Loading...
Online Bonus
-
Exclusive $1,000 Sportsbook Poker sign-up bonus
Read More
Friday, June 20, 2008
2008 WSOP Day 22: Velador, Ruthenberg victorious
Velador rides a chip lead to victory.
By Sarah Polson
As a new day starts, the 2008 World Series of Poker can report two more bracelet winners from Thursday's poker action.
Luis Velador took his chip lead all the way to the win in the third of seven $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em events, and Sebastian Ruthenberg defeated Chris "Jesus" Ferguson in heads-up play to win the $5,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Split Eight-or-Better event.
Along with the two final tables, two more events played down to a final table on Thursday, and two more got started, so let's check out the action.
Event 32
Aside from the Main Event, the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em events have become the most popular of the WSOP in recent years. This one drew a playing field of 2,304 participants, and the player who took the most advantage of the big prize pool created was Luis Velador.
Born in Mexico, Velador is now a professional poker player living in Lake Elsinore, Calif. He has been a pro for the past 11 years, but is mainly a cash-game specialist.
This is also Velador's third try at the WSOP. Prior to this win, he had taken part in the Main Event in 2007 and 2006, cashing in both.
The Event 32 final table played out as follows:
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Luis Velador | $574,734 |
| 2nd | Anthony Signore | $366,387 |
| 3rd | Osmin Dardon | $243,734 |
| 4th | Jae Chung | $204,422 |
| 5th | Shane Stacey | $166,682 |
| 6th | Dean Bui | $132,088 |
| 7th | Dany Georges | $100,638 |
| 8th | Utsab Saha | $77,051 |
| 9th | Justin Hoffman | $53,464 |
For more about the event, read Velador's reaction to his win in his post-game interview, or see how it all played out in the live updates.
Event 33
Ruthenberg defeats Jesus for a win.
In the early morning hours today, the $5,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Split Eight-or-Better event found its champion, and it's not someone poker fans may have expected. Sebastian Ruthenberg defeated a field filled with pros and took out Chris Ferguson in heads-up play to win the gold bracelet and $328,762 top prize.
Ruthenberg is a young German pro who's been playing poker professionally for the past two years. He just took up playing Seven-Card Stud six months ago, and Ruthenberg admitted his lack of experience in the game after his win.
"(Chris Ferguson) is the better player. He really is a better player than me ... I have only been playing this game for six months and he has played so much more than me," he said.
It took a few hours of heads-up play as the two players traded the chip lead back and forth before Ruthenberg was able to finally send Ferguson to the rail.
The final-table results were:
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Sebastian Ruthenberg | $328,762 |
| 2nd | Chris Ferguson | $202,405 |
| 3rd | Bob Lauria | $125,736 |
| 4th | Marcel Luske | $95,069 |
| 5th | Annie Duke | $73,602 |
| 6th | Alessio Isaia | $58,268 |
| 7th | Steve Sung | $46,001 |
| 8th | Bob Beveridge | $36,801 |
Check out the action in the Event 33 live updates.
Event 34
There's a lot of money up for grabs in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys event, and today the top nine players will meet to see who will get the lion's share of the prize pool plus the coveted WSOP bracelet.
When play begins again at 2 p.m. Kyle Kloeckner will have a slight advantage as the chip leader. He starts the day with $845,000 in chips, but Ted Forrest isn't too far behind him with $757,000.
The final table is also filled with other familiar names: Dario Alioto, Layne Flack, Jacobo Fernandez and more.
The players and their chip counts are:
| Name | Chip Count |
| Kyle Kloeckner | $845,000 |
| Ted Forrest | $757,000 |
| Michael Guzzardi | $751,000 |
| Dario Alioto | $659,000 |
| Layne Flack | $601,000 |
| Daniel Makowsky | $493,000 |
| Frank Vizza | $378,000 |
| Jacobo Fernandez | $348,000 |
| Tim West | $187,000 |
When play resumes this afternoon, you're going to want to be there, so check out the action in the Event 34 live updates.
Event 35
The second final table that will play down to a winner today is for the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event. With 381 players trying their luck at the game, the prize pool reached $520,065 to create a first-place prize of more than $135,000.
The top eight players returning today to determine who will get that top prize are:
| Name | Chip Count |
| Michael Rocco | $255,000 |
| Al Barbieri | $252,500 |
| Jeffrey Siegal | $150,000 |
| Giacomo Dagostino | $123,000 |
| Levon Torosyan | $114,500 |
| Andre Boyer | $106,000 |
| Max Troy | $88,500 |
| Danny Kalpakis | $55,000 |
Play resumes at 3 p.m. today, as does the live coverage provided by PokerListings.com.
Event 36
The fourth $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event got its start on Thursday, drawing a playing field of 2,447 players. The event will pay out to the top 198, which means the 187 players who are returning to play in Day 2 today will all walk away with some cash.
What they're really looking for today, however, is to survive to make the final table. Among the players who begin that quest today are Aaron Kanter, Freddy Deeb, J.C. Tran, Alex Jacob, Luca Pagano and more.
Play is expected to resume at 3 p.m., and poker fans can see how their favorite players are holding up in the Event 36 live updates.
Event 37
Once again the best of the best were lured to a $10,000 World Championship event at the 2008 WSOP. This time it was for some Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight-or-Better action.
The event drew 235 players to create a $2,209,000 prize pool, which will mean a more than $500,000 payday for the winner.
After a day of play 123 players are still in it and will return to begin play again today at 3 p.m. to determine who will be playing at the final table.
The players still in it include Erick Lindgren, Chau Giang, Bruno Fitoussi, Annie Duke, Brad Booth, Roland De Wolfe, Jeff Madsen, Huck Seed, Mike Matusow, Dutch Boyd, Mel Judah, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Shannon Elizabeth, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein and many, many more.
The money pays out to the top 27 in this event, so stay tuned to the Event 37 live updates to see who survives to see the money-bubble burst and who makes it to the final table.
Event 38
Only one event will gets started to add to the poker frenzy today. At noon, the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event will get started.
Last year this event drew nearly 600 players, among whom Greg Hopkins came out on top for the win. WSOP officials are expecting a similar turnout for the event this year.
Stay tuned to the 2008 WSOP Live Tournaments section for all your poker action, including videos, updates, interviews, photos and more.
Related Article:
More News
- Cada vs. Moon: The Main Event goes heads up
- Seven for dinner at the WSOP Main Event
- Reigning WSOP champ handicaps November Nine
- All eyes on Ivey: The legend speaks
- Discovering Saout: The unknown November Niner
- ESPN gears up for Main Event final
- Ivey win would be a bookmaker's bath
- Freeroller wins WSOPC Chicago
Comment(s) on this article
Leave a comment