2009 World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Official Report
Event #32
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $2,000
Number of Entries: 1,534
Total Net Prize Pool: $2,791,880
Number of Places Paid: 171
First Place Prize: $530,548
June 15-17, 2009
Tournament Highlights:
Event Headlines –
1. Angel Guillen Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet
2. Guillen Becomes Second Mexican National in History to Win Poker’s Most Coveted Prize
3. What Next? Might Angel Guillen be the Chris Moneymaker of Mexico?
4. Angel Guillen-Mika Paasonen Heads-Up Showdown Goes Nearly Six Hours
3. 2009 WSOP Crosses $60 Million Mark in Prize Money – as 21 of 32 Events So Far Exceed $1 Million in Prize Money
The Winner --
• The 2009 World Series of Poker $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Angel Guillen, from Mexico City, Mexico.
• Guillen is a 26-year-old professional poker player. He plays mostly online.
• Guillen attended college in Mexico City, and is a few credits short of a degree in economics.
• Guillen has worked in business, concentrating in investments.
• Guillen is fluent in both Spanish and English.
• In addition to playing poker, Guillen also enjoys chess reading, doing math puzzles, and travel.
• Guillen is a strong proponent of legalizing poker in his native country. Guillen says he hopes his victory at the World Series of Poker will inspire more Mexican citizens to take up the game and gradually overturn current laws which forbid casinos and poker tournaments.
• Guillen became on the second Mexican national to win a WSOP gold bracelet. The first Mexican WSOP title winner was Victor Perches, who won the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em Shootout in 2006.
• Guillen started playing live tournament poker in January 2009.
• Despite just starting out in tournament poker about six months ago, Guillen came into this year’s WSOP with an impressive track record. He finished third in the Latin American Tour’s Punta del Este (Uruguay) championship earlier this year. He has numerous other cashes as well, including tournaments in the Bahamas and Monte Carlo.
• Guillen finished second in his only other previous cash at the WSOP. That came nine days ago in the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #13). He pocketed $312,800 for that runner-up performance.
• Guillen collected $530,548 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.
• According to the official records, Guillen now has 1 win, 2 final table appearances, and 2 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.
• Guillen currently has $843,348 in WSOP winnings.
• Guillen’s plan was (and remains) to play in many WSOP events. He arrived in Las Vegas with a tournament bankroll of $40,000, which has now grown to over 20 times that amount.
• Guillen’s enthusiastic victory brought back memories of last year’s win by another Latino player -- Alexandre Gomes, from Brazil. Both players arguably were cheered to victory by the largest and most joyous crowds of any winner during the past two years.
Winner Quotes (Angel Guillen) –
• On the local poker scene in Mexico: “The problem in Mexico is that poker is not legal. So, the growth of poker in our country has been very slow. We are trying to develop that now. We want to make a boom in Mexico. We mostly play online and in underground games – and sometimes in home games. There are no casinos. That’s basically how it works. Hopefully, Mexico will soon export more poker players.”
• On what makes Mexicans and other Latinos so prideful to win a WSOP gold bracelet: “Latin Americans, in general, are very passionate people. We love to win. We have a different type of life. We get an energy boost when we win. It’s like all your hopes and dreams come together. We are very warm people.”
• On how his supporters helped him to win: “I feel very fortunate to have the support of my family, my friends and all the people that supported me.”
• On his future plans: I plan to keep on playing and learning more as I play. I want to become a well-known player and win many more events.”
• On what his win means for Mexico: “Like Chris Moneymaker did for you (in the U.S.), I want to do the same thing in my country. Hopefully, I can.”
The Final Table --
• The final table contained no former WSOP gold bracelet winners. This was the 12th of 32 finales held so far this year with no former winners -- which guaranteed a first-time champion.
• The final table was an international mix which included players from six different nations – including Canada, Finland, France, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United States.
• The runner up was Mika Paasonen, from Hameenlinna, Finland. He said he got into poker after seeing the 1998 film “Rounders.” Paasonen’s poker nickname is “Sharkie.” Paasonen put up a noble fight, making Guillen battle for every chip. Their heads-up match lasted about six hours.
• The third-place finisher was Jason Boyes, from Calgary, AB (Canada). He had previously cashed in a few events at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. This was his highest WSOP finish ever.
• The fourth-place finisher was Steve Kohner, from Phoenix, AZ. He is a 57-year-old real estate developer. This was Kohner’s first WSOP in-the-money finish.
• The fifth-place finisher was Eric Ladny, from Mercerville, NJ. He is a 21-year-old student at Penn State University. He now has three WSOP cashes, all this year.
• The sixth-place finisher was Daniel Makowsky, from Zurich, Switzerland. He is a poker tournament specialist who spends most of his time playing in Europe. Last year, Makowsky was the runner up in a WSOP event.
• The seventh-place finisher was Chris MacNeil, from Peabody, MA. This was his third WSOP in-the-money finish. MacNeil mentioned that he began playing in this tournament on the day of his son Christopher’s birthday, and wanted to give his ten-year-old son a special birthday present. A memorable final table appearance at the WSOP and $71,192 in prize money should buy a nice birthday gift.
• The eighth-place finisher was Antoine Amourette, from Rennes, France. He is a poker pro. This was his second time to cash at the WSOP.
• The ninth-place finisher was Clark Hamagami, from Vancouver, BC (Canada). He is a 23-year-old student.
In-the-Money Finishers --
• Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Scott Clements, Chau Giang, Justin Scott, and Jans Orensen.
• Tony Cousineau, from Daytona Beach, FL cashed for the fifth time at this year’s WSOP. He currently holds the peculiar record as the player with the most cashes in WSOP history without a gold bracelet victory. His in-the-money finishes currently number 39.
• The defending champion from 2009 was Blair Hinkle, from Weatherby Lake, MO. He entered this tournament but did not cash.
Odds and Ends --
• The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship attracted 1,534 entries, which is a 14 percent increase over the same event last year, which totaled 1,344 players.
• This is the 21st of 32 tournaments completed thus far at this year’s WSOP, with a greater than $1 million prize pool.
• The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory. The ceremony takes place on at center stage of the main tournament room and begins during the break of the noon tournament. The ceremony usually starts around 2:20 pm. The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played. The entire presentation is open to public and media. Video and photography is permitted by both media and the public.
• Guillen will be honored with the playing of the Mexican national anthem – which is Himno Nacional Mexicano.
The Event --
• The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event attracted 1,534 entries. The total prize pool amounted to $2,791,880. The top 171 finishers collected prize money.
• The tournament was played over three consecutive days.
• The End of Day One chip leader was Jing Shan, from Arcadia, CA. He ended up finishing in 29th place.
• Eric Ladny was the chip leader coming into the final table. He ended up finishing in fifth place.
• Guillen came into the final table ranked seventh out of nine players. In fact, two of the finalists had over 2,000,000 in chips while Guillen began with 604,000. He seized the chip lead about mid-way through the finale, traded the lead back and forth several times during the match.
• The heads-up match between Angel Guillen and Mika Paasonen lasted about six hours. Paasonen was all-in a few times during the fierce battle, but managed to survive each time his tournament life was at stake. When Guillen had about a 2 to 1 chip lead, the final hand of the tournament took place just after midnight when Guillen was dealt 3-3 and flopped a set when the board showed K-4-3. Paasonen moved all-in after the flop and tabled K-10, which was good for top pair. The set of threes held up, and Guillen sealed his victory.
• The heads-up match provided a rare opportunity for those nearby to learn how to count in two different languages. Guillen was cheered on by a dozen or so Mexican fellow countrymen. Meanwhile, Passonen was supported by a more reserved group of Finns. During all-in situations and other critical moments, the players’ cards were revealed and fans from the two nations shouted the desired card in the player’s native language. The Mexicans shouted the card they wanted, while the Finns countered with their request. It made for a fun and festive finale.
• The tournament officially began on Monday, June 15th, at 12 noon. The tournament officially ended on Thursday, June 18th, at 11:05 am.
WSOP Statistics –
• Through the conclusion of Event #32, the 2009 WSOP has attracted 31,957 entries. $62,378,613 in total prize money has been awarded to winners.
• Through Event #32 – the nationalities of winners reads as follows:
United States – 23
United Kingdom – 2
Russian Federation – 1
Finland – 1
Australia – 1
Sweden – 1
Canada – 1
Mexico – 1
Note: Last year 19 of the 59 gold bracelet events were won by non-Americans (32 percent). In, 2007, the number was 15 of 55 (29 percent). In 2006, the number was 5 of 45 (11 percent).
• Event #32 winner Angel Guillen is to be classified as a professional player. He plays mostly online and in some underground games. Accordingly, the “Pro-Am” gold bracelet scoreboard (excluding Event #1 – Casino Employees) currently reads:
Professionals -- 21 wins
(Thang Luu, Steven Sung, Jason Mercier, Phil Ivey-1, Rami Boukai, Anthony Harb, Ville Wahlbeck, Keven Stammen, Brock Parker-1, Jeffrey Lisandro, Daniel Alaei, Brock Parker-2, John-Paul Kelly, Jeff Carris, Nick Schulman, Phil Ivey-2, Pete Vilandos, Tomas Alenius, Roland de Wolfe, J.C. Tran, James Van Alstyne, Angel Guillen)
Amateurs -- 5 wins
(Freddie Ellis, Ken Aldridge, Travis Johnson, Zac Fellows, Michael Eise)
Semi-Pros -- 4 wins
(Vitaly Lunkin, Brian Lemke, Lisa Hamilton, Leo Wolpert)
• Nine of the 32 winners this year (28 percent) were previous gold bracelet winners. There have been two double winners in 2009 -- Brock Parker and Phil Ivey.
• Through the conclusion of Event 32, the WSOP “Player of the Year” standings reads as follows (with point totals):
255 – Ville Wahlbeck
225 – Phil Ivey
220 – Brock Parker
220 – James Van Alstyne
175 – Pete “the Greek” Vilandos
160 – Steve Sung
155 – Daniel Negreanu
150 – Jeffrey Lisandro
150 – Rami Boukai
147 – Jason Mercier
Errors and Omissions (Previous Reports) --
• In yesterday’s report for Event #31, it was mistakenly reported that Shannon’s Shorr’s best WSOP finish was highest WSOP finish was fifth place. This is incorrect. Shorr finished second in an event in 2008.
Note: All results are now official and may be reprinted by media.
__________________________________
For official news and the latest updates from the 2009 World Series of Poker, visit:
www.worldseriesofpoker.com
For statistics and historical information from the 2009 World Series of Poker, contact Nolan Dalla at:
nolandalla@aol.com or
nolandalla@gmail.com
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The 2009 World Series of Poker’s title sponsor is Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. For more information, visit:
www.jacklinks.com
1 Guillen, Angel $530,548 Mexico City Mexico
2 Paasonen, Mika $326,203 Hameenlinna Finland
3 Boyes, Jason $214,974 Calgary AB, Canada
4 Kohner, Steve $150,761 Mesa AZ
5 Ladny, Eric $108,883 Trenton NJ
6 Makowsky, Daniel $86,548 Zurich Switzerland
7 MacNeil, Christopher $71,192 Peabody MA
8 Amourette, Antoine $61,421 Rrennes France
9 Hamagami, Clark $55,279 Vancouver BC, Canada
10 Vu, David $38,807 Raleigh NC
11 Feldman, Peter $38,807 Harper Woods MI
12 Bagamery, Benjamin $38,807 Seattle WA
13 Lee, Neng $27,164 Eureka CA
14 Monahan, Rory $27,164 Carbondale IL
15 Pannell, James $27,164 Alva NY
16 Roberts, Jaime $19,012 London United Kingdom
17 Meidinger, Alexander $19,012 Weiden Germany
18 Waxman, Matthew $19,012 Parkland FL
19 Johan, Dunder $13,819 Stockholm Sweden
20 Lennaard, Ken $13,819 Stockholm Sweden
21 Brites, Caio $13,819
22 Binger, Michael $13,819 Las Vegas NV
23 Murray, Derek $13,819 Galway United Kingdom
24 Yeh, Philip $13,819 Stenungsund Sweden
25 Smith, Kenneth $13,819 Las Vegas NV
26 Wheeler, Jason $13,819 Chula Vista CA
27 Newburger, Jason $13,819 Vernon Hills IL
28 Cao, Rui $11,893 Paris France
29 Jing, Shan $11,893 Arcadia CA
30 Gross, Jeffrey $11,893 Ann Arbor MI
31 Yingling, David $11,893 Cape Girardeau MO
32 Sorensen, Jan $11,893 Odense Denmark
33 Andrejkovics, Milan $11,893 Budapest Hungary
34 Coulthard, Aaron $11,893 Waterloo ON, Canada
35 Cangiani, Gene $11,893 Parsippany NJ
36 Novosel, David $11,893 Cincinnati OH
37 Chang, Edwin $9,715 Sahuarita AZ
38 Ely, Theodore $9,715 Bridgewater NJ
39 Granlund, Peter $9,715 Uppsala Sweden
40 McManus, James $9,715 Kenilworth IL
41 Fox, David $9,715 Coram NY
42 Dauteuil, Philippe $9,715 Quebec CA
43 Strothmann, Malte $9,715 Frankfurt Germany
44 Hartery, John $9,715 Mississauga ON, Canada
45 Hall, John $9,715 Las Vegas NV
46 Powell, Jack $8,208 London United Kingdom
47 Allis, Michael $8,208 Post Falls ID
48 Peters, David $8,208 Toledo OH
49 Nack, Reinhard $8,208 Stapelfeld Germany
50 Benelli, Andrea $8,208 Prato Italy
51 Zima, Grigory $8,208 Moscow Russia
52 Eklund, John $8,208 Billings MT
53 Lee, Anthony $8,208 Honolulu HI
54 Anton, Daniel $8,208 Chula Vista CA
55 Cousineau, Anthony $7,119 Daytona Beach FL
56 Nardi, Anthony $7,119 Madison WI
57 Freitez, Ivan $7,119 Caracas Venezuela
58 Broderick, Ryan $7,119 Tinton Falls NJ
59 Giang, Chau $7,119 Las Vegas NV
60 Tiffenberg, David $7,119 Tampa FL
61 King, Zachary $7,119 Marietta GA
62 Charette, Simon $7,119 Pickering ON, Canada
63 Palovic, Dag $7,119 Bratislava Slovakia
64 Brendo, Oddvar $6,309 Stavanger Norway
65 Akkari, Andre $6,309 Sao Paulo Brazil
66 Kaplan, Thomas $6,309 New Rochelle NY
67 Dong, Zelong $6,309 Vestavia Hills Al
68 Kyablue, Xavier $6,309 Venice CA
69 Kim, Kelly $6,309 Las Vegas NV
70 Vanchiro, Jeffrey $6,309 Brooklyn NY
71 Storm, Jacobus $6,309 Hartbeesport South Africa
72 Hurst, RYAN $6,309 Morewood ON, Canada
73 Paris, Bryan $5,667 Huntington Beach CA
74 Mao, Nicholas $5,667 Long Beach CA
75 Harder, Christian $5,667 Annapolis MD
76 Dotto, Daniele $5,667 Spinea Italy
77 Derrod, Roscoe $5,667 Chula Vista CA
78 Switzer, Brett $5,667 Athens GA
79 Runhart, Thomas $5,667 Alphen A/D Ryn
80 Schneider, Michael $5,667 Covington GA
81 Winzeler, Hans $5,667 Miami FL
82 Yalouskikh, Aliaksandr $5,081 Las Vegas NV
83 Staengle, Alexander $5,081 Heilbronn Germany
84 Vartzar, Romik $5,081 Glendale CA
85 Lesle, Michael $5,081 Wildomar CA
86 Louer, Todd $5,081 Fort Lauderdale FL
87 Ramage, Grayson $5,081 Red Hook NY
88 Borovec, Michael $5,081 Chehalis WA
89 Mudd, Gregory $5,081 Orange CA
90 Tran, Theobald $5,081 Las Vegas NV
91 Turner, Jonathan $4,606 Henderson NV
92 Vetter, John $4,606 Adrian MI
93 Neuville, Pierre $4,606 Knokkeheist Belgium
94 Zink, Daniel $4,606 Bockum Germany
95 Milton, Jeffrey $4,606 Chio Hills CA
96 Scott, Justin $4,606 Redford Twp MI
97 Channing, Neil $4,606 Maida Vale United Kingdom
98 Schwartz, Noah $4,606 Bay Harbord Island FL
99 Dolan, Charles $4,606 Fountainvalley CA
100 Pilot, Shawn $4,215 North Hills CA
101 Cutler, Joseph $4,215 Bay Shore NY
102 Jain, Paresh $4,215 Roanoke VA
103 Masek, Alexandru $4,215 San Diego CA
104 Staudenmaier, Luke $4,215 Imperial PA
105 Garcia, Eloy $4,215 San Antonio TX
106 Duong, Thomas $4,215 Fremont CA
107 Karambis, Larry $4,215 Houston TX
108 Von Halle, Jan $4,215 Hamburg Germany
109 Choi, Chunling $4,215 Bolinbrook IL
110 Miller, Stony $4,215 North Richland Hills TX
111 Aglen, Marius $4,215 Mo I Rana Gruben Germany
112 Allen, Kevin $4,215 Romford United Kingdom
113 Steury, Aaron $4,215 Fort Wayne IN
114 Laessig, Matthew $4,215 Santa Fe NM
115 Chattha, Sunny $4,215 Lee United Kingdom
116 Rusnak, Francis $4,215 Chicago IL
117 Ball, Bryan $4,215 Huntington Beach CA
118 Mabuchi, Motoyuki $3,908 Las Vegas NV
119 Mozingo, Christopher $3,908 Alexandria VA
120 Carson, Russell $3,908 Fredericton NB, Canada
121 Gautron, Norman $3,908 Winnepeg MB, Canada
122 Cohen, Jeffrey $3,908 Parkland FL
123 Blumenthal, Nicholas $3,908 Sun Prairie WI
124 Willsch, Matthias $3,908 Preetz Germany
125 LaGarde, Matthew $3,908 Salisbury MD
126 Pittman, James $3,908 Yorba Linda CA
127 Okun, Jared $3,908 Las Vegas NV
128 Egorov, Dmitry $3,908 Moscow Russia
129 Sudworth, James $3,908 Canterbury Kent United Kingdom
130 Atchison, Patrick $3,908 Fort Worth TX
131 Prince, Eric $3,908 Los Angeles CA
132 Kahlmeyer, Tim $3,908 Heide Germany
133 Mills, Clifford $3,908 Texarkana TX
134 Edgar, Thomas $3,908 Orient SD
135 Molinari, Matthew $3,908 New York NY
136 Hensel, Reed $3,908 Lawrence KS
137 Isaia, Alessio $3,908 Roccabruna Italy
138 Arnold, Todd $3,908 Pompano Beach FL
139 Wilson, Alexander $3,908 New Haven CT
140 Buchalter, Yehuda $3,908 New York NY
141 Conaway, John $3,908 Williamsville NY
142 Gray, Jason $3,908 Troutdale OR
143 Tran, Nghi $3,908 Vaughn ON, Canada
144 Jaka, Faraz $3,908 San Jose CA
145 Bolotin, Aleksandr $3,629 Brooklynn NY
146 Daciolas, Kenneth $3,629 Chicago IL
147 Berberian, Henri $3,629 Aixen Provence France
148 Tessmer, James $3,629 The Woodlands TX
149 Stratful, Vincent $3,629 London United Kingdom
150 Cohen, Jay $3,629 Boca Raton FL
151 Sorokin, Maxim $3,629 Nizhny Novgorod Russia
152 Gaybba, Johan $3,629 Cape Town South Africa
153 Tiguy, Igor $3,629 Boston MA
154 Myers, Tracy $3,629 Delhi CA
155 Wiercinski, Robert $3,629 Niwot CO
156 Ballesteros, Matt $3,629 Houston TX
157 Luong, Gioi $3,629 Westminster CA
158 Newman, Thomas $3,629 Yorktown Heights NY
159 Kaiser, Aaron $3,629 Silver Spring MD
160 Nishi, Tsunehisa $3,629 Richmond BC, Canada
161 Fung, Steven $3,629 Walnut CA
162 Levi, David $3,629 Las Vegas NV
163 Horton, Brian $3,629 Richardson TX
164 Clements, Scott $3,629 Mount Vernon WA
165 Xu, Dong $3,629 Rosemead CA
166 Powell, Daniel $3,629 Sinking Spring PA
167 Petrangelo, Nicholas $3,629 Feeding Hills MA
168 Mash, Howard $3,629 Coral Springs FL
169 Neilson, Daniel $3,629 Leumeah Australia
170 Grierson, Rodney $3,629 Toronto ON, Canada
171 $3,629
