2009 World Series of Poker Europe
Encyclopedia
World Series of Poker Europe
The World Series of Poker Europe is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series of Poker...
(WSOPE) is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
-branded poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
tournaments
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
outside the United States. Since 1970, participants have had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Although the WSOP held circuit events in other locations, the main tournaments, which awarded bracelets to the winners, were exclusively held in Las Vegas. The inaugural WSOPE, held in 2007, marked the first time that a WSOP bracelet
World Series of Poker bracelet
The World Series of Poker bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as "bracelets". ...
was awarded outside Las Vegas.
In 2004, Harrah's Casino
Harrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
s purchased the rights to the WSOP label. Harrah's later purchased London Clubs International
London Clubs International
London Clubs International is a British gambling company that was bought by Harrah's Entertainment in 2006. At the time of purchase, LCI operated casinos in London, Southend and Brighton as well as in Egypt and South Africa...
(LCI). LCI operates three casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s in the London area: Fifty, Leicester Square, and The Sportsman. After the purchase of these casinos, Harrah's decided to expand its WSOP label into Europe. European casinos typically have a different environment than those in the U.S. Jeffrey Pollack
Jeffrey Pollack
Pollack has been named to Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal of "40 Under 40" and twice to The Sporting News 100. He has also won two Emmy Awards. Pollack is married, and resides in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas...
, the WSOP Commissioner, indicated that the WSOPE would have a "style and flair that is both unique and appropriate to the setting. So don't be surprised if we require participants to wear blazers at the tables. If James Bond
James Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
were hosting a poker tournament it may look like the World Series of Poker Europe."
In marketing the WSOPE, Harrah's Casino did not rely upon the reputation of Harrah's or the WSOP alone. On July 5, 2007, Harrah's announced its alliance with England-based Betfair
Betfair
Betfair is the world's largest Internet betting exchange. The company is based in Hammersmith in West London, England. Since Betfair was launched in June 2000 it has become the largest online betting company in the UK and the largest betting exchange in the world. Betfair claim to have over 3...
, one of the largest online gaming companies in the world. The agreement, the largest-ever union of an online and offline gaming company, is intended to build on Betfair's European reputation in advertising the WSOPE. Due to changes in U.S. laws, effective in 2007, the WSOP could no longer accept money from online gambling companies. This prevented the WSOP from acknowledging WSOP qualifiers from online events. The WSOPE is not bound by this limitation. The United Kingdom Gambling Act of 2005 allows for legal regulated online poker sites. Furthermore, as the laws that govern the age of gambling differ in England than the U.S., the WSOPE admits younger players. In 2007, one of these younger players, 18-year-old Annette "Annette 15" Obrestad
Annette Obrestad
Annette Obrestad is a Norwegian poker player. Obrestad is the youngest person to ever win a World Series of Poker Europe bracelet...
became the youngest player to win a WSOP bracelet event.
The third WSOPE took place between September 17 and October 1, 2009. It consisted of four events held at the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square, London. The first event saw J.P. Kelly
J.P. Kelly
John-Paul Kelly known as J.P. Kelly is a professional poker player from Aylesbury, England. Kelly is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, having won the 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event in Las Vegas and then later that same year won another bracelet at the 2009...
emerge as the winner of a less-than-an-hour long heads up battle, overcoming a 3-to-1 chip deficit against Fabien Dunlop and earning his second World Series of Poker bracelet of the year. Kelly won most of his final chip stack in a flush-over-flush situation, leaving Dunlop with only 1% of chips in play. In the second event, Erik Cajelais easily defeated runner-up Mats Gavatin after entering the heads up phase with an almost 6-to-1 chip lead. The third event saw Finnish Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
pro Jani Vilmunen defeat Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer
Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
, the owner of Full Tilt brand, over the course of a 90-minute long match with nearly even stacks. The Main Event featured a heated battle between Barry Shulman
Barry Shulman
Barry Shulman is an American poker player who has enjoyed success in competitive poker tournaments over the past 15 years, and is the CEO of CardPlayer Magazine.-Life and career:...
and Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
that lasted over five hours before Shulman eventually eliminated Negreanu by hitting a three-of-a-kind on the flop. However, even in second place, Negreanu still topped the All Time Money List, the list of WSOP players ranked by total winnings.
Key
| * | Elected to the Poker Hall of Fame Poker Hall of Fame The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker playing in the United States. Founded and located in Las Vegas, Nevada, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest poker players and to serve... |
| (#/#) | This denotes a bracelet winner. The first number is the number of bracelets won in 2009. The second number is the total number of bracelets won. Both numbers represent totals as of that point during the tournament. |
| Place | What place each player finished |
| Name | The player who made it to the final table |
| Prize (£) | The amount of money, in British Pounds (£), awarded for each finish at the event's final table |
Event 1: £1,000 No Limit Hold'em
- 4-Day Event: September 17, 2009 to September 21, 2009
- Number of buy-ins: 608
- Total Prize Pool: £608,000
- Number of Payouts: 63
- Winning Hand:
- Reference:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | J.P. Kelly J.P. Kelly John-Paul Kelly known as J.P. Kelly is a professional poker player from Aylesbury, England. Kelly is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, having won the 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event in Las Vegas and then later that same year won another bracelet at the 2009... (2/2) |
£136,803 |
| 2nd | Fabien Dunlop | £84,512 |
| 3rd | Adnan Alshamah | £55,468 |
| 4th | Richard Allen | £38,499 |
| 5th | Anthony Roux | £28,181 |
| 6th | Neil Suarez | £21,700 |
| 7th | William Martin | £17,535 |
| 8th | Thor Drexel | £14,835 |
| 9th | James Tomlin | £13,115 |
Event 2: £2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha
- 3-Day Event: September 21, 2009 to September 23, 2009
- Number of buy-ins: 158
- Total Prize Pool: £395,000
- Number of Payouts: 18
- Winning Hand:
- Reference:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Erik Cajelais (1/1) | £104,677 |
| 2nd | Mats Gavatin | £64,705 |
| 3rd | Robin Keston | £47,858 |
| 4th | Men Nguyen Men Nguyen Men "The Master" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player.-Early years:In 1967, he dropped out of school at age 13 and became a bus driver to help support his family. In early 1978, a staunch anti-Communist, he escaped from the Communist regime of Vietnam by boat and sailed with... (0/6) |
£35,412 |
| 5th | Richard Gryko | £26,619 |
| 6th | Chris Bjorin Chris Bjorin Christer "Chris" Björin is a Swedish professional poker player, now based in London, England. Throughout his career, Björin has kept a relatively low profile and avoided many televised poker tournaments and interviews.-Poker:... (0/2) |
£20,106 |
| 7th | Hoyt Corkins Hoyt Corkins Hoyt Bricken Corkins is an American professional poker player.He also has three children in Chelsei Corkins, Brittney Corkins, and Ashley Roundtre... (0/2) |
£15,302 |
| 8th | Ian Frazer Ian Frazer (poker player) Ian "The Raiser" Frazer is an English professional poker player and commentator, chiefly noted for his strong record in shootout poker tournaments... |
£11,732 |
| 9th | Howard Lederer Howard Lederer Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S... (0/2) |
£9,117 |
Event 3: £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
- 3-Day Event: September 23, 2009 to September 25, 2009
- Number of buy-ins: 154
- Total Prize Pool: £770,000
- Number of Payouts: 18
- Winning Hand:
- Reference:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jani Vilmunen (1/1) | £204,048 |
| 2nd | Howard Lederer Howard Lederer Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S... (0/2) |
£126,134 |
| 3rd | Aarno Kiveliö | £93,293 |
| 4th | Ross Boatman Ross Boatman Ross Boatman is an English RADA-trained actor, professional poker player and a member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob.-Acting:... |
£69,030 |
| 5th | Ville Haavisto | £51,890 |
| 6th | Daniel Hindin | £39,913 |
| 7th | Roberto Romanello Roberto Romanello Roberto Romanello is a Welsh professional poker player from Swansea, Wales. Since turning professional in 2005, Romanello has made more than $520,000 live tournament earnings. Online, he is a Full Tilt professional.... |
£29,830 |
| 8th | Jeff Kimber | £22,869 |
| 9th | Robert Williamson III Robert Williamson III Robert Williamson III is an American poker player from Dallas, Texas.Williamson grew up with three sisters and his best friend, Chris Caywood in Granbury, Texas and received B.B.A. degrees in finance and real estate from Angelo State University in San Angelo.He began playing aged 10 or 11, after... (0/1) |
£17,772 |
Event 4: £10,000 No Limit Hold'em
- 6-Day Event: September 26, 2009 to October 1, 2009
- Number of buy-ins: 334
- Total Prize Pool: £3,340,000
- Number of Payouts: 36
- Winning Hand:
- Reference:
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Barry Shulman Barry Shulman Barry Shulman is an American poker player who has enjoyed success in competitive poker tournaments over the past 15 years, and is the CEO of CardPlayer Magazine.-Life and career:... (1/2) |
£801,603 |
| 2nd | Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big... (0/4) |
£495,589 |
| 3rd | Praz Bansi Praz Bansi Pramesh 'Praz' Bansi is a 32 year-old professional poker player from London, England, who has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker and is part of the London based poker group The Hitsquad.... (0/1) |
£360,887 |
| 4th | Jason Mercier Jason Mercier Jason Mercier is an American professional poker player from Hollywood, Florida. He has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and one European Poker Tour title... (1/1) |
£267,267 |
| 5th | Markus Ristola | £200,367 |
| 6th | Chris Björin Chris Bjorin Christer "Chris" Björin is a Swedish professional poker player, now based in London, England. Throughout his career, Björin has kept a relatively low profile and avoided many televised poker tournaments and interviews.-Poker:... (0/2) |
£150,267 |
| 7th | Antoine Saout | £114,228 |
| 8th | Matt Hawrilenko Matt Hawrilenko Matthew "Matt" Hawrilenko is a professional poker player from Boston, Massachusetts who won the 2009 World Series of Poker $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Short-Handed event earning $1,003,218 and is a Full Tilt Poker Pro.Hawrilenko is a 2004 graduate of Princeton University that worked for Susquehanna... (1/1) |
£87,074 |
| 9th | James Akenhead James Akenhead James Akenhead is a professional English poker player, sponsored by Full Tilt Poker. and part of the London based poker group The Hitsquad... |
£66,533 |