Tournament Notes:
-- The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #36) attracted 2,447 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $3,340,155. The top 198 finishers collected prize money.
-- This is the fourth of seven $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournaments on the 2008 WSOP schedule. This game and buy-in level has consistently proven to be the most popular draw on the schedule in recent years, aside from the Main Event.
-- An alternative lower buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament (less than $10,000) has been included as part of the WSOP schedule every year since 1973. Over the years, these buy-in amounts have ranged from $1,000 up to $5,000. However, more $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments have now taken place at the WSOP over the past 39-years than any other event.
-- The tournament was played over three consecutive days. The final table was played on the ESPN main stage and was broadcast by Bluff Media on ESPN360. The Omaha High-Low Split World Championship also concluded on this day, which was played at the secondary final table nearby.
-- The curse continues. Last year's champion for the event, Ryan Young played in this tournament. But he did not cash. This brings the current streak to 36 straight non-cashes for defending champions in their respective events.
-- The 2008 $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em champion Jesper Hougaard, from Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a 24-year-old professional poker player.
-- Hougaard was a player, and later a coach for the Danish National Table Tennis Team. A few years ago, he left his position on the team to play in cash games and poker tournaments throughout Europe.
-- Hougaard stated that his poker success had its roots in table tennis. He cited the ability to lose a point or a game in table tennis and being forced to immediately re-focus on the next shot as a key quality for winning poker players. "You have to regroup," he said. "That is something we do (in table tennis). You have to always get ready for the next match."
-- Hougaard's interest in poker was largely inspired by the success of fellow countryman Gus Hansen. After "the Great Dane" won several major poker tournaments a few years ago, poker's popularity exploded in Denmark, carrying Hougaard amongst its newest converts.
-- Hougaard is Danish. But he lived for many years in England. His father was an official with N.A.T.O. and was stationed in London.
-- Immediately after his victory, Hougaard was interviewed by Howard David from ESPN360. Hougaard was asked about a key hand at the final table where he managed to catch a lucky card on the river which knocked out a dangerous opponent, Aaron Kanter. "When I hit that card, I jumped up higher than Kobe Bryant," Hougaard said. Sportscaster Howard David could not let the comment go without retorting, "Wait a minute no one in Denmark jumps higher than Kobe Bryant!" Hougaard responded, "Yeah, but I did!"
-- Hougaard was cheered on by an enthusiastic group of more than a dozen Danish friends and fans. At times, this made the final table seem like an Olympic event. Chants in Danish were heard from start to finish.
-- Hougaard cited the fans and many people watching the broadcast on ESPN360 back in Denmark as keys to keeping him focused on victory. "I want to thank everyone in Denmark and Greenland who I know has been watching this," he said. "I know it is six-o'clock in the morning (over there) right now. I am so glad to could make it worthwhile. Thank you."
-- Hougaard dominated play during most of the final day. However, there was one point during heads-up play when he lost this chip lead. He then went on a much needed break. Hougaard stated that he called his father and brother, living in Denmark. He also put on headphones and listened to a popular song called "Eye of the Tiger." Fifteen minutes after the break, Hougaard was the victor.
-- Denmark becomes the seventh nation to produce a gold bracelet winner at this year's WSOP. This list now includes Canada, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Russia, and the United States.
-- Hougaard becomes only the second WSOP gold bracelet winner in history from Denmark. The other is Jan Sorensen, with two wins.
-- The second-place finisher was Cody Slaubaugh, from Rugby, North Dakota. He is a 23-year-old student who was making his first WSOP cash ever.
-- The final table lasted eight hours. The heads-up match went for about 90 minutes.
-- Aaron Kanter finished in third place. He is perhaps best known for finishing fourth in the 2005 WSOP Main Event.
-- John Shipley from Solihull, England finished ninth in this tournament. He was the seventh-place finisher in the 2002 WSOP Main Event.
-- Duncan "Pumper" Bell, who won the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em championship (Event #13) took 20th place in this event.
-- Praz Banzi, from the UK, and winner of a WSOP gold bracelet in 2006, finished 46th.
-- Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Freddy Deeb finished in 80th place.
-- Former WSOP gold bracelet winner "Syracuse Chirs" Tsiprailidis cashed in 163rd place.
-- Former WSOP gold bracelet winner Michael "Little Man" Sica finished in 178th place.
-- Nikolay Evdakov, from Moscow, Russia is the only player at this year's WSOP who has cashed seven times just one off the all-time record mark. Evdakov is positioned to break the record set for "Most WSOP Cashes in a Single Year," shared by five players -- Michael Binger (2007), Chad Brown (2007), Phil Hellmuth (2006), Richard Tatalovich (2006), and Humberto Brenes (2006), with eight.
-- The Milwaukee's Best Light "Player of the Year" standings currently shows Jacobo Fernandez as the leader. Here are the top five ranked players:
1.Jacobo Fernandez 222 points
t-2. Barry Greenstein 185 points
t-2. Erick Lindgren 185 points
4. Daniel Negreanu 170 points
5. Vanessa Selbst 163 points
-- For a complete "Player of the Year" points list, see: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/2008.asp?sort=poypts
-- Through Event #36, only one player has made three final table appearances Jacobo Fernandez. Fifteen players have made two WSOP final table appearances, to date. This list includes Chris Bjorin, Andy Bloch, David Benyamine, Alex Bolotin, Scott Clements, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Fu Wong, Erick Lindgren, Minh Ly, Daniel Negreanu, David Singer, J.C. Tran, Theo Tran, and Tim West.
-- Through the conclusion of Event #36 at this year's World Series of Poker, the gold bracelet count by nations and states reads as follows:
10 Nevada
6 California
4 New York
2 Canada
2 Germany
2 Italy
2 Missouri
1 Denmark
1 Holland
1 Maryland
1 Michigan
1 Pennsylvania
1 Russia
1 South Carolina
1 Wisconsin
-- The Event #36 winner Jesper Hougaard is to be classified as a professional, since he has been playing for a living for two years and has a number of cashes in major poker tournaments. Accordingly, the "Pro-Am" gold bracelet scoreboard currently reads:
Professionals - 29 wins
Amateurs - 5 wins
Semi-Pros - 2 wins
-- Owen Crowe was the chip leader at the End of Day One for this event. He cashed and even went so far as the final table (eighth place). Hence, through Event #36, the End of Day One chip leaders have gone on to cash 76 percent of the time -- 26 of 34 occasions (the chip leader was not applicable on two events). Ten of these same 34 chip leaders (29 percent) made it to the final table. Only one chip leader went on to win the event. That lone wire-to-wire winner was Vanessa Selbst in Event #19.
-- Jesper Hougaard was the chip leader at the start of this final table. He ended up as the winner. Through Event #36, fifteen of 34 chip leaders at the start of the final table (44 percent) went on to win the event. Twenty-one of 34 chip leaders (62 percent) went on to finish in the top three spots. Two events did not have a chip leader (Heads-Up and Shootout tournaments).
-- Another bit of trivia is the player with the most cashes, but no wins in WSOP history. Tony Cousineau now has 35 in-the-money finishes in his WSOP career, which began in 1999. However, he has yet to win a gold bracelet. His highest finish was 4th place back in 2001.
-- It should be noted that the Milwaukee's Best Light "Player of the Year" rankings will now include points accrued from the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. championship.
