(Photo by Jay “WhoJedi” Newnum):
Photo Caption: You are looking at a dream poker hand. It’s the winning final table board of the latest WSOP gold bracelet event, held by newest poker champion Chris Tryba. The Boston native rivered a straight flush on the final hand of the tournament. He could hardly contain himself when his heads-up opponent Erik Cajelais announced “all-in.” All Tryba had to do was reply with “call” to lock up the dream of a lifetime. Championship poker is often played at the very margins. Great players are accustomed to living life on the edge. But at least for one glorious, if fleeting moment on Wednesday evening, Tryba got to experience the king rush of all rushes, holding the stone cold nuts the instant his opponent moved all in. Indeed, dreams do come true. To see more photos from the 2012 WSOP, please visit the official WSOP PHOTO BLOG.
DAILY HEADLINES
“Phil Ivey Show” Continues – Five Final Table Appearances in 2012
Naoya Kihara Becomes First WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner in History from Japan -- 30-Year-Old Tokyo Poker Pro Collects $512,029 in Prize Money
Next Question: Will Kaoya Kihara Become Japan's Chris Moneymaker?
Christopher Tryba -- Las Vegas Poker Pro and WSOP Circuit Grinder -- Hits Straight Flush and Wins First Gold Bracelet
Limit Hold’em Shootout Final Table Coming Thursday-- “The Magician” Hopes to Make Everyone Disappear
Eight-Game Mix Final Table Approaching -- Final Day on Thursday
Jesse Martin No Longer Under the Radar -- Seven Cashes Ties Him with Terrance Chan for Lead in 2012
NAOYA KIHARA BECOMES FIRST JAPANESE WSOP GOLD BRACLET WINNER IN HISTORY
Incredibly, no Japanese player had ever won poker’s most prestigious prize up until this point, although one player did come close last year at WSOP Europe – finishing second.
Kihara won the $5,000 buy-in Six-Handed Pot-Limit Hold’em championship (Event #34). He topped 419 players from more than 25 different countries and collected $512,029 in prize money. But what seemed to matter most to the latest poker champion was the realization that he'd done what no other Japanese player had ever done -- win a WSOP title.
Kihara is a 30-year-old professional poker player. He mostly plays online, although he now hopes to travel around the world and play in more live tournaments with this victory. Prior to playing full-time, Kihara was a private school teacher. This was Kihara's second time to cash in a WSOP event. It's also the second year he has traveled from Tokyo to Las Vegas to play at the WSOP. Last year, Kihara played in the Main Event Championship and cashed in 653rd place.
HEY CHRIS TRYBA -- TIME TO BUY SOME MORE WHITE T-SHIRTS
Chris Tryba, the bombastic white t-shirted tournament circuit grinder from Boston, enjoyed the thrill of a poker lifetime on Wednesday night, when he made a straight flush on his final hand and won his first gold bracelet.
Tryba, decked out in his beefy oversized $3 t-shirt shouted out "straight flush, baby!” on what turned out to be the decisive final hand of the $2,500 buy-in Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit) event . Tryba collected $210,107 in prize money, his biggest score ever. The poker pro has been grinding away on the WSOP Circuit during the past two seasons. This was his tenth time to cash at the WSOP.
2012 WSOP TURNING INTO “THE PHIL IVEY SHOW”
During the middle of the most recent final table playing session at this year’s WSOP, tournament announcer Robbie Thompson decided to play a little joke.
As the nine finalists were being introduced, Thompson clutched onto a “RESERVED” sign -- the placard normally seen in restaurants and showrooms. When Phil Ivey was introduced to the crowd, the “RESERVED” was propped up in front of Ivey, who couldn’t resist flashing a rare smile during the heat of competition.
“Phil, since you are making so many final tables this year, we decided to go ahead and reserve this seat for you permanently,” Thompson said. “We’ll see you here at the same time tomorrow.”
Indeed, Ivey made his fifth final table appearance this year. He’s ended up with 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and (most recently) 8th place finishes.
Five final table appearances (and counting) funnels Ivey into some very select company. Amazingly, this marked his second occasion to accomplish five finales at a series. His other big year was in 2002, when he won three gold bracelets.
Nonetheless, Ivey has been less than satisfied with his final results. For Ivey, there is but one goal – a gold bracelet victory. So, while the rest of the poker world marvels at our generation’s greatest all-around player, the standards set for Ivey himself remain so high that anything less than a triumph is, in fact, a crushing defeat.
SOME LOVE FOR JESSE MARTIN
No, we did not forget you, Jesse.
Lost in the excitement of Terrence Chan’s meteoric start to this year’s WSOP in the number of cashes category was the equally impressive performance by Jesse Martin (Shrewsbury, MA). Through the midway point of the series, Martin also has seven cashes, which ties him with Chan as well as Joe Tehan, who will be playing at the final table of the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout this afternoon.
The all-time mark for most WSOP cashes in a single year belongs to the late Russian player Nikolay Evdakov, who set the record back in 2008, when he cashed ten times.
WSOP TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY
Question of the Day: What poker player has earned in excess of $100,000 at the WSOP during 18 of the last 21 years? In other words, this player experienced only three years (of the last 21) where he did not earn at least $100,000 in WSOP winnings.
Answer coming in tomorrow’s “WSOP Daily Shuffle.” (Note: Question and answer supplied by Remko Rinkema from Poker News)
Yesterday’s Question of the Day: What player holds the record for the most final table appearances at the WSOP within a single year?
Answer: This answer may be a bit of a surprise. Several players have previously made five final tables appearances at a single WSOP – including Phil Ivey (now twice), Men “the Master” Nguyen (twice), Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Sexton, Daniel Negreanu, and Chris Ferguson. However, only one player in history has made six finales in a single year. That player is An Tran, a.k.a. “The Boss.” Tran enjoyed a great run in tournament poker during the early 1990s. His six WSOP final tables took place in 1992 – when he finished 3rd, 4th, 4th, 6th, 6th, and 7th. Tran also made three final tables in 1991 as well as 1993. So in all, Tran made 12 final tables within a three-year period – a remarkable accomplishment since that span included a grand total of just 59 gold bracelet events!
DAY 25: THE WSOP TODAY – THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012
9:00 AM
Today’s first tournament is a $75 buy-in TURBO MEGA-SATELLITE.
12:00 NOON
EVENT #39, the $10,000 buy-in POT-LIMIT OMAHA tournament, begins with the play of Day One. Limited registration will be available up through the completion of four levels, plus two breaks, which is estimated to be about 4:40 pm. Action takes place inside Brasilia. This is a three-day event. This same event on last year’s schedule drew 372 entries.
EVENT #39 UPDATES can be followed at WSOP.com. Coverage includes chip counts as well as written updates supplied from the tournament floor by our friends at PokerNews.com.
The official Structure Sheet for EVENT #39 can be viewed HERE.
1:00 PM
EVENT #36, the $3,000 buy-in NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM SHOOTOUT tournament, continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 10 players remaining from the starting field of 587. Gold bracelet winner Antonio “the Magician” Esfandiari is among the finalists. Action will take place inside Amazon in front of the livestreaming cameras on the ESPN Main Stage. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
EVENT #38, the $1,500 buy-in NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament, continues with Day Two. There are 277 players remaining from the starting field of 2,534. The top 270 finishers will make the money. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.
2:00 PM
EVENT #37 is a $2,500 buy-in EIGHT-GAME MIX tournament continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 27 players remaining from the starting field of 477. Joseph Coudon leads the field with 303,000. 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
The official gold bracelet ceremony includes two recent winners – David “Bakes” Baker (winner of Event #32) and Chris Tryba (winner of Event #35). The U.S. anthem will be played in their honor.
4:00 PM
The first MEGA-SATELLITE begins. The entry fee is $330
5:00 PM
EVENT #40, the $2,500 buy-in SIX-HANDED LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament, begins with the play of Day One. Limited registration will be available up through the completion of four levels, plus two breaks, which is estimated to be about 9:40 pm. Action takes place inside Brasilia. This is a three-day event. This same event on last year’s schedule drew 354 entries.
EVENT #40 UPDATES can be followed at WSOP.com. Coverage includes chip counts as well as written updates supplied from the tournament floor by our friends at PokerNews.com.
The official Structure Sheet for EVENT #40 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.
7:00 PM -- SPECIAL EVENT!
Poker Players Championship Mega-Satellite (Eight-Game Mix). The entry fee is $2,250.
8:00 PM
The second MEGA-SATELLITE of the day begins. The game is No-Limit Hold’em (Note: This event regularly features different games – so be sure and check the schedule in advance). 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.
* Please note that all listed times are estimates and subject to change
-- by Nolan Dalla