WSOP - Event #23 Official Report

[Talking Poker]

2005 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suites Casino-Resort
Official Report

Event #23
Seven-Card Stud
Buy-in: $5,000
Number of Entries: 192
Total Prize Money: $902,400

Official Results:

1. Jan Sorensen Odense, Denmark $293,275
2. Keith Sexton Las Vegas, NV $162,430
3. Chip Jett Las Vegas, NV $99,265
4. John Phan Los Angeles, CA $72,190
5. Joe Awada Las Vegas, NV $58,655
6. Steven S. Deano Las Vegas, NV $45,120
7. Gerard Rechnitzer Beverly Hills, CA $36,095
8. Tom McCormick Fargo, ND $27,070

9. Leandro Alvarez N. Las Vegas, NV $16,245
10. Tony Cousineau Daytona Beach, FL $16,245
11. Yuebin Guo Brooklyn, NY $14,440
12. David CoClough Birmingham, England $14,440
13. Denis Ethier Durham, NC $12,635
14. John Aglioloro Haddonfield, NJ $12,635
15. Jon Brody Davie, FL $10,830
16. Rob Hollink Netherlands $10,830

Poker’s Great Dane
Underdog Jan Sorensen, from Denmark, wins Seven-Card Stud championship


Poker’s popularity is skyrocketing. But it will never be as popular, especially on an international scale, as the game of soccer (what the rest of the world refers to as “football”). Jan Sorensen grew up in the European tradition, where every young schoolboy dreams of becoming a soccer star. In most cases, those fantasies gradually end up on a delusional ash heap, due to the obligations of school, family, and career. But in rare instances, dreams of becoming a professional athlete do come true.

Jan Sorensen was 18-years-old when he first started playing pro soccer for money. His skills improved to the point where he was playing on a major team in the Danish Premier League. By age 30, Sorensen was a veteran of many soccer matches. He began to think of what he would do in his post-athletic life. But before Sorensen could make a decision, he was dealt soccer’s worst equivalent of a ‘bad beat.’ Sorensen blew out his knee in an on-the-field injury. He would never play soccer again.

Fortunately, Sorensen picked up some skills at a different game during his soccer career.

“We used to play poker all the time when we were traveling,” Sorensen said moments after winning the $5,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship at the 2005 World Series of Poker. “We played on trains and airports while we waited around killing time.”

Shortly after his injury-forced retirement, Sorensen made a trip to Las Vegas. The World Series of Poker just so happened to be going that same month. Sorensen played poker and became more interested in the game. Little did he know it at the time, but a decade later, he would be sitting at a final table, playing for a gold bracelet. With ESPN television cameras recording the event for a later broadcast, poker’s ‘Great Dane’ shed the underdog role, topped a tough field of 192 players, and scored a different kind of goooooooooooooal -- $293,275 in cash.

The final table included an interesting assortment of poker players. Of the eight finalists, four were from Las Vegas – including the defending champion from this event last year, Joe Awada. At the start of Day Three, players and chip counts were as follows:

THE FINAL TABLE:

SEAT 1: John Phan Los Angeles, CA 198,000
SEAT 2: Gerard Rechnitzer Beverly Hills 71,000
SEAT 3: Keith Sexton Dayton, OH 135,000
SEAT 4: Joe Awada Las Vegas, NV 126,500
SEAT 5: Steven S. Deano Las Vegas, NV 58,500
SEAT 6: Chip Jett Las Vegas, NV 206,000
SEAT 7: Jan Sorensen Odense, Denmark 140,000
SEAT 8: Tom McCormick Fargo, ND 25,000

Players were eliminated in the following order:


8th Place – This was Tom McCormick’s second final table appearance at this year’s WSOP. Unfortunately, his stay was short. Desperately low on chips, ‘The Shamrock Kid’ was not dealt any four-leaf clovers. Instead, he lost his final hand to Joe Awada’s full-house. McCormick did collect some serious green -- $27,070 to be exact.

7th Place – Steven S. Deano was on life support, but managed to avoid elimination when the other short-stack, Gerard Rechnitzer got steamrolled. Rechnitzer, a Beverly Hills-based real estate investor, started with a pair of fives, picked up a straight draw, and ended up with two pair (6s and 5s) on his final hand. Joe Awada flattened the two small pair with two larger pair (Ks and Js) and ended up dragging Rechnitzer’s final chip. Rechnitzer, who goes by the name ‘Gee Rock’ received $36,095 for 7th place.

6th Place – Deano managed to make an extra nine-grand by folding a few hands. After Rechnitzer went bust, Deano moved ‘all in’ with a pair of jacks, which failed to improve. John Phan ended up with two pair (aces up) and skinned off Deano’s final chips. Steve S. Deano, a professional gambler based in Las Vegas, picked up $45,120 for 6th place.

5th Place – The defending champ, Joe Awada was the next player to exit. After an early rush which propelled him up near the chip lead, Awada went card dead for nearly two hours and finally perished in 5th place. Awada picked up A-K (x), which was enough to move ‘all in,’ but he failed to make a pair against John Phan’s straight. Awada, a fine champion and inspiring human interest story (he arrived in the US as a teen, didn’t speak English, traveled with a circus, and ended up owning a highly-successful gaming and entertainment business) received $58,665 in prize money.

4th Place – John Phan has been one of poker’s hottest players over the past year. He has placed high and won several major events. However, the one item not yet on his resume is a victory at the WSOP. Phan will have to wait at least a bit longer to win a gold bracelet. He played quite aggressively throughout, but lost a few key pots late in the tournament which took away most of his chips. On his final hand, Phan started with three big cards A-K (10) but watched helplessly as four successive bricks rolled off the deck, resulting in getting busted by Keith Sexton’s two pair. Phan’s payout amounted to $72,190.

3rd Place – Keith Sexton had a sizable chip lead, about 2 to 1 over Jan Sorensen. Meanwhile, Chip Jett was teetering on elimination. Down to his last 55,000 playing at the 8,000-16,000 level, Jett made his final stand with a pair of sixes. Sexton picked up two queens, which was enough to eliminate Jett. $99,265 was paid out for 3rd place. This was a nice jinx breaker for Jett, who was red-hot in tournament poker a few years ago, and has recently been striving to get back to the winner’s circle. It wasn’t the win he was hoping for, but was a nice cash, nonetheless.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Keith Sexton enjoyed a significant chip lead versus Jan Sorensen -- 605,000 to 395,000. The final duel lasted 90 minutes. The first critical hand was when Sexton started with a pair of aces and failed to improve, while Sorensen ended up with two pair. Safe to say, that had Sexton caught a second pair, the final table might have ended sooner and crowned a different champion.

The two battled back and forth for over an hour, each seemingly one big hand away from victory. Then, the final barrage of bets broke out when Sexton started with a pair of kings versus Sorensen’s pair of nines. The final decisive hand went as follows:
SEXTON: (K-K) 8-3-2-J (X)
SORENSEN: (9-7) 9-3-7-8 (9)
Jan Sorensen’s full-house scooped the final pot of the tournament.

Keith Sexton was the runner up. The Dayton, OH-born poker player and home builder (no relation to poker celebrity Mike Sexton) earned $162,430 for second place.

1st Place – Jan Sorensen is a 45-year-old former professional soccer player from Denmark. This was his fifth time to cash at the WSOP. This was also his third appearance at a final table.

Afterward, Sorensen was asked to express his sentiments, including the comparison between playing in the European soccer leagues versus competing at the poker table. He noted that both games require many of the same qualities, including skill and stamina. Sorensen was also asked a hypothetical question, which truly shows how far poker has come, in comparison to major sports.

When asked which he would prefer – winning the 2005 World Series of Poker plus an estimated $7 million in prize money, versus scoring the winning goal for Denmark in the finals of next year’s World Cup – Sorensen didn’t even hesitate.

“I would rather win at the World Series of Poker,” he said. “The World Cup doesn’t pay me $7 million.”

Official Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director

World Series of Poker Circuit Director of Operations – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Rio Poker Room Manager – Michael Matts
Rio Poker Tournament Director – Robert Daily