WSOPC Event #11: $1,700 MAIN EVENT

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’ll take a vacation to Cancun,” Le said afterward, when asked what he plans to do next.

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.