1. Victor Perches Las Vegas, NV $157,338 2. Arnold Spee Thousand Oaks, CA $78,679 3. Anders Henriksson Stockholm, Sweden $50,068 4. Ralph Porter Woodinville, WA $39,339 5. Thomas Schneider Phoenix, AZ $28,610 6. Mariano Garcia Fremont, CA $17,882 7. Chris W. McCormick Las Vegas, NV $7,153 8. Peter Fischer Silkeborg, Denmark $7,153 9. Pedro Rios Houston, TX $7,153 10. Bill Burdick St. Petersburg, FL $7,153 11. Hyon Chun Cerritos, CA $7,153 12. Todd Witteles Las Vegas, NV $7,153 13. Kenneth Cruz Orange, CA $7,153 14. Chad Layne Las Vegas, NV $7,153 15. Scott Regner Walnut, CA $7,153 16. Justin Sadauskas Chicago, IL $7,153 17. Todd Taylor Las Vegas, NV $7,153 18. Hang Ha Vancouver, Canada $7,153 19. Michael Baker Boston, MA $7,153 20. Mike Caro unknown $7,153 21. Michael Banducci Travers City, MI $7,153 22. Kevin Daly London, UK $7,153 23. Danny Wong Los Angeles, CA $7,153 24. Joseph Thomas Paxton, MA $7,153 25. Craig Brockman Las Vegas, NV $7,153 26. Andrew Bloch Las Vegas, NV $7,153 27. Bon John Phan Los Angeles, CA $7,153 28. Chris Moneymaker Nashville, TN $7,153 29. Jeffrey H. Frerichs Henderson, NV $7,153 30. David Plaskett Boulder Creek, CA $7,153 31. Robert Guthmann Atlanta, GA $7,153 32. Eric L. Froehlich Springfield, VA $7,153 33. Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV $7,153 34. Paul Niemela Las Vegas, NV $7,153 35. Scott Bohlman Homer Glen, IL $7,153 36. Vanco Nikolic Sterling Heights, MI $7,153 37. Marco Traniello Las Vegas, NV $7,153 38. Jamin A. Stokes Rockford, MI $7,153 39. William H. Jensen III Silver Spring, MD $7,153 40. John Carlisle Mt. Morris, MI $7,153 41. Andreas Hagen Stavanger, Norway $7,153 42. Mario Esquerra Whittier, CA $7,153 43. Darren Drandes Clearwater, FL $7,153 44. Zachary Fritz Las Vegas, NV $7,153 45. Gunnar Ostebrod Oslo, Norway $7,153 46. Tuan Jeff Lam San Jose, CA $7,153 47. Thmas Fiore Cranston ,RI $7,153 48. Johnny R. Kitchens III Jacksonville, FL $7,153 49. Michael Cribb Rochester Hills, MI $7,153 50. Jeffrey S. Whitson St. Michael, MN $7,153 51. Ha P.T. Pham Whittier, CA $7,153 52. Thomas Dunwoodie Newcastle, UK $7,153 53. Dean Hamrick Plymouth, MI $7,153 54. Allen N. Sorensen Hawthorne, CA $7,153

Arriva!

Victor Perches Wins His First WSOP Gold Bracelet

High-limit cash game player takes first place in Hold’em Shootout

Las Vegas, NV – Victoriano Perches came to this country as many good people do – to seek a better life. The native of Chihuahua, Mexico arrived in the United States 25 years ago and began working inside a food processing plant in Oregon. He eventually moved to Las Vegas and started playing in local poker games for fun. Along the way, Perches discovered he had a hidden talent for the game and progressively started playing for higher-stakes. He now plays regularly in big cash games – frequently as high as $200-400 limit.

It’s not the typical Mexican-American success story. But Perches demonstrates that every person’s path to the promised land takes a different highway. On July 26, 2006, the 57-year-old poker pro won his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet and $157,338 in cash.

The Limit Hold’em Shootout championship was played over a three-day period. There were 524 entries. It took two days to eliminate 518 players. The six finalists returned to the Rio poker stage on Day Three. The final table consisted mostly of limit cash game players with high-stakes experience. However, none of the final six had previously won a WSOP title.

Name - Chip Count - Seat

Ralph Porter $150,000 1
Anders Henriksson $150,000 2
Mariano Garcia $150,000 3
Victoriano Perches $150,000 4
Thomas Schneider $150,000 5
Arnold Spee $150,000 6

The shootout format meant that each of the six players began with the same number of chips. Hence, all players started the final table as equals.

Mariano Garcia went out first when his ace-ten was capped by Rep Porter’s ace-jack. Garcia flopped top pair, but three spades on board gave Porter a flush. Garcia failed to improve, which meant an early sixth-place exit for the 26-year-old player from San Francisco. Garcia received $17,882.

Tom Schneider (a.k.a. “Donkey Bomber”) was eliminated next when he moved all-in from the small blind holding a marginal hand, which lost to Arnold Spee’s flush. Schneider, a poker player, author, and gaming consultant from Phoenix, earned $28,610 for fifth place. Interestingly, Schneider once wrote a book titled, “Oops! I Won Too Much Money.” It is unknown as to whether Schneider intends to write a sequel after chasing out in this event.

Ralph “Rep” Porter busted out a short time later. The Washington State investor and poker player finished second at the Caesar’s Palace championship, part of last year’s World Series of Poker Circuit. This time, Porter took fourth when his ten-eight paired up on the flop but lost to Victor Perches’ pair of aces. Porter was paid $39,339.

Anders Henriksson went out next. The Swede lost all of his last chips with ace-eight versus Victor Perches’ king-ten. Perches flopped a king, which left Henriksson in trouble. An ace failed to rescue the poker pro, which meant a third place finish. Henriksson collected $50,068.

Heads-up play began with Arnold Spee holding a 2 to 1 chip lead over Victor Perches. One hour later, the chip lead was reversed. Exactly one hour later, Perches won the final pot of the night. A key hand in the confrontation took place when Spee committed a large number of chips with pocket nines to a board of 7-7-4-3-Q. Perches, betting and raising all the way, flipped over seven-six -- good for trip sevens. He scooped a huge pot.

Down to less than 100,000 in chips of 900,000 in play, Spee fizzled out with queen-jack. Up against Perches’ ace-six, all of Spee’s chips were committed on the turn on a board which showed A-J-9-6. Spee, up against two pair, was drawing to two outs. A jack failed to fall from the deck, ending the tournament in Perches’ favor. As the runner up, Arnold Spee collected $78,679.

Victor Perches, adorned in a western-style hat, was thrilled with his victory. Cheered on by family members in the crowd, Perches posed for photographs following his win and enjoyed his first time in the poker limelight.

Oddly enough, although natives of Bolivia, Costa Rica, and other Latin American countries have won gold bracelets -- in the 37-year history of the World Series, Perches is believed to be the first poker champ ever born in Mexico.

By Nolan Dalla

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #36):

Total Entries to Date: 30,616

Total Prize Money Distributed: $68,583,590

2006 World Series of Poker