Most professional poker players spend the lion’s share of their playing time in live games. The big-name tournament players are famous because of the television coverage of their live play. Lots of these players play online, but it’s not like the live tournament scene. Most celebrity poker players are sponsored by an online poker site. They wear the site’s logo in live events and play on the site for periodic promotions or whenever they want to.
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UltimateBet sponsors professionals Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Jim Worth, Devin Porter and Annie Duke.
When it comes to WSOP Bracelets there are five men at the top of the heap.
1. Phil Hellmuth has won 11 WSOP bracelets in only 18 years, all playing no-limit Texas hold’em. Phil claims that he gave away all of them besides the main event championship.
2. Doyle Brunson has 10 bracelets in seven different poker variations. His last was in 2005 and he’s a threat to win one every year.
3. Johnny Chan also has 10 bracelets to his credit. Like Doyle he has won bracelets in seven different variations of the game, and he won all of them in only 20 years.
4. Johnny Moss is right up there with nine bracelets of his own. He’s won them all playing either No limit Hold’em, Ace to Five Draw or Seven Card Stud.
5. Erik Seidel comes in fifth with eight. He has wins in six different poker variations.
There are two three-time WSOP main event winners. Only Johnny Moss (1970, 1971 and 1974) and Stu Unger (1981, 1982 and 1997) were able to achieve that feat. They both won it twice in a row, as did Doyle Brunson (1976 and 1977) and Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988).
Other big-name winners include Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2000), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Dan Harrington (1995), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Huck Seed (1996), Robert Varkonyi (2002) and Carlo Mortensen (2001).
Recent winners have won huge amounts, with the biggest winner being Jamie Gold ($12 million) in 2006. In 2007, Jerry Yang won $8.25 million and Joseph Hachem pocketed $7.5 million in 2005. Chris Moneymaker (2003) set the poker world afire when he won the main event, and $2.5 million, after winning his way into the tournament via an online satellite tournament. Greg Raymer was the other big main event winner, winning $5 million in 2004, and almost won it again the next year in 2005.
The main event is underway at the Rio in Las Vegas as we speak, but the next Poker World Championship is still a long way and many hours at the tables from being crowned. The main event kicked off with Day 1A last Friday, but the final table won’t be played until Tuesday, July 17.
The first two days of the main event drew a combined 2,832 players, and with approximately 1,600 players expected to come out for Days 1C and 1D, the organizers are estimating a field of around 6,000 players, give or take a few. For those keeping score at home, that total would be down from 8,773 last year.
Before the hordes gathered for the main event, there were at least a few noteworthy bracelet winners over the last month at the Rio. One of the first bracelet winners at this year’s WSOP was Tom Schneider, who won Event 5, the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/7 Card Stud Hi/Lo tourney during the opening week. Schneider became the lone double-bracelet winner at this year’s 2007 WSOP three weeks later, when he was the last man standing in Event 46 , the $1,000 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo. Schneider also made another final table this year and pocketed a combined $416,829 in prize money, and won the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Award.
The richest winner at the 2007 WSOP heading into the main event was Bill Edler. The poker pro won his first WSOP bracelet and $904,672 after winning Event 45, the $5,000 No Limit Short Handed. Edler barely topped Burt Boutin by just over $3,000. Boutin won Event 7, the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha, and cashed in two other events to pocket $901,456.
The win that had everyone talking was Phil Hellmuth’s record-setting 11th WSOP bracelet. Hellmuth passed Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan after achieving his 11th WSOP victory in Event 15, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em. Hellmuth has been his usual consistent self at this year’s WSOP, having made two final tables and cashing six times.
To the poker world Johnny Chan has been a well-known force since the 1980’s. To the rest of the world, he became known after appearing in the cult film Rounders alongside Matt Damon and Ed Norton in 1998. Today, Chan is known as one of the best poker players in the world, having won the World Series of Poker main event twice and winning a record 10 WSOP bracelets.
Born in China in 1957, Chan moved to America with his family in 1968 and they eventually settled in Houston five years later. When Chan first arrived in America he didn’t speak a word of English. Chan’s journey into the world of poker began at the age of 21 when he dropped out of the University of Houston and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player.
At the time Asian poker players were nowhere near as common as they are today, and Chan was able to use this to his advantage as he was often underestimated by other players at the table. At first Chan was too impulsive at the tables and often ended up on the losing end of games, but as he got better he learned to control the game and started a lifetime of winning.
Chan proved he belonged alongside the best players in the world in 1987 when he won his first WSOP main event title. Chan proved that was no fluke the next year by winning the main event again. He holds the record for most WSOP bracelets won at 10, along with poker legends Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.
Nicked named “The Orient Express,” Chan was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002 for his numerous poker accomplishments and his work as a pioneer for Asian players in the world of professional poker.
