News
CHEECH TOPS BIGGEST OMAHA FIELD IN HISTORY
Jun 03 2011 09:39 PM EST
Las Vegas, NV (June 4, 2001) -- The largest live Omaha High-Low Split tournament in history concluded today with the play and conclusion of the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split Championship, held at the 2011 World Series of Poker.
The newest poker champion is Cheech Barbaro, from Chicago, IL. The former bartender earned $252,283 in prize money. Barbaro was also presented with the ultimate symbol of achievement in the game of poker, the WSOP gold bracelet. This marked his first WSOP victory.
Barbaro is a 37-year-old poker pro. He has been playing full-time for about two years. Barbaro's tournament initial breakthrough took place at the WSOP Circuit stop, which took place at Hammond Horseshoe (in Indiana), last November. He won the HORSE championship there. Barbaro parlayed that victory into an even bigger win here in Las Vegas. Remarkably, this was the first WSOP tournament Barbaro had entered.
This was the third event on this year’s WSOP schedule. The tournament attracted 925 entries, which shattered the all-time record as the biggest live Omaha High-Low tournament in history. The previous mark was set in 2009, when 918 Omaha fanatics jammed the Rio in search of victory.
Attendance for this tournament increased over the previous year, when there were 721 entries. The 200-plus increase this year represents a 28-percent increase over 2010.
The newest poker champion is Cheech Barbaro, from Chicago, IL. The former bartender earned $252,283 in prize money. Barbaro was also presented with the ultimate symbol of achievement in the game of poker, the WSOP gold bracelet. This marked his first WSOP victory.
Barbaro is a 37-year-old poker pro. He has been playing full-time for about two years. Barbaro's tournament initial breakthrough took place at the WSOP Circuit stop, which took place at Hammond Horseshoe (in Indiana), last November. He won the HORSE championship there. Barbaro parlayed that victory into an even bigger win here in Las Vegas. Remarkably, this was the first WSOP tournament Barbaro had entered.
This was the third event on this year’s WSOP schedule. The tournament attracted 925 entries, which shattered the all-time record as the biggest live Omaha High-Low tournament in history. The previous mark was set in 2009, when 918 Omaha fanatics jammed the Rio in search of victory.
Attendance for this tournament increased over the previous year, when there were 721 entries. The 200-plus increase this year represents a 28-percent increase over 2010.
The total prize pool amounted to $1,248,750. The top 90 finishers collected prize money, the most players ever paid for a live Omaha Split tournament.
Two-time gold bracelet winner Scott Clements finished 21st. He won his first WSOP title in 2006 in the $3,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split event. Clements arguably holds the most impressive Omaha resume of any player over the past five years. He’s won one event, and finished 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 39th, 54th, and now 21st – in what amounts to 16 such tournaments over that span.
