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THE WSOP DAILY SHUFFLE: SAT., JUNE 23, 2012

David Baker Wins Long-Awaited First WSOP Victory; Newcomer Nguyen Wins Gold and $607K; Terrance Chan Now at Eight Cashes, and Closing in on Breakthrough Victory in Limit Hold'em.

Jun 23 2012 07:32 AM EST

THE WSOP DAILY SHUFFLE: SAT., JUNE 23, 2012

The dealing continues! Another big weekend is ahead here at the 2012 World Series of Poker. Saturday features a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament starting at noon. Sunday offers a similar $1,000 buy-in event. Last weekend was a record breaker at the WSOP. Action should be nearly as strong once again, as this year’s schedule is now in the midst of the third quarter.

To see more photos from the 2012 WSOP, please visit the official WSOP PHOTO BLOG.

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DAILY HEADLINES

David Baker Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $2,500 Buy-In Eight-Game Mix (Event #37)

Greg Mueller Barley Misses Out on Possible Third Gold Bracelet Victory

Dung “Gomer” Nguyen Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet -- Kansas Amateur Poker Player Wins $1,500 Buy-In No-Limit Hold’em Event

For Nguyen -- Three-Minute Hallway Conversation Nets $607,200 Win

Terrance Chan Cashes Again (and Still Alive) – Now at Eight (All-Time Record – 10)

1000th Gold Bracelet Goes to Winner of Event #41 – Which Began Friday

Turnout for Event #41 Exceeds Expectations – 1,394 for $3,000 Buy-In Tourney

Statistical Redux One Last Chance to Look Over WSOP Halftime Stats

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DAVID BAKER IS DEFINITELY "THE ORIGINAL" DAVID BAKER:

David Baker finally achieved the poker thrill of a lifetime on Friday afternoon, winning the latest World Series of Poker gold bracelet.

Baker won the $2,500 buy-in Eight-Game Max event, which was the 37th of 61 gold bracelet tournaments on this year’s schedule. He collected $271,312 in prize money.

The competition required players to play a mix of eight of poker’s most popular games – including Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split, Deuce-to-Seven Triple-Draw Lowball, Pot-Limit Omaha, and No-Limit Hold’em. By almost universal consideration, it is poker’s best test of all-around talent and skill.

No doubt, Baker has plenty of both. The professional poker player from the Houston area had already proven himself to be one of tournament poker’s most steady performers in recent years. Prior to this event, he’d cashed 27 times at the WSOP since 2006 – placing him among the top ten within that time frame. He’d also already earned in excess of $1 million at the WSOP before this victory, a testament to the notion that it wasn’t so much a question of if Baker would win a gold bracelet, but when.

"When" finally arrived on a Friday on a main stage of the Pavilion arena, which was filled to capacity with poker action. Baker made a remarkable comeback against two-time former gold bracelet winner Greg Mueller, who ended up finishing second. The two friends played a cordial but intense heads-up match, with Baker finally getting a well-deserved victory.

Note: David Baker (Katy, TX) is not to be confused with David “Bakes” Baker (Las Vegas, NV), who won a gold bracelet earlier this year. This is David "ODB" Baker as in, "Original David Baker."

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THREE-MINUTE HALLWAY CONVERSATION NETS $607,200 WIN FOR GOMER NGUYEN

Dung "Gomer" Nguyen won his first major tournament victory on Friday night. He picked the right event for a dramatic debut win.

Nguyen won the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament (Event #38). The competition drew another mammoth field size – totaling 2,534 entries. The tournament was played over a three-day period at the Rio, ending on Friday night under the bright lights of the ESPN Main Stage.

Nguyen is a 37-year-old Vietnamese-born part-time poker player. He now resides in Wichita, Kansas. For this achievement, Nguyen collected the astronomical sum of $607,200 in prize money, plus his first WSOP gold bracelet.

However, that’s only a small part of the story.

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WSOP TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Question of the Day: How many penalties has Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri been given during the course of his long career playing in WSOP events? Two hints: Barbieri is originally from Philadelphia and his started playing at the WSOP in 1999.

Answer coming in tomorrow’s WSOP Daily Shuffle.

Yesterday’s Question of the Day: Here’s an easy one. Who are the youngest and oldest WSOP Main Event winners in history?

Answer: The youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event Championship was Joe Cada (2009), at age 21. The oldest player to win was Johnny Moss (1975), at age 68.

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DAY 28: THE WSOP TODAY – SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

9:00 AM
Today’s first tournament is a $75 buy-in TURBO MEGA-SATELLITE.

12:00 NOON
EVENT #43, the $1,500 buy-in NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament, begins with the play of Day One. 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 3,043 entries.

EVENT #43 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 #43 can be viewed HERE.

1:00 PM

EVENT #39, the $10,000 buy-in POT-LIMIT OMAHA tournament, continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 13 players remaining from the starting field of 293. The current chip leader is gold bracelet winner Andrew Brown. He is joined by some other notable bracelet winners, including Sammy Farha and Jason Mercier. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.

EVENT #41, the $3,000 buy-in NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament, continues with Day Two. There are 288 players remaining from the starting field of 1,394. The top 144 finishers will make the money. Jarred Solomon of South Africa is the current chip leader. Action will take place inside Amazon. The list of survivors and chip counts is available HERE.

2:00 PM

EVENT #40, the $2,500 buy-in SIX-HANDED LIMIT HOLD’EM tournament continues with Day Three – including the final table. There are 10 players remaining from the starting field of 302. Incredibly, Terrence Chan is posting his eighth cash of the year in this event, which leads all other players. He remains close to the chip lead. Action will take place inside Amazon. Updates can be found HERE.

EVENT #42, the $2,500 buy-in MIXED HIGH-LOW SPLIT (OMAHA/SEVEN-CARD STUD) tournament continues with the play of Day Two. There are 164 players remaining from the starting field of 393. The top 40 positions will be paid. Action will take place inside Amazon. Chip counts from the first day of play can be found 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 three recent winners – Craig McCorkell (winner of Event #36), Chris Tryba (winner of Event #35), and David Baker (winner of Event #37). The anthems of Great Britain and the United States will both be played.

4:00 PM
The first MEGA-SATELLITE begins. The entry fee is $330

5:00 PM
There is no 5 PM tournament today.

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.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 2012 WSOP HALFTIME STATISTICS – BY COUNTRY

The 2012 World Series of Poker has already crossed the midway point.

So, which players from which states and countries have been the best performers? We know that 31 gold bracelets have been awarded (at the time of these statistics). But what about other major categories -- such as prize money won, cashes, and final table appearances? What about players/states/countries with the best overall percentage of cashes? What about overall results – by gender?

Through the completion of gold bracelet Events 1 through 31, here's the halftime scoreboard for states, countries, and by gender.

NOTE: To see a listing of leaders in individual categories, click HERE.

Total Entries – by Gender
Females – 1,192
Males – 30,300

Total Cashes – by Gender
Females – 97 ($2,024,389)
Males – 3,290 ($47,577,486)

Cash Percentages – by Gender
Females --     97/1,192 (8.14 percent)
Males – 3,290/30,300 (10.86 percent)

Final Table Appearances Count -- by Gender
Females – 9
Males – 228

Top Money Winners – Females
Allyn Shulman -- $603,713 in 1 cash
Amanda Musumeci -- $481,643 in one cash
Cherish Andrews     -- $218,961 in two cashes
Vanessa Selbst -- $182,019 in two cashes
Patricia Baker -- $43,754 in one cash
Annette Obrestad -- $41,477 in three cashes
Carolyn Tulloch -- $37,672 in one cash
Xuan Liu - $29,985 in one cash
Ronit Chamani - $27,421 in three cashes
Bonnie Rossi -- $21,501 in two cashes

Cynthia Violette -- $15,906 in one cash

Most Cashes -- Females
Ronit Chamani -- 3
Lauren Kling -- 3
Annette Obrestad -- 3
Jennifer Harman-Traniello -- 2
Bonnie Rossi -- 2
Joanne Monteavaro -- 2
Vanessa Selbst -- 2
Millie Shiu -- 2
Samantha Cohen -- 2
Marla Schwartz -- 2
Kathleen Liebert -- 2
Liv Boeree -- 2
Cherish Andrews     -- 2

Top Money Winners (Cashes/Winnings) – By State
NV -- 558    ($8,877,815)
CA -- 508    ($6,018,489)
NY -- 160    ($2,581,160)
IL -- 104    ($2,045,617)
FL -- 181    ($1,951,195)
PA -- 55    ($1,899,972)
TX -- 183    ($1,597,557)
MD -- 33    ($1,422,022)
WA -- 75    ($961,869)
OH -- 63    ($945,728)

Top Cash Percentages (Cashes/Entries) – By State
NV – 558/3,426 (16.3 percent)
IA – 18/127 (14.2 percent)
OR --    38/284 (13.4 percent)
VT – 4/31 (12.9 percent)
HI – 16/128 (12.5 percent)
SD --    6/48 (12.5 percent)
LA – 25/204 (12.3 percent)
MD –33/294 (11.2 percent)
WV – 9/82 (10.9 percent)
ID – 12/110 (10.9 percent)

Most Final Table Appearances – By State
NV -- 54
CA -- 34
FL -- 12
NY -- 9
WA -- 9
ON -- 8
TX -- 8
PA -- 7
IL -- 7

Most Entries – By State
CA --    5,014
NV -- 3,426
TX -- 2,078
FL -- 1,692
NY -- 1,523
IL -- 1,167
AZ -- 946
WA -- 768
CO -- 679
NJ -- 647

Top Money Winners (Cashes/Winnings) – By Country
United States – 2,719 ($38,034,149)
Canada – 181 ($4,048,630)
United Kingdom – 132 ($1,587,223)
France – 42 ($1,017,000)
Australia – 17 ($734,294)
Germany – 44 ($668,746)
Spain     --16 ($548,902)
Russia – 53 ($469,900)
Ukraine – 14 ($469,237)
Belgium – 5 ($458,425)

Top Cash Percentages (Cashes/Entries) – By Country
South Africa – 13/42 (30.9 percent)
Ukraine – 14/68 (20.6 percent)
Spain     -- 14/72 (19.4 percent)
Czech Republic – 9/48    (18.7 percent)
United Kingdom – 132/917 (14.4 percent)
Australia – 17/125 (13.6 percent)
The Netherlands – 12/89 (13.5 percent)
Germany – 44/342 (12.9 percent)
France – 44/354 (12.4 percent)
Russia – 53/443 11.9 percent)

All Nations (Cashes/Entries/Cash Percentage)
Australia – 17 /125 (13.6 percent)
Austria – 5/55 (9.1 percent)
Belgium – 5/38 (13.7 percent)
Bermuda – 1/4(25 percent)
Brazil     -- 14/142 (9.9 percent)
Bulgaria – 5/24 (20.1 percent)
Canada – 181/1,640 (11.1 percent)
Costa Rica    -- 5/13 (38.5 percent)
Croatia – 1/2(50 percent)
Czech Republic – 9/48    (18.8 percent)
Denmark – 4/30 (13.3 percent)
Finland – 6/53 (11.3 percent)
France – 44/354 (12.4 percent)
Germany – 44/342 (12.9 percent)
Hong Kong     -- 1/7 (14.3 percent)
Hungary – 2/25 (8 percent)
Ireland – 6/59 (10.2 percent)
Israel – 5/20 (25 percent)
Italy – 29 /244 (11.9 percent)
Japan – 4/44 (9.1 percent)
Latvia – 3/13 (23.1 percent)
Lithuania – 2/32 (6.2 percent)
Malta     -- 3/19 (15.8 percent)
Mexico – 8/68 (11.8 percent)
Netherlands – 12/89 (13.5 percent)
Norway – 5/38 (13.2 percent)
Portugal – 1/9 (11.1 percent)
Puerto Rico –1/5 (20 percent)
Romania – 1/15 (6.7 percent)
Russia – 53/443 (11.9 percent)
Serbia – 2/18 (11.1 percent)
Singapore – 1/2(50 percent)
Slovakia – 1/3 (33.3 percent)
South Africa – 13/42 (30.9 percent)
Spain     -- 14    /72 (19.4 percent)
Sweden – 7/62 (11.3 percent)
Switzerland 2/49 (4.1 percent)
Ukraine – 14/68 (20.6 percent)
United Kingdom – 132/917 (14.4 percent)
United States – 2,720/26,047 (10.4 percent)
Uruguay – 1/13 (7.7 percent)
Venezuela – 1/9 (11.1 percent)
Unknown/Other – 1/73 (1.4 percent)

Most Final Table Appearance – By Country
United States -- 195
Canada -- 15
United Kingdom -- 8
Germany -- 3
France -- 3
Australia -- 3
Spain     -- 2
Russia -- 2
Ukraine -- 1
Sweden -- 1
Norway -- 1
Netherlands -- 1
Belgium -- 1

Most Entries – By Country
United States -- 26,047
Canada -- 1,640
United Kingdom -- 926
Russia -- 443
France -- 354
Germany -- 342
Italy -- 244
Brazil     -- 142
Australia -- 125
Netherlands -- 89

NOTE: Special thanks to Alan Fowler from the WSOP Media Staff for compiling these standings and figures.

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* Please note that all listed times are estimates and subject to change

-- by Nolan Dalla

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