DANNY LE WINS FIRST WSOP GOLD BRACELET, TAKES DOWN LIMIT HOLD

DANNY LE WINS LIMIT HOLD’EM GOLD BRACELET

California poker player collects $188,815 top prize in Event #22

Third time to cash at WSOP a charm for Vietnamese-born Le

Scott Farnsworth mistakenly enters wrong tournament, finishes as runner up

Another WSOP event sees increased attendance over 2015

2015 WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen cashes for first time this year

 
MEET THE LATEST WSOP GOLD BRACELET CHAMPION

Name:  Danny Le
Birthplace:  Saigon, Vietnam
Age:  49
Current Residence:   Westminster, CA (USA)
Marital Status:  Married
Children:  3
Profession:  Part-time Poker Player / Businessman
Number of WSOP Cashes:  3
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances:  2
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories (with this tournament):  1
Best Previous WSOP Finish:  7th (2013)
Total WSOP Earnings:  $219,839
Personal Facts:  Immigrated to the United States in 1985 with his brother

 

Winner Quote:

“I finally got a gold bracelet.  I can’t believe it.  I finally won a gold bracelet!”


Danny Le is the newest member of poker’s gold bracelet club.

The 49-year-old Vietnamese-born poker player and businessman from Westminster, CA won the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em tournament, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded at the Rio in Las Vegas.  Le collected $188,815 in prize money, making this the biggest win of his career.

In fact, this was only the third cash of Le’s career at the WSOP.  However, he did previously make a final table appearance in an event in 2013, finishing in seventh place.

Le won his victory in convincing fashion.  He led Day Three most of the way.  Still, he had to overcome a final table which included one gold bracelet winner, Tyler Bonkowski.  That task was made much easier by Le’s commanding advantage, which is maintained pretty much from start to finish.

Le began play with a huge chip lead, more than 2 to 1 over his closest rival, who just so happened to be Bonkowski, who then ended up finishing in third place.

The tournament’s final dramatic moment came when Le scooped the final pot of the night by hitting a third deuce on the river (good for three 2’s) against Scott Farnsworth, from Snoqualmie, WA, who ended up with top pair (jacks).  Farnsworth finished as the runner up.

Incredibly, Farnsworth revealed that he thought he was entering a No-Limit tournament and made a mistake by registering for this event.  He confided later that he had to read the rules as to how Limit Hold’em was played during Day One.  He must have been a faster learning, since he managed to outlast 663 competitors, many with lots of Limit Hold’em experience.

"I think I'm going to take a vacation to Cancun," Le replied when asked what his next move will be.

This tourney attracted 665 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $897,750.

Attendance was up slightly over last year when this same event drew 660 participants.

Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table


Second Place:  Scott Farnsworth, from Snoqualmie, WA came in second, in what was his first-ever Limit Hold’em experience.  It was also his first cash.  Remarkably, he collected $116,663 as a consolation prize.

Third Place:  Tyler Bonkowski, from Regina, SK (Canada) was seeking his second WSOP victory after winning a gold bracelet in 2011.  He came as close as ever by finishing third, which paid $80,706.  This gives Bonkowski 12 WSOP cashes and close to $500,000 in career earnings at the series.

Fourth Place:  Dave Tobin, from Roswell, NM came in third.  This marked his third time to cash at the series.  He came in third in an event last year.  Tobin was once a state champion in archery, and so he goes by the nickname, “Arrow.”  Although Tobin didn’t quite hit the bullseye in this event, he still was on target for a $56,740 payout.

Fifth Place:  Dale Eberle, from Tega Kay, SC made his third WSOP final table with this deep run, which paid $40,550.  Eberle previously finished second twice, in the 2008 Seniors Championship and a Limit Hold’em Shootout event in 2011.

Sixth Place:  Dustin Bush, from Valencia, CA cashed for this third time at this year’s series.  He collected $29,466.

Seventh Place:  Andrew Beversdorf, from Madison, WI finished in-the-money at the WSOP for the first time and earned $21,778 for seventh place.

Eighth Place:  Daniel Huseman, from Alameda, CA cashed for the first time in five years at the WSOP with this first-ever final table appearance.  He pocketed $16,376.

Ninth Place:  Esmeralda Villafuerte, from Elmhurst, NY posted her first cash ever at the WSOP and earned $12,532 for ninth place.

This was the 22nd official event on this year’s schedule.  This leaves 47 gold bracelet events still to go.


OTHER NOTABLE IN-THE MONEY FINISHERS: 

Mark Gregorich, a Las Vegas pro, cashed for the 43rd time at the WSOP with his 11th-place finish.

Daniel Idema, a two-time gold bracelet winner (2011, 2013, 2015), finished 12th.

Ryan Laplante, who won his first gold bracelet this year, finished 21st.

Michael Mizrachi, a three-time gold bracelet winner (2010, 2011, 2012), finished 24th.

Ronnie Bardah, a gold bracelet winner (2011), finished 35th.

Todd Witteles, a gold bracelet winner (2005), finished 40th.

Joe McKeehen, a gold bracelet winner (2015 and the reigning world poker champion, finished 44th.  This was his first cash since winning last year’s WSOP Main Event.

Jay Heimowitz, a six-time gold bracelet winner (1975, 1991, 1986, 1994, 2000, 2001) finished in-the-money.

Josh Beckley, who finished second in last year’s WSOP Main Event, cashed.

Ylon Schwartz, a gold bracelet winner (2011) cashed.


FUN FACTS:

Until 2003, Limit Hold’em tournaments held at the WSOP usually attracted the biggest field sizes.  That changed when Chris Moneymaker won the world championship, resulting in a seismic shift and reversal in the popularity of the two games.

 

EVENT DIRECT LINKS:

For this event’s official final results (listing all players who finished in-the-money), please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/results.asp?grid=1232&tid=14922

For Danny Le’s official player profile page, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=155390

For the live reporting logs for this event, please visit:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates.asp?grid=1232&tid=14922

To access licensed images from this all other 2016 WSOP gold bracelet events, please visit:
www.pokerphotoarchive.com