WSOP - Event #29 Official Report

[Talking Poker]

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

Event #29
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-in: $2,000
Number of Entries: 1,072
Total Prize Money: $1,972,480

Official Results:

1. Lawrence Gosney Leeds, England $483,195
2. Jarl Lindholt Aarhus, Denmark $258,000
3. Shack Ko Naperville, IL $157,800
4. Dustin Woolf Los Angeles, CA $138,075
5. J.C. Tran Sacramento, CA $118,350
6. Tony Rila Las Vegas, NV $98,625
7. Alan Purdy London, England $78,900
8. Carlo Citrone Newcastle, England $59,175
9. Bjorn Isberg Stockholm, Sweden $39,450

10. James Worth Guelph, Ontario, Canada $21,695
11. Scotty Brown Shelby Township, MI $21,695
12. Morgan Machina Mission Viejo, CA $21,695
13. Paul Kroh Battle Mtn, NV $17,750
14. Brandon Wong Clovis, CA $17,750
15. Charles McCormick Oceanside, CA $17,750
16. Kendall Fukumoto Honolulu, HI $13,805
17. Michel Abecassis Paris, France $13,805
18. Jonathan Popper London, England $13,805
19. Mercello Del Grosso Toronto, Canada $9,860
20. Warren Karp Lake Forest, CA $9,860
21. Chris Karagulleyan Glendale, CA $9,860
22. Ronnie Jackson Henderson, NV $9,860
23. Rohit Chopra Corona, CA $9,860
24. Richard Pace Louisville, KY $9,860
25. Barry Greenstein Rncho Pls Vrd, CA $9,860
26. Jeffrey Greenstein Livingston, NJ $9,860
27. James Pedrotti Orland, CA $9,860
28. Patrick O’Connor Sligo, Ireland $6,905
29. Bari Sklar Northridge, CA $6,905
30. Danny Noam Cave Creek, AZ $6,905
31. Rob Hollink Netherlands $6,905
32. Ryan Larson Spokane, WA $6,905
33. Steven Hipes Manchester, MO $6,905
34. Chad Brown Los Angeles, CA $6,905
35. Jose Brenes Miami Lakes, FL $6,905
36. Brian Gelband Morganville, NJ $6,905
37. Benjamin Lin Rockville, MD $5,720
38. Michael Johnson Sandy, UT $5,720
39. David Ulliott Hull, England $5,720
40. Henry Kim Chicago, IL $5,720
41. Michael Baas Woodlands, TX $5,720
42. David Rubin Mill Valley, CA $5,720
43. Douglas Carli Alliance, OH $5,720
44. Lance Turner Chapel Hill, NC $5,720
45. Matthew Piggott Harrison Township, MI $5,720
46. Michael Alexander Costa Mesa, CA $4,635
47. Everett Carlton St Paul, MN $4,635
48. Phillip Marmorstein Munich, Germany $4,635
49. Jerome Stroud McDonough, GA $4,635
50. Pouya Pouyamajd Frankfurt, Germany $4,635
51. Lawrence Masi Allen, TX $4,635
52. Todd Rowan Chicago, IL $4,635
53. Christoffer Stahle Sweden $4,635
54. "Dear Billy" Miller Las Vegas, NV $4,635
55. Martti Vastamaki Finland $3,945
56. Luca Pagano Italy $3,945
57. Derek Baxter United Kingdom $3,945
58. Ryan Young Torrance, CA $3,945
59. Kevin Kim Los Angeles, CA $3,945
60. Klinton Griffin Cumming, GA $3,945
61. Rustin Polk Dallas, TX $3,945
62. Trang My Phan Long Beach, CA $3,945
63. Dennis Perry Williamstown, KY $3,945
64. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA $3,450
65. Charles Byrne New Orleans, LA $3,450
66. Jorryt Van Hoof Netherlands $3,450
67. George Dickson Manitoba, Canada $3,450
68. Camillo Calabrese Las Vegas, NV $3,450
69. Pascal Perrault Paris, France $3,450
70. David Cossio El Paso, TX $3,450
71. Mark Wilds Biloxi, MS $3,450
72. Max Pescatori Milan, Italy $3,450
73. Adam Houran E Lansing, MI $2,960
74. Todd Arnold Lauderdale By the Sea, FL $2,960
75. David Cruce Clovis, CA $2,960
76. Eric Crain Murphysboro $2,960
77. Jason Vetter Champaign, IL $2,960
78. A Jeremy Tuttle Salt Lake City, UT $2,960
79. Herman Zango Miami, FL $2,960
80. Robert Stevanovski Corvelius, NC $2,960
81. Warren Oberman Madison, WI $2,960
82. Gary Cook Pineville, WV $2,465
83. Richard Nave Las Vegas, NV $2,465
84. Eugene Todd Brooklyn, NY $2,465
85. Kevin Brewen Chicago, IL $2,465
86. Michael Santos San Antonio, TX $2,465
87. Steven Lustig San Jose, CA $2,465
88. Colin Gordon Golden, CA $2,465
89. Christian Kruel Brazil $2,465
90. Franklin Caldwell Lexington, KY $2,465
91. Motoyuki Mabuchi Franklin $2,170
92. Stephen Marks Doylestown, PA $2,170
93. Michael Reohau San Mateo, CA $2,170
94. Jan Sorensen Denmark $2,170
95. Carlos Fuentes Pamplona, Spain $2,170
96. Ross Barall Peoria, AZ $2,170
97. Michael Allis Lancaster, CA $2,170
98. James Miller Las Vegas, NV $2,170
99. Arshad Peruaiz Walsall, UK $2,170
100. Jon Brody Davie, FL $2,170

(continued)

[Talking Poker]

Eight Mad Dogs and One Happy Englishman
Lawrence Gosney, poker pro from Leeds, wins first WSOP gold bracelet and collects $483,195


Anyone who doubts that poker has crossed international boundaries would be advised to glance at the players who made it to the final table of the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at this year’s World Series of Poker. Of the nine finalists, five reside outside the United States. Four Americans, three Englishmen, one Swede, and one Dane made up the most cosmopolitan of all WSOP final tables, thus far.

The winner was Lawrence Gosney, a 41-year-old professional poker player from Leeds, England. At the start of play, Gosney arrived second in chips to Danish player, Jarl Lindholt. Gosney seized the chip lead midway through the eight-hour battle, and finally defeated Lindholt in heads-up play.

The entry fee for Event #29 was $2,000 per player. There were 1,072 entries, resulting in a total prize pool of nearly $2 million. This was the 8th event to attract in excess of 1,000 players (to date). Contrast this to record-setting 2004, when only a few events broke the thousand-mark. The final table included an interesting mix of players, many of whom were making their first-ever WSOP final table appearance:

The Final Table:

SEAT 1: Carlo Citrone 151,000
SEAT 2: Shack Ko 287,000
SEAT 3: Lawrence Gosnky 323,000
SEAT 4: Bjorn Isberg 166,000
SEAT 5: Tony Rila 305,000
SEAT 6: Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf 270,000
SEAT 7: J.C. Tran 47,000
SEAT 8: Alan Purdy 165,000
SEAT 9: Jarl Lindholt 437,000

On Day Three, players were eliminated in the following order:

9th – Bjorn Isberg was the first player to exit. His A-K missed the board completely and Dustin Woolf’s J-J dragged a 300,000 pot. Isberg hit an iceberg. The Stockholm-based poker player – who holds a PhD in finance – added $39,450 to his investment portfolio.

8th – Carlo Citrone fell low on chips and went out next. Citrone, from Newcastle, UK is also a poker pro. Making it through such a huge field was certainly gratifying. But that did not hide Citrone’s obvious disappointment in not winning. He collected $59,175 in cash for 8th place.

7th – Another Englishman went out next. Alan Purdy was dealt A-10 on his final hand. Unfortunately, he moved ‘all in’ and was called by J.C. Tran, with A-Q. Both players caught an ace for top pair, but the queen out-kicked the ten. Purdy, who works as a wholesaler, got the discount prize -- $78,900 for 7th place.

6th – Tony Rila expected to double up when he was ‘all in’ with A-9 versus Lawrence Gosney’s A-5. Things looked good after the flop came with three blanks. Imagine Rila’s shock and disappointment when a five surfaced on the turn. The injustice ripped Rila away in 6th place. Tony Rila, who now lives in Las Vegas, received $98,625 in prize money.

5th – Another (pre-flop) dominated hand won when J.C. Tran got hammered holding K-J versus Jarl Lindholt’s K-8. The Dane had two clubs in his hand and caught a perfect flop – all clubs. J.C. Tran, who won a gold bracelet at the WSOP in No-Limit Hold’em, and also won an event at the Rio on this year’s WSOP Circuit, had to settle for 5th place and $118,350.

4th – Dustin ‘Neverwin’ Woolf had about 200,000 in chips remaining when he made an ‘all in’ re-raise with A-K. Shack Ko thought for a long time and finally called with 9-9. If Ko could have known what was coming on the flop, he would have called in an instant. A third nine gave Ko the 430,000 pot and Woolf was left to howl. Fourth place paid $138,075.

3rd – Korean-born Shack Ko finally had enough of Lawrence Gosney’s short-handed bullying tactics. He decided to make an ‘all in’ raise with A-5 suited. He picked a very bad time to get brave, as Gosney had A-Q of hearts. Neither player made a pair, which meant the A-Q played, and Ko locked up 3rd place – good for $157,800.

2nd Place – It may have been foreseeable that the last two players were the chip leaders coming into the finale. When heads-up play began, Gosney enjoyed a 4 to 1 chip lead over Jarl Lindholt. The end came very quickly. Only a few hands into play, Gosney was dealt 9-8 and moved ‘all in’ on an outside straight draw after the flop came J-10-x. The board also showed two diamonds, and Gosney had the A-Q of diamonds. Two overcards and a flush draw made Gosney the favorite. The Englishman didn’t need any help, but a king fell on the river crowning a new No-Limit hold’em king.

The runner up was Jarl Lindholt, a poker pro from Aarhus, Denmark. Before turning pro, Lindholt worked as a sales manager. His prize money amounted to $258,000.

1st Place – Lawrence Gosney has only been playing poker for about three years. He normally plays in private games around London and travels regularly throughout the U.K., playing in major poker tournaments. Until now, his best finish had been fourth place at the British Poker Open (won by David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott).

Lawrence Gosney was thrilled with his first victory at the World Series of Poker. Cheered on by a rowdy group of fellow Brits, Gosney kissed his gold bracelet and smiled for the cameras. First place paid $483,195.


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