TOURNAMENT HEADLINES:
Schock and
Awe
Mitch Schock
Wins Mixed Pot-Limit Championship
Schock
Becomes First WSOP Champion in History from North Dakota
Poker Pro
Rakes-In $310,225 in Prize Money
Rodney Brown Finishes
as Runner Up
Full House at
the 2011 WSOP-- Tournament Attendance Continues Running Ahead of Last Year
38 Gold
Bracelets Won – 20 More Still to Go
OVERVIEW
If Mitch
Schock didn’t exist in real life, he'd have to be created by a fiction writer.
The man with the perfect name
for a dynamic new poker champion just won the most recent World Series of Poker
tournament, held at the Rio in Las Vegas. Schock electrified the record
tournament field of 606 entries and created a buzz by winning his first WSOP
gold bracelet. He also collected the handsome sum of $310,225 in prize
money.
Schock awed the
competition. He outlasted everyone in a three-day poker test that was
just as much a battle of physical and mental endurance as poker skill.
His final heads-up match took three hours, ending in a triumphant victory
against runner up Rodney Brown. Schock finally ended the duel with a
sledgehammer on what turned out to be the final hand of the tournament, winning
on the Pot-Limit Omaha round with double-suited aces, which flopped the nuts.
Schock is a
40-year-old professional poker player from Bismarck, ND. He has been
playing professionally since the mid-1990s. Schock is also a single
father to three children. Perhaps his biggest source of pride from this
victory is being able to lay claim to being the first WSOP winner in history
from the state of North Dakota.
Meanwhile,
Rodney Brown, from Brea, CA had to settle for second place. He is a
37-year-old professional poker player. Brown once worked as an insurance
company executive. But he found he could make more money and manage his
time better by playing poker in and around the local Los Angeles poker
scene. To Brown's credit, he was but one card away from victory at one
point, but missed and ultimately had to settle for a nice paycheck and some fond
memories.
Schock's
victory came in the $2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Mixed
Championship, which was classified as Event #39 at the 2011 World Series of
Poker. He collected $310,225 in prize money for his victory, which comes
out to over six-figures per day.
Rami Boukai, who won this same
event two years ago, made it to the final table again. He finished in
ninth place. Other former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this
tournament included -- Joe Hachem (12th), Scott Clements (14th), David Williams
(24th), Tom “Hot Pants” Schneider (26th) and Humberto Brenes (39th).
With this cash, Humberto Brenes
is now alone in fourth place in the all-time WSOP cashes list.
For a comprehensive recap of Event #39,
please visit the WSOP.com tournament portal page HERE.
EVENT #39 CHAMPION – MITCH SCHOCK
The 2011
World Series of Poker $2,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha champion
is Mitch Schock, from Bismarck, ND.
Schock was
born in Billings, MT.
Schock is a
40-year-old professional poker player.
He began playing poker full time in 1996.
Schock is a
single father of three children. His
children are ages 9 up to 15.
Prior to
playing poker professionally, Schock held a number of different jobs, primarily
in the construction business.
Schock has
been very active organizing poker games and activities, particularly in North Dakota. He has helped to create various poker charity
tournaments that were successful. He
often emcees the events and says they are designed to be fun and raise money
for good causes.
Schock also
invested in a bar poker league as well as the heads-up poker machines, which
are still found in various places around the country.
Schock
estimates that he has read more than 100 poker books.
This marks
the sixth consecutive year Schock has attended the WSOP.
For his
victory, Schock collected $310,225 for first place.
According to
official records, Schock now has 1 win, 5 final table appearances, and 20
in-the-money finishes at the WSOP.
Schock currently has
$903,699 in career WSOP winnings.
Schock is to be
classified as a professional poker player (in WSOP records and stats), since he
has been a full-time player for about 15 years.
Schock now
has five cashes at the 2011 WSOP, which includes three final table
appearances. He is now within the top
five of the WSOP “Player of the Year” standings.
Schock is the
first resident of North Dakota ever to win a WSOP gold bracelet.
WINNER INTERVIEW
On how it feels to finally win a WSOP
gold bracelet:
“This is
great. There are probably like 500
people following me online back in North Dakota. I know a lot of different people in poker
from many of the things I do. And so, I
think I am the first player from North Dakota to win. There was a kid who is very good who came in
second a few years ago, but I think I am the first. So, I am going to go back home with the gold
bracelet and everyone is going to be patting me on the back -- and buy me free
drinks.”
On his self-evaluation as a poker
player:
“I may not
look the part. But I think I am a step
ahead of where they think I am at – if you know what I mean.”
On what he did differently this year
versus year’s past in preparation for the WSOP:
“I actually
got burned out earlier this year. So, I
took a few months off. I took a step
back and then came back into it. I came
to the World Series of Poker feeling confident that I was going to play as well
as I have ever played before.”
On what this victory means for his
family:
“This money
will come in pretty handy. I am a simple
man. I have a simple house. The kids and I get by like anyone else, and
this is sure going to help out.”
On his calm and carefree disposition
at the poker table:
“I enjoy
life. I like to have a lot of fun at the
poker table.”
THE FINAL TABLE
The official
final table was comprised of the top nine finishers.
The final
table contained one former gold bracelet winner – Rami Boukai, from San Diego,
CA. Boukai won this same event two years
ago. He finished in ninth place.
Three nations
were represented at the final table – Canada (1 player), Germany (1 player) and
the United States (7 players).
The runner up
was Rodney Brown. He is a poker pro from
Brea, CA. Prior to playing full-time,
Brown worked in the insurance industry.
He is primarily a cash-game specialist.
The
third-place finisher was Jan Collado, from Oyten, Germany. He is a 23-year-old student.
The
fourth-place finisher was Carter Gill, from Madras, OR. He claims to be a 24-year-old hand model.
The
fifth-place finisher was Tyler Patterson, from Everett, WA. He is a 28-year-old self-described
professional gambler. Patterson cashed
for the third time at this year’s WSOP, which was his 10th in-the-money
finish at the WSOP.
The
sixth-place finisher was James Vanneman, from Boston, MA. He is a 24-year-old poker pro and a graduate
of Emory University.
The
seventh-place finisher was David Lestock, from Bradenton, FL. He is a 27-year-old semi-pro poker player and
a graduate of the University of Florida.
The
eighth-place finisher was Jonas Mackoff, from Vancouver, BC (Canada). He is a 24-year-old poker pro who now has
four top-25 finishes as the WSOP.
The
ninth-place finisher was Rami Boukai, from San Diego, CA. His Pot-Limit record at the WSOP is quite
impressive, with 1st, 6th, 9th, 14th,
17th, 18th and 36th place finishes in such
events since 2006.
Final table
play began at 8 pm Friday. Play concluded
about 7.5 hours later (playing time wise) at 3:30 am Saturday.
When final
table play began, Tyler Patterson enjoyed a chip lead of more than 2-to-1 over
his closest threat. Seven of the players
were out-chipped by 3-to-1 or more (including Schock, the eventual winner).
The final
table was played on ESPN’s main stage. The
new final table set this year is getting raves in terms of design and
appearance. No stage in the history of
poker has ever looked as spectacular. Viewers
will be able to see ESPN’s coverage again once the WSOP Main Event begins in
July.
Action was
streamed live over WSOP.com. Viewers can
tune in and watch most of this year’s final tables. Although hole cards are not shown, viewers
can follow an overhead camera as well as a pan-shot of the table. The floor announcer provides an official
account of the action.
OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS
The top 63
finishers collected prize money.
The defending
champion was Jose-Luis Velador, from Corona, CA. He did not cash.
Among the former
gold bracelet winners who cashed in this tournament – aside from the players
who made it to the final table – were the following: Joe Hachem (12th), Scott Clements
(14th), David Williams (24th), Tom “Hot Pants” Schneider
(26th) and Humberto Brenes (39th).
2005 WSOP
Main Event Champion Joe Hachem finished in 12th place. This was his highest WSOP finish in five
years.
Humberto
Brenes, from Costa Rica, now has 62 career cashes at the WSOP. This ranks fourth on the all-time list, one
behind Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.
Tournament results
are to be included in all official WSOP records. Results are also to be included in the 2011
WSOP “Player of the Year” race.
“WSOP Player
of the Year” standings can be found at WSOP.com HERE.
ODDS AND ENDS
This tournament
attracted 606 entries. This was up
significantly from last year, when 482 players entered.
This is the 931st
gold bracelet awarded in World Series of Poker history. This figure includes every official WSOP
event ever played, including tournaments during the early years when there were
no actual gold bracelets awarded. It
also includes the 16 gold bracelets awarded to date at WSOP Europe (2007-2010). Moreover for the first time ever, one gold
bracelet was awarded for this year’s winner of the WSOP Circuit National
Championship.
The official
WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s
victory (or some hours later when the tournament ends very late). The ceremony takes place inside The Pavilion,
which is the expansive main tournament room hosting all noon starts this
year. The ceremony begins at the
conclusion of the first 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 the public and media.
Video and photography is permitted by both the public and members of the
media.
Schock’s gold
bracelet ceremony is set to take place on Sunday, June 26th. The national anthem of the USA will be played
in honor of his victory.
MIXED POT-LIMIT EVENT HISTORY
This is only
the fourth time this tournament has been included on the WSOP schedule. While many mixed-game tournaments have taken
place in the 42-year history of the WSOP, these two games were now combined
together exclusively in 2008.
Pot-Limit
poker is more popular in Europe than the United States and elsewhere. Many top European players in specialize in
this form of poker.
The rotation
of games in this tournament lasts eight hands.
In other words – following eight dealt hands of Pot-Limit Hold'em, there
are eight hands of Pot-Limit Omaha, and so forth.
The list of
previous event champions includes:
2010 --
Jose-Luis Velador
2009 – Rami
Boukai
2008 – Max
Pescatori
This was the
biggest leap in attendance of any year since the tournament debuted. Attendance figures were as follows:
2011 – 606
entries
2010 – 482
entries
2009 – 453
entries
2008 – 457
entries
Accordingly,
this was the largest Mixed Pot-Limit event in poker history.
TOURNAMENT PLAY
The tournament
was scheduled to be played over three consecutive days/nights – which ran into
a fourth day due to the late finish.
Day One began
with 606 entries and ended with 131 survivors.
Day Two began
with 131 players and ended with 22 survivors.
Day Three
began with 22 players and played down to the winner.
The tournament
officially began on Wednesday, June 22nd at 5 pm. The tournament officially ended Saturday, June
25th at 3:30 am.
2011 WSOP STATISTICS (excludes Event
#38 which is still active)
Through the conclusion
of Event #39 the 2011 WSOP has attracted 49,877 combined total entries; $79,888,860
in prize money has been awarded to winners.
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the breakdown of nationality of gold bracelet
winners has been:
United States
(25)
Canada (4)
Great Britain
(3)
France (3)
Russia (2)
Ukraine (1)
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has
been:
United States
(20)
Canada (4)
Great Britain
(3)
France (3)
Ukraine (2)
Russia (2)
Israel (1)
Honduras (1)
Indonesia (1)
Germany (1)
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the home-states of (American) winners have been:
California (5)
Nevada (3)
New York (3)
Texas (2)
Illinois (2)
Florida (2)
New Jersey
(1)
Tennessee (1)
Connecticut
(1)
Indiana (1)
Maryland (1)
Virginia (1)
Michigan (1)
North Dakota
(1)
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the breakdown of professional poker players to
semi-pros and amateurs who won gold bracelets has been:
Professional Players
(30): Jake
Cody, Cheech Barbaro, Eugene Katchalov, Allen Bari, Harrison Wilder, Matt
Perrins, Sean Getzwiller, Viacheslav Zhukov, David Diaz, Andrew Badecker, Tyler
Bonkowski, Brian Rast, John Juanda, Aaron Steury, Darren Woods, Jason
Somerville, Bertrand Grospellier, John Monnette, Elie Payon, Mark Radoja, Chris
Viox, Dan Idema, Andy Frankenberger, Chris Lee, Sam Stein, Mark Schmid, Jason
Mercier, Mikhail Lakhitov, Fabrice Soulier and Mitch Schock
Semi-Pros (4): Sean R. Drake, Amir Lehavot, Oleksii
Kovalchuk, Eric Rosawig
Amateurs
(4): Geffrey Klein, Foster Hays, James
Hess, Kirk Caldwell
Since
tracking first started in 2005, this year’s WSOP has the greatest disparity of
professionals winning than any year recorded, so far – with 34 out of 38 events
being won by pros or semi-pros.
Through the
conclusion of this tournament, the victories of 8 of the 38 winners (21
percent) marked the first time the new champion had ever cashed at the WSOP.
Every WSOP
held over the past 11 years has included at least one multiple gold bracelet
champion (meaning two or more wins within the same year). The last year the WSOP was comprised
exclusively of single-event winners was back in 1999. The record for most multiple gold bracelet
winners within a single year was in 2009, when five players managed to win two
or more titles. So far, no player has
yet won two gold bracelets (this year).
The streak of
consecutive male WSOP gold bracelet winners has now reached 198 consecutive
events. Aside from the annual Ladies Poker
Championship, the last female player to win a WSOP tournament open to both
sexes was Vanessa Selbst, in 2008. The
longest “cold” streak for female players occurred between years 1982 and 1996,
when 221 consecutive open events passed without a female champion.
The highest
finish by any female (open events) at this year’s WSOP was by two players. Maria Ho finished second ($5,000 buy-in
No-Limit Hold’em). Kim Nguyen also
finished as the runner up ($1,500 buy-in Six-Handed Limit Hold’em).
The highest
finish by any defending champion at this year’s WSOP was by David Baker, who
after winning the previous $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball
World Championship finished in sixth place in defense of his title.
New
tournament records set at the 2011 WSOP (to date):
Biggest
Heads-Up tournament prize pool in history ($3,040,000) – Event #2
Largest
live Omaha High-Low Split Tournament in history (925 entries) – Event #3
Largest
live Six-Handed tournament in poker history (1,920 entries) – Event #10
Biggest
Deuce-to-Seven tournament prize pool in history ($1,184,400) – Event #16
Largest
live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start
(3157 entries) – Event #18
Largest
live $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start
(3175 entries) – Event #20
Largest
consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,332 entries)
– Event #18 and Event #20
Largest
live Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in poker history (1,071 entries) – Event #22
Largest
Mixed-Game (Eight-Game Mix) in poker history (489 entries) – Event #23
Largest
Seniors tournament in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30
Biggest
Seniors No-Limit Hold’em championship prize pool in history ($3,376,800) –
Event #30
Largest
single-day live tournament start in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30
Largest consecutive-days starting field
sizes in poker history (combined 6,580 entries) – Event #30/Event #32 (broke
Event #18/Event #20 record from earlier in 2011 WSOP)
Largest four-consecutive days field sizes in poker history
(2,500+3,752+2,828+3,144 =12,224 entries) -- Events 28, 30, 32, 34, June 16-19,
2011
Largest Mixed Pot-Limit tournament in history (606 entries) –
Event #39
New player
records set at the 2011 WSOP (to date):
The
35-year span between Artie Cobb’s first cash in this event (1976) and most
recent cash in the same event (2011) represents the longest time span in WSOP
history. He accomplished this in
Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (Event #25).
Phil
Hellmuth added to his record as the individual all-time leader in cashes (81)
and final table appearances (42).
RAISING AWARENESS: BAD BEAT ON CANCER AND THE WSOP
Bad Beat on
Cancer was created in 2003 by Phil Gordon and Rafe Furst as an easy and fun way
for poker players to donate to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. It all began when Chris Moneymaker pledged 1
percent of his 2003 Main Event winnings and went on to capture the championship,
contributing $25,000 when he was awarded the $2.500,000 first- place prize. By taking the pledge, wearing the patch, and
joining ‘Team 1%’, players can feel good supporting a cause that only benefits
when they win. As the official charity
of the WSOP, pledges simply indicate to the payouts staff that they are
donating 1 percent of their winnings, and the funds are automatically withheld.
A tax receipt is generated and sent to
their mailing address. Several high
profile professionals have made ‘life pledges’ of 1 percent of all their
winnings – including Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Lee Childs, Paul Wasicka,
Andy Bloch, Dennis Phillips, and others. Since 2003, the initiative has raised over $3,500,000
for cancer prevention research, education, and community outreach programs. Players can pick up a patch and join Team 1%
by stopping by the Bad Beat on Cancer booth, located at the 2011 WSOP opposite
the Amazon Room in the concourse. The Nevada Cancer Institute based in Las Vegas
is a benefiting charity from the Bad Beat on Cancer.
Note:
Various categories and statistics will be updated with each gold
bracelet event as they are completed.