WSOP - Event #13 Official Report

[Talking Poker]

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

Event #13
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-in: $5,000
Number of Entries: 466
Total Prize Money: $2,190,200

Official Results:

1. T.J. Cloutier Richardson, TX $657,100
2. Steven Zoine Merrick, NY $352,620
3. John Bonetti Houston, TX $175,215
4. Neal Wang Los Angeles, CA $153,315
5. Jason Berilgen Houston, TX $131,410
6. John ‘World’ Hennigan Philadelphia, PA $109,510
7. Justin Woolf Los Angeles, CA $87,610
8. Todd Brunson Las Vegas, NV $65,705
9. Hieu ‘Tony’ Ma S. El Monte, CA $43,805

10. Gavin Smith Guelph, ONT (Canada) $24,090
11. Shae Drobushevich Moline, IL $24,090
12. Liz Lieu Los Angeles, CA $24,090
13. Meng La Torrance, CA $19,710
14. Julian Gardner Cheshire, England $19,710
15. Jon Brody Davie, FL $19,710
16. Jen Harman Las Vegas, NV $15,330
17. Sean McCabe Sunny Isles Beach, FL $15,330
18. Ben Johnson Oakland, CA $15,330
19. Jesus Oquendo Pembroke Pines, FL $10,950
20. Robbie Frank Evansville, IN $10,950
21. Stephen Edelson Atlanta, GA $10,950
22. Marc Aubin Montreal, Canada $10,950
23. Micky Appleman Ft Lee, NJ $10,950
24. Louis Asmo Las Vegas, NV $10,950
25. Reza Payvar Tarzana, CA $10,950
26. Mike Manttan Sydney, Australia $10,950
27. Patrik Antonius Helsinki, Finland $10,950
28. Gregg Turk Sterling, VA $8,760
29. Eric Ford Tigard, OR $8,760
30. Steven Metzger New York, NY $8,760
31. Senthil Kumar Los Gatos, CA $8,760
32. A.J. Kelsall Lutz, FL $8,760
33. Isabelle Mercier Montreal, Quebec $8,760
34. Joseph Bartholdi Las Vegas, NV $8,760
35. Morgan Machina Mission Viejo, CA $8,760
36. Bill Blanda Kingwood, TX $8,760
37. Kevin Song Lowland Hts, CA $6,570
38. Chris Biglee Las Vegas, NV $6,570
39. Vincent Napolitano Williston Park, NY $6,570
40. Chad Layne Henderson, NV $6,570
41. Matthew Glantz Lafayette Hill, PA $6,570
42. Johan Storakers Stockholm, Sweden $6,570
43. Antonio Esfandeari San Francisco, CA $6,570
44. Paul Magriel Las Vegas, NV $6,570
45. Don Mullis Mooresville, NC $6,570

Just Like Fine Wine
T.J. Cloutier gets better with age – 65-year-old poker superstar wins gold bracelet number six

History was made tonight when poker legend T.J. Cloutier won gold bracelet number six. His victory in the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship marked his 58th major tournament win during the past 20 years. More important, the $657,100 first prize rocketed him up into second place on the all-time World Series of Poker money-winnings list. It almost didn’t happen.

The (now) six-time champ, who has probably taken more bad beats than anyone in WSOP history (recall his disastrous bad beat heads-up versus Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson in the 2000 championship), actually drew out on an opponent when play was six-handed, spiking a six-outer the effectively propelled him across the finish line four hours later.

That decisive hand took place when opponent Neal Wang had 9-9 versus Cloutier’s A-Q. With the river still to be dealt, Cloutier desperately needed to catch a pair to survive. Wham! A queen fell from the sky, an archangel of a card that exercised the demons of World Series pasts. For an instant, the bad karma of getting all the money in with the best hand, only to lose, had been reversed. “It sure felt good to suck out on someone for a change,” Cloutier chuckled later.

Of the 13 events held so far, this final table was unquestionably the most theatrical. It marked the return of the explosive 77-year-old Brooklyn-born John Bonetti to poker’s grandest stage. It also featured a complete newcomer to tournament poker who was making his first-ever final table. Steve Zoine picked up a book by T.J. Cloutier (co-authored with Tom McEvoy), read through it, and decided to come to Las Vegas to see if he could play poker with the very best. He couldn’t possibly have imagined that just two days after getting off the plane, he would be sitting across the table from the author, battling Cloutier for a gold bracelet. Then, there was Cloutier himself, less than two years removed from suffering a serious heart attack and now back where he belongs, sitting at a final table playing for a poker championship.

The total prize pool amounted to $2,190,200. The final table included four former gold bracelet winners – T.J. Cloutier (with 5 wins going in); John Bonetti (with 3 wins); Tony Ma (with 2 wins); and John ‘World’ Hennigan (with 2 wins). But it was 37-year-old self-employed Neal Wang, from Los Angeles, who had a dominant chip lead when play began:

(continued)