Photo Caption: If poker ever had a hangover effect, it was Monday’s action at the WSOP. Indeed, it would be next to impossible to match, let alone surpass, the frenzy of excitement the previous day when simultaneous final tables included Phil Hellmuth at one, and Phil Ivey at the other. But Sunday night is now history and the WSOP moves full steam ahead to another exiting chapter with new champions. Monday brought 24-year old Cliff Goldkind to our consciousness. Incredibly, he collected $559,514 in what was his first-time ever to cash at the WSOP. Meanwhile, Ben Scholl won the Limit Hold'em championship. But the photo of the day goes to Kennii Nguyen, a second-place finisher. Nguyen is a refreshing reminder that we are all playing a game, which means, for some, the goal is simply to have a good time. Something worth remembering. To see more photos from the 2012 WSOP, please visit the official WSOP PHOTO BLOG.
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DAILY HEADLINES
Cliff Goldkind Wins Gold Bracelet in Debut -- First WSOP Cash Nets $559,514
Ben Scholl Knows His Limitations -- Equity Trader Takes Limit Hold'em Title
Terrance Chan: First Player to Hit Six Cashes (in 2012)
Down to 17 in $1K Event -- Jamie Armstrong Leads the Pack
2-7 Down to Nine -- with David Baker as Chip Leader
WSOP TRIVIA -- QUESTION OF THE DAY
Poker Trivia: What does late, great three-time world poker champion Stu “the Kid” Ungar have in common with the following people (some alive, some deceased):
Julius Axelrod (Nobel Prize winner)
Sammy Cahn (Entertainer)
Tony Curtis (actor)
Estelle Getty (actress)
Walter Matthau (actor)
Zero Mostel (actor)
Jerry Stiller (actor and comedian)
Keenan Ivory Wayans (actor and comedian)
Note: Answer coming in tomorrow’s “WSOP Daily Shuffle.”
CLIFF GOLDKIND WINS EVENT #19
Goldkind is a graduate of Washington University (in St. Louis). He is soon starting a Masters Degree program at Tufts University in Boston.
In the interim between his B.A. and an M.A., Goldkind went to Israel, where he served in the Israeli Army. He was discharged in February, just four months prior to this debut victory.
Goldkind has entered four events this year, which was his first time to attend and play at the WSOP. In his fourth tournament, he not only cashed for the first time, he ended up winning the tournament, which paid a staggering $559,514 in prize money, plus the coveted gold brace
His official presentation ceremony takes place at 2:20 pm on Tuesday in the Amazon Room where the U.S. anthem will be played in his honor.
BEN SCHOLL WINS EVENT #20
Scholl, who calls himself an amateur poker player, is actually hooked up to some considerable poker talent. He works in the same high powered financial firm as two former gold bracelet winners and math gurus -- Bill Chen and Jarred Ankenman.
Scholl is a graduate of New York University. He has no plans nor aspirations to play full time nor make poker a career, insisting that he needs more from life and enjoys too many things to limit himself to just playing poker.
TERRANCE “YOU’RE NOT JOHNNY” CHAN BECOMES FIRST PLAYER TO HIS SIX CASHES
Terrence Chan, arguably the best Limit Hold’em player in the world never to win a gold bracelet, is on a current pace to break one of the Holy Grails of WSOP recordom – which is the late Nikolay Evdakov’s high mark for most cashes at a single series. The Russian, who sadly passed away earlier this year, cashed a whopping ten times at the 2008 WSOP. It's a record that has been threatened a few times, but still remains unsurpassed.
Chan, from Vancouver, BC (Canada), has entered nine gold bracelet tournaments to date. So far, he's batting 67% in cashes. Chan’s chances of making a serious run at the all-time record are good, since the midpoint of the WSOP schedule has not yet been reached.
With his 12th-place finish in the $5K Limit Hold'em event (#20), Chan needs four more cashes to tie Evdakov’s number. Based on 41 events remaining on the schedule, he appears to be in the best position of anyone to eclipse the lofty plateau.
And, for the record -- Terrance currently has six more cashes than Johnny so far this summer (no relation, of course).
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE GOLD BRACELET CEREMONIES
Questions have been asked about why the WSOP chooses to place certain players together, or why – in the case of many recent gold bracelet winner – the official ceremony is delayed by a few days, or sometimes longer.
The easy explanation is that the WSOP tries to accommodate players to the greatest extent possible. Some winners have urgent travel plans or other obligations to return home the day after their victory. Other have requested to have their ceremonies take place after friends and relatives arrive in Las Vegas. Still other ceremonies have been postponed on days when the schedule event did not provide enough of an audience to celebrate the winner (the Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, for instance).
In the case of some recent gold bracelet winners, Phil Hellmuth is scheduled to receive his record 12th this coming Saturday. Andy Frankenberger, collecting his second gold bracelet, will take the stage on Sunday.
“The WSOP Daily Shuffle” attempt to keep everyone informed of upcoming gold bracelet ceremonies and dates, so stay tuned.
THE WSOP TODAY
9:00 AM
Today’s first tournament is a $75 buy-in TURBO MEGA-SATELLITE.
NOON
EVENT #25 is a $1,500 buy-in LIMIT HOLD’EM SHOOTOUT tournament that begins with the play of Day One. Registration will be cut off at some point earlier than normal, perhaps as early as one hour into the tournament, depending upon the number of players who come past the starting time of noon. ALL PLAYERS THAT ARRIVE BEFORE NOON ARE GUARANTEED SEATS. ALL PLAYERS THAT ARRIVE AFTERWARD ARE NOT. However, tournament staff will make every effort possible to accommodate as many players as possible. Action takes place inside Brasilia. The Pavilion White and Black sections will be used for overflow. This is a three-day event.
EVENT #25 UPDATES can be followed at WSOP.com. Coverage includes almost-live chip counts as well as written updates supplied from the tournament floor by our friends at PokerNews.com.
The official Structure Sheet for EVENT #25 can be viewed HERE.
1:00 PM
EVENT #21, the $1,000 buy-in NO--LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 17 players remaining from the massive starting field of 2,799. Poker pro Jamie Armstrong is currently the chip leader. Bracelet winners Eric Baldwin and John Esposito are still in contention as well. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
EVENT #23, the $3,000 buy-in SIX-HANDED NO--LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament continues with Day Two. There are 141 players remaining from the starting field of 924. The top 108 finishers will make the money. Jeff Manza is currently the chip leader. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
2:00 PM
EVENT #22, the $2,500 buy-in DEUCE-TO-SEVEN (LIMIT) TRIPLE-DRAW LOWBALL tournament continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 9 players remaining from a starting field of 228. David "ODB" Baker is currently the chip leader. Von Altizer has a chance to become the eighth woman to make a WSOP final table this summer. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
EVENT #24, the $5,000 buy-in OMAHA HIGH-LOW SPLIT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP tournament continues today with Day Two. There are 187 players remaining from a starting field of 256. Jim McCrink is currently the chip leader. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
The first DAILY DEEP STACK NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament begins. The entry fee is $235. Registration is open for four (30 minute) levels, plus one break – which means until about 4:20 pm.
2:20 PM
Today’s gold bracelet ceremony includes two winners – Adam Friedman (winner of EVENT #15) and Cliff Goldkind (winner of EVENT #19). The U.S. anthem will be played to commemorate their victories.
4:00 PM
The first MEGA-SATELLITE begins. The entry fee is $330
5:00 PM
EVENT #26, the $3,000 buy-in POT-LIMIT OMAHA HIGH tournament begins today with the play of Day One. Late registration will be available for this event up until about 9:40 pm* Action takes place inside Amazon. This is a three-day event.
EVENT #26 UPDATES can be followed at WSOP.com. Coverage includes almost-live chip counts as well as written updates supplied from the tournament floor by our friends at PokerNews.com.
The official Structure Sheet for EVENT #26 can be viewed HERE.
6:00 PM
The second DEEP STACK NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament begins. The entry fee is $185. Registration is open for four (30 minute) levels, plus one break – which means until about 8:20 pm.
8:00 PM
The second MEGA-SATELLITE of the day begins. The entry fee is $550.
10:00 PM
The third and final DEEP STACK NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament begins at 10 pm. The entry fee is $135. Registration is open for four (30 minute) levels, plus one break – which means until about 12:20 am.
3:00 AM
All WSOP gold bracelet tournaments end for the night.
WHAT ELSE
REMINDER: In order to avoid long lines which may take place on tournament day, the WSOP encourages all players to register as early as possible. This is particularly true for the $1,000 buy-in SENIORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (EVENT #29), which is coming up this Friday – June 15th and has a 10:00 am start.
* Please note that all listed times are estimates and subject to change
-- by Nolan Dalla