Faber tops 1,723-entry tourney while USO Nevada receives valuable operations contribution
5 July 2019 (Las Vegas) – Mint Hill, North Carolina's Susan Faber has earned her first World Series of Poker gold bracelet by winning Event #71 of the 2019 WSOP, SALUTE TO WARRIORS - $500 No-Limit Hold'em. Faber's first-ever bracelet win comes in a special tourney added this year to the WSOP slate that also generates funds for the ongoing support and benefit of the tens of thousands of troops and families from Nevada who have served in America's armed forces.
Faber, 71, a native of Columbus, Ohio and a certified public accountant by profession. logged a career best $121,161 WSOP in taking down this special big-field event. Faber is a semi-regular at regional WSOP Circuit stops and has now earned $146,031 in seven career WSOP and Circuit cashes.
Faber dominated final-table action while coming out on top of several big hands at the final table. Her final opponent turned out to be a retired Army officer, Rob Stark, who was one of the many servicemen honored by this event's theme.
The 36-year-old Stark, who now lives in Berkeley, California, was a base jumper and skydiver during his 14-year military career,, He entered heads-up play well behind Faber and ultimately was unable to mount a major comeback, settling for second and $74,785.
South Korea-born and now American citizen and California resident Dean Yoon finished in third to earn $53,887.
Placing fourth in this event was Louisiana's Chris Canan, whose three days of effort was worth $39,248 Fifth place and $28,897 went to the other former US serviceman to make this final table, Shreveport, Louisiana's Taylor Carroll.
This special tribute event, wrapped around the Fourth of July, served as a tribute to America's troops while also becoming a valuable fundraiser for United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO), and in particular for its four Las Vegas-area Nevada USO facilities.
This special event raised $43,075 for USO-funded projects throughout southern Nevada. According to USO Las Vegas Center Director David Thorsen, who was on hand to accept the donation, the funds will go directly to support the roughly 100,000 US troops and their families that the USO serves.
“I am so excited and so thrilled to be a bracelet winner,” Faber said, just moments after becoming the first woman to win an open event in this year's WSOP. “That's on my bucket list!” she added, though that item's been checked off as of today.
Faber has made some deep runs in Circuit events, but being on a special poker stage for a live-streamed final is something else. She said, “It's very different. There's so much more pressure. Thinking about it, last night, I looked up all the players who were against me and tried to figure out what I should do.
As it turned out, catching a heater at the final was at the top of the list. “I ran really well,” she said, laughing. “I got a lot of pairs, I got jacks at least two times, maybe three. I had aces to take out the chipleader, and all that was at the beginning of the day. Of course at the end I had a pair of fives,” referring to the final hand (details below) against Stark that secured her win.
The 71-year-old Faber cuts a quiet figure at the table despite being quite open and friendly with those around. Few of those people know she's actually fortunate to be playing at all, as she survived a battle against polio at age seven. This long-time certified accountant thoroughly enjoys her time at the tables.
Faber has much more poker in her upcoming plans, including another trip to her favorite Circuit stop in Cherokee, North Carolina later this summer. She's also already planning to play the Main Event in 2020, but she'd already made travel plans with her husband to return to the Charlotte area tomorrow, so late-registering this year's Main wasn't a viable option.
“I wanted to play it this year, but some of my family talked me out of it. And I'm glad they did!”
Event #71 returned for a live-streamed eight-player final on Friday after an off day on Thursday in recognition of the United States' patriotic Fourth of July celebrations. Carroll led the eight returning players with 13,525,000 in chips. South Korea's Taehyung Kim also made the official final table but busted in ninth ($9,486) late Wednesday night.
Fremont, California's Kulwant Singh was the first player to exit from the Day 3 conclusion. Singh busted in a hand where Canan opened for 500,000, Faber called, and Singh then moved all in for 2.55 million. Canan folded but Faber called and the call was good, as she had while Singh had . Both players had a spade as the runout made it officially a flush-over-flush hand, but it still left Singh on the rail for an eighth-place, $12,323 payday.
Venezuela's Jose Annaloro was down to just 775,000 when he made a last stand with , and Yoon called with . Annaloro blanked out and departed in seventh ($16,190) as the board ran out .
Sixth place and $21,510 went to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's Jordan Knackstedt a short while later. Knackstedt exited in a battle of the blinds against Canan after calling all in for his last 1.8 million following a Canan open for more than Knackstedt's stack. Knackstedt led with to Canan's , but Knackstedt caught the worst of an runout that ended his Day 3.
Taylor Carroll busted soon after, heading to the cashier after jamming his 7.73 million stack in from the big blind with but running into Faber's open-limped . Carroll had led the final in its middle stages, but the Air Force veteran found no help on a board to finish with a $28,898 fifth-place payout while Faber moved into the lead.
Louisiana's Canan busted next, running into perhaps the hottest moment of Faber's late rush. Canan opened from under the gun to 800,000, Faber re-raised to 1.6 million from the button, and Canan raised again to 4.8 million. Faber thought it over, then called, and the two saw a flop. Canan moved all in and Faber called at once, but she was behind with against Canan's . An turn, though, gave Faber outs to a straight, and it came in when the river brought the . The big pot gave Faber a commanding lead while Canan headed to the cashier for his $39,248.
Stark and Yoon were both under eight million in chips while Faber was well above 30 million, and though they traded short-stacked double-throughs with each other, Faber eventually picked them both off to seal the win. Yoon was down to just three big blinds, or 1.8 million, when he moved in with , and Faber called with a modest , searching for the knockout. Yoon led through the flop and turn, but a river gave Faber the pair and another knockout.
Faber busted Stark just six hands later. Stark was down to just a handful of big blinds himself when he tried to steal with , but Faber called instantly with . Faber missed the flop but a turn gave him three extra outs if Faber ended up with a counterfeited third pair, but the river was another blank, sealing Faber's victory in this special event.
Event #71, SALUTE TO WARRIORS - $500 No-Limit Hold'em, attracted 1,723 entries and offered a $723,660 prize pool. 259 players made the money and a min-cash was worth $699.
Well-known players who cashed in this special event included Stanislav Anglov (23rd, $3,741), Ben Yu (42nd, $2,523), Arkady Tsinis (60th, $1,788), Tim West (79th, $1,332), Caufman Talley (98th, $1,046), Robert Cheung (117th, $945), David Oppenheim (118th, $945), and Mike Sexton (142nd, $865).
Click here for Full Results.
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Final-Table Payouts:
1st: Susan Faber, $121,161
2nd: Rob Stark, $74,785
3rd: Dean Yoon, $53,887
4th: Chris Canan, $39,248
5th: Taylor Carroll, $28,897
6th: Jordan Knackstedt, $21,510
7th: Jose Annaloro, $16,190
8th: Kulwant Singh, $12,323
9th: Taehyung Kim, $9,486