1. Jon Friedberg Las Vegas, NV $526,185 2. John “The Razor” Phan Los Angeles, CA $289,389 3. Mike Pomeroy Detroit, MI $157,322 4. Tom Hawkingberry Pittsburgh, PA $122,596 5. Kevin O'Donnell Scottsdale, AZ $105,232 6. Corey Chaston Thorold, ON, Canada $88,132 7. Humberto Brenes San Jose, Costa Rica $74,715 8. Mike Halford Memphis, TN $61,561 9. Thang T. Luu Las Vegas, NV $49,722 10. Carlos Mortensen Las Vegas, NV $38,936 11. Karen Black Whittier, CA $35,516 12. Lowell Kim Las Vegas, NV $32,622 13. Terry Trevathan Lufkin, TX $29,991 14. Shane McCarrell Yuma, AZ $27,360 15. Matthew Palmucci Nashua, NH $24,730 16. Nicholas Hill Phoenix, AZ $22,099 17. Wei Chan Chapel Hill, NC $19,468 18. Boulos Estafanous Darien, IL $16,837 19. Tae Baik Leonia, NJ $14,206 20. Richard Sparks Beverly Hills, CA $14,206 21. Simon Ford Albenia, Canada $14,206 22. David Parde Beverton, OR $11,576 23. Mark R Wilds Biloxi, MS $11,576 24. Steven Connally Fountain Valley, CA $11,576 25. Jonathan N. Dull Fresno, CA $9,471 26. Jeffrey Rosenblatt Mont- Royal Quebec, Canada $9,471 27. Charlie Ng Las Vegas, NV $9,471 28. William Kyle Orvis Longmont, CO $7,892 29. Joseph Falcone Hawley, PA $7,892 30. Zachary W. Shapiro Los Angeles, CA $7,892 31. Jason Stern San Jose, CA $7,892 32. John Shipley Solihull, UK $7,892 33. Frank G. Huntress Austin, TX $7,892 34. Nega A. Marucci, III Las Vegas, NV $7,892 35. David Walton Las Vegas, NV $7,892 36. George A. Auscomb Jr. Frenkenmuth, MI $7,892 37. Randy A. Haddox Houston, TX $6,314 38. Mark Burtenshaw Idaho Falls, ID $6,314 39. Anthony Limantzakis Salt Lake City, UT $6,314 40. John Bardwell Haines City, FL $6,314 41. Marek Kolk $6,314 42. John Repetti Henderson, NV $6,314 43. Michael W. Chow Honolulu, HI $6,314 44. Marlis Sawicki Etobicoke, Ontario Canada $6,314 45. Robert Hutchins Monterey, CA $6,314 46. Ronald Peterson Kalispell, MT $6,314 47. Greg Mueller Vancourver, CA $6,314 48. Matthew Rightnour Clearfield, PA $6,314 49. Chris W. McCormack Las Vegas, NV $6,314 50. Lore Cargile San Juan Capistrano, CA $6,314 51. Ed Apodaca Elizabeth, CO $6,314 52. Peter Boysen Aarbus, Denmark $6,314 53. John Zaheri Houston, TX $6,314 54. William P. Durkee V Pittsburgh, PA $6,314 55. David Katz Venice, CA $5,262 56. Colby Spere Henderson, NV $5,262 57. Ashley Young Pleasanton, CA $5,262 58. Gary Long Naples, FL $5,262 59. Gregg Goldstein Las Vegas, NV $5,262 60. James Russell Arlington, VA $5,262 61. Daniel Lowe Las Vegas, NV $5,262 62. Joseph M. Ebert Rochester, NY $5,262 63. Ronnie R. Rogers Edwardsburg, MI $5,262 64. Kevin O'Sullivan Los Angeles, CA $5,262 65. Macello Del Grosso Toronto, Ontario, Canada $5,262 66. Thomas J. Hayman Macomb, MI $5,262 67. Bryan Connole Palm Springs, CA $5,262 68. Yakir Retner Tel Aviv, Israel $5,262 69. Todd Miskos La Salle, Ontario, Canada $5,262 70. Carlos Lopez Dallas, TX $5,262 71. Michael Katz Manalapan, NJ $5,262 72. Steven Zoine Merrick, NY $5,262 73. Michael Kilgoris Huntsville, AL $5,262 74. Richard Spring Las Vegas, NV $5,262 75. Samir Zoudo Modesto, CA $5,262 76. Annand Ramdin Bronx, NY $5,262 77. Sean Cain San Jose, CA $5,262 78. Steve Vincent Henderson, NV $5,262 79. Satish Vitha Cerritos, CA $5,262 80. Michael Sanderson Odenton, md $5,262 81. Paul Finn Publo, CO $5,262 82. William Vosti Arroyo Grande, CA $4,209 83. Peter Lawson Salt Lake City, UT $4,209 84. Lara Covert Lawrence, KS $4,209 85. Thomas Swanson Duluth, MN $4,209 86. Isaac Galazan Sunny Isles Beach, FL $4,209 87. Colin McDonnell Studio City, CA $4,209 88. Justin Title Austin, TX $4,209 89. Erik Sorensen Copenhagen, Denmark $4,209 90. Gregg Grivas Las Vegas, NV $4,209 91. Dennis Wu Cleveland, OH $4,209 92. Camillo Calabrese Las Vegas, NV $4,209 93. Randolf W. Sears Victorville, CA $4,209 94. Corey W. Souther Seattle, WA $4,209 95. Motoyuki Mabuchi Osaka, Japan $4,209 96. Kevin Westcott Blue Island, I $4,209 97. Clayton D. Connelly Fort Smith, AR $4,209 98. Brian Hansen Colorado Springs, CO $4,209 99. Kevin Song Rowland Hgts, CA $4,209 100. Justin C.V. Tran Sacramento, CA $4,209 101. Nhan Le Huntington Beach, CA $4,209 102. Mike J. Sanchez Tucson, AZ $4,209 103. Jared Smith Reno, NV $4,209 104. Matthew H. Engel Allen, TX $4,209 105. Brittani Simberg Santa Monica, CA $4,209 106. William Shanks Mays Landing, NJ $4,209 107. Rick Ruffman Colts Neck, NJ $4,209 108. David Scheinbart Woodland Hills, CA $4,209 109. Jacinto Lopez Dallas, TX $3,157 110. Michael "Mickey" Seagle Marion, NC $3,157 111. William Jensen Silver Springs, MD $3,157 112. Terry Myers Yuma, AZ $3,157 113. Paul Ahmed Springdale, AR $3,157 114. Kevin Ho Gainesville, FL $3,157 115. Steven J. Mitchell Hillsboro, WI $3,157 116. Tom Russo Peyton, CO $3,157 117. David Lataille Surprise, AZ $3,157 118. Edmund Liu Davis, CA $3,157 119. Quinn Do Los Angeles, CA $3,157 120. Adam Naglich Las Vegas, NV $3,157 121. Jeff Rasmussen Carmel, IN $3,157 122. Frank Puleo St. Louis, MO $3,157 123. Thomas Hover Blue Diamond, NV $3,157 124. Stephen Ladowsky Toronto, Ontario, Canada $3,157 125. Tina Bergstrom Las Vegas, NV $3,157 126. Gee Way Lee Houston, TX $3,157 127. John Hank Sitton III Greenville, SC $3,157 128. Peter M. Falkenstein Ann Arbor, MI $3,157 129. Jacob Hoffman Nappanei, IN $3,157 130. Brad Mahon Gilbert, AZ $3,157 131. Jean Gaspard Evanston, IL $3,157 132. Kris Fields Harrison, OH $3,157 133. Carl A. Davis Levelland, TX $3,157 134. Gary N. Lew Sugar Land, TX $3,157 135. Jeremy Armstrong Beverly Hills, CA $3,157 136. Sheree Bykoesky New York, NY $3,157 137. James Fox Las Vegas, NV $3,157 138. Glyn Banks Smithville, TN $3,157 139. Unknown Unknown $3,157 140. Gary Gosewehr Port Washington, WI $3,157 141. Joe Ramos Tulane, CA $3,157 142. Joseph Yun Honolulu, HI $3,157 143. Christopher Mudd Kirksville, MO $3,157 144. James Thomas Reno, NV $3,157 145. Craig Brockman Las Vegas, NV $3,157 146. Larry Etherington Phoenix, AZ $3,157 147. David Williams San Marcos, CA $3,157 148. Anthony Renella Aurora, IL $3,157 149. Mark Bonsack Maple Valley, WA $3,157 150. Charles Lunn Toccoa, GA $3,157 151. Gioi Luong Westminster, CA $3,157 152. Ylon Schwartz Brooklyn, N.Y. $3,157 153. John Huston Helena, MI $3,157 154. Kevin Miller Richmond Heights, MO $2,368 155. Patrick Breno $2,368 156. Ryan Larson Las Vegas, NV $2,368 157. Randolph Spain Brewer, ME $2,368 158. Edward Zakaria Windsor, Ontario, Canada $2,368 159. Joseph Holmes Weston, FL $2,368 160. Duane Drushella Albany, OR $2,368 161. Stephen Waldo Corinth, TX $2,368 162. Richard Steinmetz Ambridge, PA $2,368 163. Stanley Davis De Forest, WI $2,368 164. Tomishau Krizanie Oakland Park, FL $2,368 165. Jason Chung Houston, TX $2,368 166. Richard Ferro Dallas, TX $2,368 167. Gregg Merkow Dallas, TX $2,368 168. Billy Cockman Jacksonville, FL $2,368 169. Mats Eriksson Stockholm, Sweden $2,368 170. Keith Noblett Plano, TX $2,368 171. Jonathan Sedaghati Tarzana, CA $2,368 172. Stephen Muszkat Gordon NSW $2,368 173. John Salmon Maricopa, AZ $2,368 174. Michael Serrano Hoffman Estates, IL $2,368 175. Barry Seedman Henderson, NV $2,368 176. Leon Walk Warren, OH $2,368 177. Lyly McKeany Santa Barbara, CA $2,368 178. Grand "Tony" Cantalupo Chatsworth, CA $2,368 179. Matthew Flynn Millwaukee, WI $2,368 180. Ross Boatman $2,368 181. Dustin Carlton Mantua, OH $2,368 182. Robin Schoder Conifer, CO $2,368 183. Jon Loshbaugh Denver, CO $2,368 184. Theo Osborne U.K. $2,368 185. Brett Smith Palmer, AK $2,368 186. Evan Peterson Irvine, CA $2,368 187. Mark Green Shelbyville, IN $2,368 188. Andrew Barciz Scottsdale, AZ $2,368 189. Arthur Bressher Manalapan, NJ $2,368 190. Michael Bokan Sacramento, CA $2,368 191. Kully Burnet Kailua, HI $2,368 192. Mats Millson Sweden $2,368 193. Roy Vagderslvis London, England $2,368 194. Jeremy Magal Vancouver, Canada $2,368 195. Brandon Adams $2,368 196. Richard Joel Conyers, GA $2,368 197. John Helppi Helsinki, Finland $2,368 198. Rick Montijo Bakersfield, CA $2,368 199. Peter Hedlund $1,578 200. Terry Huggins Palo Pinto, TX $1,578 201. Shannon Fadal Los Angeles, CA $1,578 202. Jesse Petrake $1,578 203. Michael Waiter Phoenix, AZ $1,578 204. Gregory Eberlein Surprise, AZ $1,578 205. Phillip Tague Denver, CO $1,578 206. Eric Stanton Lexington, KY $1,578 207. Theodore Mullikin Gatlinburg, TN $1,578 208. Christoper Guinnup Saline, MI $1,578 209. Talia Khio Chicago, IL $1,578 210. Michael Tham New York, NY $1,578 211. Philip Biho Lahaina, HI $1,578 212. Art Diaz Chula Vista, CA $1,578 213. Vaughn McClelland Jersey Shore, PA $1,578 214. Gavin Smith Las Vegas, NV $1,578 215. Bret McClame Bristol, IN $1,578 216. Michael Q. McArdle Gainesville, FL $1,578 217. Roger Fitzsimmons Galesburg, IL $1,578 218. Michael Airharut Austin, TX $1,578 219. Phillip Gurian Boca Raton, FL $1,578 220. Michael Olson Wauwatosa, WI $1,578 221. Jonathan Little Pensacola, FL $1,578 222. Philip Ariganello Ohaou, HI $1,578 223. John Walliser Phoenix, AZ $1,578 224. Kevin Currey Orlando, FL $1,578 225. Mark Barre Pearland, TX $1,578 226. Steven Federspiel North Liberty, IA $1,578 227. James Mattox Kingsland, GA $1,578 228. William Forrest Las Vegas, NV $1,578 229. Kendall Fukumoto Honolulu, HI $1,578 230. Gary Braufman Las Vegas, NV $1,578 231. Douglas Smith Lenexa, KS $1,578 232. Steven Abt Meadowbrook, PA $1,578 233. Charles Blankenship Middle River Ba, MD $1,578 234. John Pires Santa Clara, CA $1,578 235. Donato Bielli Broken Arrow, OK $1,578 236. Parris Holmes San Antonio, TX $1,578 237. Scott Mele Lake Hiawatha, NJ $1,578 238. Justin Patel Cary, NC $1,578 239. Terry Breeden Spotsylvania, VA $1,578 240. John Saini Sulmar, CA $1,578 241. Daniel Eskola Stockholm, Sweden $1,578 242. Richard Basso Saint Clair Shores, MI $1,578 243. Jonathan Crawford Las Vegas, NV $1,578 244. Ronald Delcamp Seattle, WA $1,578 245. David Drews Los Angeles, CA $1,578 246. Jared Okun Tampa, FL $1,578 247. Marc Aubin Montreal, Canada $1,578 248. Kristopher Johnson Loveland, CO $1,578 249. Richard Seward Port Orchard, WA $1,578 250. Bradford Damm San Diego, CA $1,578 251. Michael Gwyn Woodstock, VA $1,578 252. David Gibbone Mt. Royal, NJ $1,578 253. Branden Lee Aiea, HI $1,578 254. Michael Vitullo Woodland Hls, CA $1,578 255. Fred Finley Arvada, CO $1,578 256. Sandro Gebert Venice, CA $1,578 257. Glenn Theobald Pembroke Pines, FL $1,578 258. Arnold Kirschenmann Bakersfield, CA $1,578 259. Stephen Kujubu Sacramento, CA $1,578 260. Kim Austin Beaufort, SC $1,578 261. Michael Riebe Mentor, OH $1,578 262. Michael Carlin Golden, CO $1,578 263. John Rusk Mahomet, IL $1,578 264. Markus Gonsalves San Diego, CA $1,578 265. Mikhail Vaynshteyn Alberta, Canada $1,578 266. James Pittman Yorba Linda, CA $1,578 267. Steven Lance Twinsburg, OH $1,578 268. Bryan Ellenburg Valley Vlg, CA $1,578 269. Shawn Mattaro Phoenix, AZ $1,578 270. Erik Behling Wauuatosa, WI $1,578

Nothing to Lose, Everything to Win

Jon Friedberg Pulls-Off Stunning Upset Victory

Mammoth 2006 WSOP attracts second-largest live
poker tournament in history

Las Vegas, NV – Janis Joplin once sang, “freedom is just another word for – nothing left to lose.” What the 1969 song lyric meant was that it’s far easier to be daring and take chances when there is not so much at stake. Jon Friedberg, winner of the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship certainly understands this. He won the second-largest live poker tournament in history at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

Friedberg overcame a field of 2,891 players to win over half-a-million dollars in prize money. Only the main event of the 2005 WSOP attracted more entries. A whopping 270 players finished in-the-money.

Friedberg, who won his first-ever gold bracelet, is a 31-year-old MBA graduate from Pepperdine University. He is a businessman and investor with a number of ongoing start-up ventures. Freidberg lives in Las Vegas.

It took two very long days to eliminate 2,882 participants. That left the final nine players, who returned for Day Three. When the final table started, Michael Pomeroy looked to be the player to beat. He enjoyed a sizable chip advantage. In fact, Pomeroy possessed one-third of the total chips in play. Only one former gold bracelet winner was present -- two-time champion Humberto Brenes. He won two WSOP titles in 1993, for Pot-Limit Omaha and Limit Hold’em.

Name - Chip Count - Seat #

John Phan $747,000 1
Michael Pomeroy $1,325,000 2
Humberto Brenes $564,000 3
Tom Hawkingberry $675,000 4
Corey Chaston $229,000 5
Mike Halford $89,000 6
Kevin O'Donnell $222,000 7
Jon Friedberg $189,000 8
Thang T. Luu $314,000 9

About 15 minutes into play, Thang T. Luu lost most of his chips with ace-jack against pocket kings, and then was eliminated a few hands later. Luu, born in Vietnam and now living in Las Vegas, received $49,722.

Mike Halford went out on the very next hand. He was pot-committed with jack-seven when the flop came Q-7-6 and actually had the best hand against John Phan’s flush draw. However, a heart fell on the river making the flush, which busted Halford. The Las Vegas poker pro now has 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 10th-place finishes at the WSOP over the last two decades. He collected $61,561.

Costa Rican superstar Humberto Brenes’ bid for his first gold bracelet in 13 years was dashed when Mike Pomeroy spiked a queen holding ace-queen versus Brenes’ ace-king. Brenes, who owns several businesses in Central America and also has 41 cashes in his illustrious WSOP career, said adios and was paid $74,715 for seventh place.

Next, Canadian poker player Corey Chasten went out in a three-way pot won by Kevin O’Donnell. Chaston received $88,132 as the sixth-place finisher.

When play became five-handed, Mike Pomeroy increased his chip lead to 2 to 1 and had about half of the chips in play. Kevin O’Donnell was not so fortunate. Fresh off winning the big pot which eliminated Chasten, O’Donnell flopped top pair holding ace-jack. But Jon Friedberg hit a third eight on the river to make three-of-a-kind, which broke O’Donnell. He earned $105,232.

Jon Friedberg started making his move when play was at four-handed. He narrowed the gap with the chip-leader Pomeroy, who busted the next player from the tournament. Tom Hawkingberry, who works as a compressed gas plant operator, exploded when his ace-four was dominated by Pomeroy’s ace-jack. Pomeroy made a gratuitous flush, putting Hawkingberry out in fourth place. He earned $122,596.

Which now brings us to singer Janis Joplin’s poker tournament strategy. In a post-tournament interview which occurred two hours later, Friedberg made an acute observation that summarized his reasons for success. He explained that it is sometimes easier to play a small stack than a big one. “I prefer to come into a tournament as a shorter stack than a big stack,” Friedberg said. “As odd as that sounds, when I am a short stack I feel like I have nothing to lose. But when I come in as a tall stack I am scared to lose my chips and it affects my game. To me, there are definite advantages to coming in with the short stack and I know it is uphill from there. I am willing to gamble, take chances, and play my game -- more so than if I have chips.”

Friedberg’s strategy proved effective. He pushed John Phan out of a few big pots and, in at least one sense, became the victim of his own success. Friedberg seized the chip lead and then annihilated the player who had dominated the final table up to that point. Mike Pomeroy lost all of his chips with queen-three against Friedberg’s pocket fives. Pomeroy caught a queen, but Pomeroy caught a five (making a set), which wrecked Pomeroy’s dreams of victory. Michael Pomeroy, an auto worker from Detroit, raced off with $157,322.

When heads-up play began, Friedberg enjoyed a 4 to 1 chip lead. Later, Friedberg reflected back on his feelings when initially faced with the prospect of playing against John Phan heads-up for the gold bracelet. “I think I needed a 4 to 1 chip lead to beat John. He is one of the very best players in the world. I’ll be honest -- I was scared to death to play him heads-up and even at 4 to1, I was scared to play against him.”

The fear certainly did not show. Phan was never seriously able to threaten Friedberg’s chip lead. About 90 minutes into heads-up play, the final hand of the night was dealt when Phan tried to make a pre-flop steal holding the less-than-desirable queen-four suited. Friedberg called the all-in move holding ace-seven suited. The final board showed 10-9-3-2-7, giving Friedberg a pair of sevens and his first WSOP victory.

As the runner up, John “The Razor” Phan received $289,389 in prize money. He was visibly disappointed with the outcome. “I have to try and keep my head up,” Phan said. “There is always tomorrow in poker. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Friedberg agreed that he had dodged a bullet by not having to confront Phan from a competitive disadvantage. “(Phan) was the single most feared opponent I had at this table,” Friedberg said. “John is not going to be happy when he sees the (ESPN) television footage of me when I pushed him off some key hands. John is a great player and I feel very fortunate to have come out on top tonight.”

“I started off here on the final table eighth (in the chip count) out of nine players. I had a key double-up hand early. Then, I had a couple of very lucky suck outs and got some chips and was able to win. Every poker player’s dream is to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. I came here, and now did it. I really can’t believe it.”

Writer’s Note: 1969’s “Me and Bobby McGee” was actually written by Kris Kristofferson, but it was popularized by Janis Jopin.

By Nolan Dalla

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #16):

Total Entries to Date: 16,694

Total Prize Money Distributed: $28,759,692

2006 World Series of Poker