungar

2 – Doyle Brunson

2 – Johnny Chan

Most Main Event Cashes (Career):

10 – Berry Johnston *

8 – Humberto Brenes -- CASHED THIS YEAR (Now 8)

7 – Bobby Baldwin

7 – Doyle Brunson

7 – Jay Heimowitz

7 – Phil Hellmuth

7 – Mike Sexton

6 – John Bonetti

6 – Johnny Moss

6 – Jason Lester

6 – Steve Lott

5 – 14 players tied with 5 cashes each

* MORE ON BERRY JOHNSTON:

Berry Johnston’s cashes in the Main Event include:

113th in 2007

16th in 1996

21st in 1995

17th in 1992

5th in 1990

29th in 1989

32nd in 1987

1st in 1986

3rd in 1985

3rd in 1982

Most Main Event Final Tables (Career):

5 – Doyle Brunson

5 – Jesse Alto

4 – Johnny Chan

4 – T.J. Cloutier

4 – Dan Harrington

4 – Berry Johnston

4 – Johnny Moss

4 – Stu Ungar

3 – 6 players tied with 3 final tables each

Youngest Winner

Joe Cada (2009) -- 21 years, 11 months, 22 days

Oldest Winner

Johnny Moss (1974) – 66 years, 11 months, 24 days

Oldest Participant

97 years -- Jack Ury (2010)

Most Consecutive Years Played

37 – Howard “Tahoe” Andrew (1974 to present)

Most Main Events Played (Career)

38 – Doyle Brunson (did not play 1999 through 2001)

Most Consecutive Years to Cash (Main Event)

4 – Theodore Park (2005 – 2008)

4 – Bo Sehlstedt (2004 – 2007)

4 – Robert Turner (1991 – 1994)

2010 WSOP STATISTICS (INCLUDING MAIN EVENT)

All-time prize money figures crossed the $1,000,000,000 threshold during last year’s Main Event.  With this year’s money added, the WSOP has paid out $1,228,375,121 during its 41-year history.  Incredibly, more than $850,000,000 has been paid out just in the last six years alone, since Harrah’s Entertainment assumed control of the tournament.  Here is the historical prize pool information for the World Series of Poker.

2010 -- $187,109,850

2009 -- $174,011,894

2008 -- $180,774,427

2007 -- $159,796,918

2006 -- $159,599,815

1970-2005 -- $354,000,000

Tournament attendance is up significantly from last year when there were 60,875 entries (then, a record).  This year, there were 72,966 total entries -- an increase of 20 percent.  Hence, this is the biggest WSOP of all time, measured by total participation. 

Prize money increased from 2008, when the total money awarded was a record $180,774,427.  This year, the total amount of prize money awarded was $187,109,850 – an increase of 3.5 percent.

This year, there were 57 gold bracelet events – which is the same number as last year.

Through the conclusion of Event #57, the nationalities of gold bracelet winners have been:

United States (38)

Canada (6)

Great Britain (5)

Hungary (2)

New Zealand (1)

France (1)

Russia (1)

Norway (1)

Holland (1)

Israel (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #57, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:

United States (31)

Canada (6)

Great Britain (5)

Vietnam (2)

China (2)

Hungary (2)

New Zealand (1)

France (1)

Lebanon (1)

Russia (1)

Mexico (1)

Bangladesh (1)

Norway (1)

Holland (1)

Israel (1)

Through the conclusion of Event #57, the breakdown of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets is as follows:

Professional Players (40): Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh Tieman, Peter Gelencser, James Dempsey, Men “the Master” Nguyen, Matt Matros, Yan R. Chen, Steve Gee, Carter Phillips, Jason DeWitt; Eric Buchman, David Baker, Richard Ashby, Dutch Boyd, Sammy Farha, David Warga, Will Haydon, Matt Keikoan, Mike Ellis, Luis Velador, Ayaz Mahmood, Phil Ivey, Luigi Kwaysser, Scott Montgomery, Steven Kelly, Steve Jelinek, Dean Hamrick, Ian Gordon, Gavin Smith, Jesse Rockowitz, Chris Bell, Shawn Busse, Sigurd Eskeland, Chance Kornuth, Ryan Welch, Brendan Taylor, Daniel Alaei, Jonathan Duhamel

Semi-Pros (8): Frank Kassela, Tex Barch, Miguel Proulx, Jeffrey Papola, Frank Kassela, Mike Linn, Dan Kelly, Tomer Berda

Amateurs (9): Duc Pham, Aadam Daya, Pascal LeFrancois, Simon Watt, Vanessa Hellebuyck, Jeff Tebben, Konstantin Puchkov, Harold Angle, Marcel Vonk

Through the conclusion of Event #57, here is the list of repeat WSOP gold bracelet winners:

Praz Bansi

Men “the Master” Nguyen

Russ “Dutch” Boyd

Sammy Farha

David Warga (* his first WSOP win was in a non-open event)

Matt Keikoan

Luis Velador

Phil Ivey

Frank Kassela (two wins this year)

Daniel Alaei

Through the conclusion of 2010 World Series of Poker -- Event #57:

Youngest Winner – Steven Kelly (21), Dan Kelly (21)

Oldest Winner – Harold Angle (78)

Female Winners (open events) – None