Event #22: $1,500 Limit Hold'em

Danny Le is the newest member of poker’s gold bracelet club.

The 49-year-old Vietnamese-born poker player and businessman from Westminster, CA won the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em tournament, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded at the Rio in Las Vegas.  Le collected $188,815 in prize money, making this the biggest win of his career.

In fact, this was only the third cash of Le’s career at the WSOP.  However, he did previously make a final table appearance in an event in 2013, finishing in seventh place.

Le won his victory in convincing fashion.  He led Day Three most of the way.  Still, he had to overcome a final table which included one gold bracelet winner, Tyler Bonkowski.  That task was made much easier by Le’s commanding advantage, which is maintained pretty much from start to finish.

Le began play with a huge chip lead, more than 2 to 1 over his closest rival, who just so happened to be Bonkowski, who then ended up finishing in third place.

The tournament’s final dramatic moment came when Le scooped the final pot of the night by hitting a third deuce on the river (good for three 2’s) against Scott Farnsworth, from Snoqualmie, WA, who ended up with top pair (jacks).  Farnsworth finished as the runner up.

Incredibly, Farnsworth revealed that he thought he was entering a No-Limit tournament and made a mistake by registering for this event.  He confided later that he had to read the rules as to how Limit Hold’em was played during Day One.  He must have been a faster learning, since he managed to outlast 663 competitors, many with lots of Limit Hold’em experience.

“I think I’ll take a vacation to Cancun,” Le said afterward, when asked what he plans to do next.

This tourney attracted 665 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $897,750.

Attendance was up slightly over last year when this same event drew 660 participants.

Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table:

Second Place:  Scott Farnsworth, from Snoqualmie, WA came in second, in what was his first-ever Limit Hold’em experience.  It was also his first cash.  Remarkably, he collected $116,663 as a consolation prize.

Third Place:  Tyler Bonkowski, from Regina, SK (Canada) was seeking his second WSOP victory after winning a gold bracelet in 2011.  He came as close as ever by finishing third, which paid $80,706.  This gives Bonkowski 12 WSOP cashes and close to $500,000 in career earnings at the series.

Fourth Place:  Dave Tobin, from Roswell, NM came in third.  This marked his third time to cash at the series.  He came in third in an event last year.  Tobin was once a state champion in archery, and so he goes by the nickname, “Arrow.”  Although Tobin didn’t quite hit the bullseye in this event, he still was on target for a $56,740 payout.

Fifth Place:  Dale Eberle, from Tega Kay, SC made his third WSOP final table with this deep run, which paid $40,550.  Eberle previously finished second twice, in the 2008 Seniors Championship and a Limit Hold’em Shootout event in 2011.

Sixth Place:  Dustin Bush, from Valencia, CA cashed for this third time at this year’s series.  He collected $29,466.

Seventh Place:  Andrew Beversdorf, from Madison, WI finished in-the-money at the WSOP for the first time and earned $21,778 for seventh place.

Eighth Place:  Daniel Huseman, from Alameda, CA cashed for the first time in five years at the WSOP with this first-ever final table appearance.  He pocketed $16,376.

Danny Le raises from the button and Scott Farnsworth calls. 

The flop comes     and Farnsworth bets. Le raises, Farnsworth puts in another raise, and Le calls. 

The turn brings the   and Farnsworth bets again. Le raises and Farnsworth instantly bumps it up. Le calls. 

The   drops on the river and Farnsworth bets. Le raises and Farnsworth calls. 

Le then tables his    for the nut flush. 

"You're very lucky," smirks Farnsworth, before openly mucking his    for a losing set of threes. 

Danny Le - 4,200,000 (42 BB)
Scott Farnsworth - 700,000 (7 BB)

Danny Le raises from the button and Scott Farnsworth calls. 

The flop comes     and Farnsworth checks. Le bets and Farnsworth calls. 

The turn brings the   and, once again, Farnsworth checks-calls a bet from Le. 

The   on the river see Farnsworth bet and Le call behind. 

"Queen," announces Farnsworth, before tabling his   .

Le then rolls over his    to take down the pot with his higher kicker. 

Danny Le - 3,300,000 (33 BB)
Scott Farnsworth - 1,600,000 (16 BB)

The first few hands of heads-up action, things go mostly Danny Le's way.

Scott Farnsworth makes it two bets and Le calls.

The flop is     and Le checks. Farnsworth bets, Le raises, and Farnsworth calls. The same action occurs when the   hits on the turn. Then both players check the   on the river.

Le shows    for a missed flush draw and wins the pot when Farnsworth mucks his hand.

Danny Le - 3,600,000 (36 BB)
Scott Farnsworth - 1,300,000 (13 BB)

Tyler Bonkowski returned from the dinner break with 125,000 and after a walk doubled up. The first half of this level has been all about his re-emergence in this tournament.

Danny Le check-calls Bonkowski down to the river on a board that reads      . Bonkowski bets the river, putting himself all-in. Le folds.

Tyler Bonkowski - 360,000 (3 BB)

Bonkowski raises from the small blind and Le calls. Bonkowski bets the     flop and Le folds.

Tyler Bonkowski - 600,000 (6 BB)

Bonkowski raises and Danny Le three-bets. Scott Farnsworth folds and Bonkowski calls.

The flop comes     and Le bets. Bonkowski calls. The turn is the   and Le checks. Bonkowski bets and Le folds. Bonkowski shows   .

Tyler Bonkowski - 820,000 (8 BB)

Tyler Bonkowski is holding on as the short stack, but just barely. He raises from the button and Danny Le reraises from the small blind. Bonkowski calls.

Danny Le