1. Kianoush Abolfathi Marina Del Rey, CA $335,289 2. Eric Buchman Valley Stream, NY $174,938 3. Josh Schlein Owings Mills, MD $101,318 4. Michele D. Lewis Houston, TX $72,891 5. Vipul Kothari Edison, NJ $58,313 6. Hank Sparks Long Beach, CA $51,024 7. Patrick Maloney Las Vegas, NV $43,735 8. Lars Hansen Copenhagen, Denmark $36,446 9. Matt Elsby Los Angeles, CA $32,801 10. Brandon Bates New York, NY $29,156 11. Sean Luckey Las Vegas, NV $26,970 12. Robin Mezhibousky Holmdel, NJ $24,783 13. Chad Davis Greenville, TX $22,596 14. Kevin Manley Arlington Heights, IL $20,409 15. Ron Burke La Selva Beach, CA $18,223 16. Gary Margadonna Granbury, TX $16,036 17. Stuart Krasney Tustin, CA $13,849 18. Aaron Z. Bartley Cary, NC $11,663 19. Genki Jinno Kanagawa, Japan $9,476 20. Joe Cassidy Costa Mesa, CA $9,476 21. Phil Ivey Las Vegas, NV $9,476 22. Chris McHugh Las Vegas, NV $9,476 23. Troy Tuggle Brighton, MI $9,476 24. Chris Tsiprailides Syracuse, NY $9,476 25. Steve Wong Hoofddorf, Holland $9,476 26. Jonathan Little Pensacola, FL $9,476 27. Ryan McGuire Las Vegas, NV $9,476 28. Young Phan Garden Crove, CA $7,289 29. Jason Gillis San Clements $7,289 30. Selma Gluhbegovic Las Vegas, NV $7,289 31. Wyley Lynch Henderson, NV $7,289 32. Michael Russ Nutley, NJ $7,289 33. Greg Mueller Boamlager, Germany $7,289 34. Howard Boyd Westchester, OH $7,289 35. Peter Dominie Charlotte, NC $7,289 36. Julio Rodriguez Baily, CO $7,289 37. Jorge Martinez Key Largo, FL $5,831 38. Ed Sass Wallingford, CT $5,831 39. Van Nguyen Bell Gardens, CA $5,831 40. James Giuffre Chicago, IL $5,831 41. Jed Pickerson Oceanside, CA $5,831 42. Phil Gordon Las Vegas, NV $5,831 43. James Green Columbia, MO $5,831 44. Brad Anderson Fresno, CA $5,831 45. Mitch Kroll Solon, OH $5,831 46. Robert Vollmer Springboro, OH $4,373 47. Ed Brodsky San Diego, CA $4,373 48. Michael Hill Wiesbaden $4,373 49. Aaron Ogus Kimbland, WA $4,373 50. Jerry Dunning Sarasota, FL $4,373 51. George Billias E. Lyme, CT $4,373 52. Kuei Chi Chang Taiwan $4,373 53. Bud Lavassani Burbank, CA $4,373 54. Alan Schein N. Miami, FL $4,373 55. Fi Tran Los Angeles, CA $3,645 56. Jim Wavra Spokane, WA $3,645 57. Jesse Martin New York, NY $3,645 58. Christopher Feeney Orlando, FL $3,645 59. Eugene Ji New York, NY $3,645 60. Joshua Blanchfield Boston, MA $3,645 61. Kendrick Roberts Houston, TX $3,645 62. Phuong Nguyen Auborn, WA $3,645 63. Paul A. Taylor Las Vegas, NV $3,645 64. Victor I. Parashiv Chicago, IL $2,916 65. David G. Pincus Davis, CA $2,916 66. Gregory S. Wilson Crystal Lake, IL $2,916 67. Kyle D. Miaso Scottsdale, AZ $2,916 68. Keith N. Sexton Henderson, NV $2,916 69. Eric J. Nickelson San Jose, CA $2,916 70. Andre Ross Montreal, Canada $2,916 71. Unknown $2,916 72. John Jenkins Walnut Creek, CA $2,916 73. Cal Namihino Honolulu, HI $2,916 74. Jesse Jamison Phoenix, AZ $2,916 75. Donald Sekorky Medino, OH $2,916 76. B.I. "T.D." Dong Palo Alto, CA $2,916 77. Tom Koral Skokie, IL $2,916 78. Claudie Holland Fayetville, NC $2,916 79. Jonathan Aquiar Boston, MA $2,916 80. Vanessa Rousso Las Vegas, NV $2,916 81. James Richburg Long Beach, CA $2,916 82. Salem Valimahomed Cambridge, MA $2,187 83. Kenny Chanthamalo East Lyme, CT $2,187 84. Mark Jones Manhatten Beach, CA $2,187 85. James Browwer Marysville, WA $2,187 86. Andrew Wynn New York, NY $2,187 87. James Gaill Appomattox, VA $2,187 88. Michael Castelli Ottowa, IL $2,187 89. Chad Burum Muvato, CA $2,187 90. Eric H. Young Ontario, Canada $2,187 91. Ernie Scherer III Los Angeles, CA $2,187 92. David Stroj Chula Vista, CA $2,187 93. Joel Black Rancho Cucamonga, CA $2,187 94. Larry Thomas San Leandro, CA $2,187 95. Christopher James Castleton, NY $2,187 96. Kevin Kim Los Angeles, CA $1,749.60 97. Denton Gleaves North Las Vegas, NV $1,749.60 98. Allan Cunningham Las Vegas, NV $1,749.60 99. Jeff Mervis Las Vegas, NV $1,749.60 100 Tim Post Humcston, IA $1,749.60

Kianoush Abolfathi Wins First
WSOP Gold Bracelet

Iranian-born student now living in Los Angeles
wins biggest limit hold’em prize in history!

Las Vegas, NV – Once upon a time there was a poker game called “Limit Hold’em.” It was the most popular game in the land. Everywhere you went, in each cardroom and every casino, limit was the game that was played. Then, the earth shook and the poker world changed -- perhaps forever.

When ESPN began showing the 2003 World Series of Poker in prime time, millions of television viewers were exposed to an exciting “new” poker game for the very first time. No-limit hold’em, a game previously tucked away inside smoky backrooms played regularly only by a few dusty old-timers, skyrocketed in popularity and revolutionized poker and the way it is perceived everywhere.

Limit hold’em has since become poker’s step-child. Sure, remains widely-played and is a staple game inside many cardrooms. But, in tournament poker, no-limit is king.

Limit poker requires a very different set of skills and strategies to win. Unlike the reckless “all in” mentality often present at no-limit tables, limit is a game of patience and percentages. For that reason it is not nearly as dramatic to watch, due to its more methodological qualities.

Nevertheless, the first limit hold’em event at this year’s World Series attracted one of the largest “limit” fields in poker history. A whopping 1,068 players put up $1,500 each for the chance to win a gold bracelet. One-thousand, and sixty-eight entries. Ho-hum. Just another day at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

The winner was a 29-year-old Iranian-born student from Los Angeles named Kianoush Abolfathi. He won $335,289 and his first WSOP gold bracelet. Abolfathi’s comeback victory from one of the lowest stacks was as impressive as it was remarkable. He started at the final table eighth in the chip count. It took Abolfathi just under seven hours to obliterate eight would-be champions en route to his first major tournament victory.

After two long days of play, the limit final table was set with the nine survivors. When the first hand was dealt out, seating positions and chips counts were as follows:

Name - Chip Count - Seat #

Vipul Kothavi $132,000 1
Matt Elsby $51,000 2
Josh Schlein $243,000 3
Michele Lewis $225,000 4
Eric Buchman $213,000 5
Kianoush Abolfathi $75,000 6
Lars Hansen $156,000 7
Hank Sparks $243,000 8
Patrick Maloney $259,000 9

The first player eliminated was the shortest stack. In fact, the hand would set the stage for what would ultimately become “the Kianoush Abolfathi show.” Matthew Elsby was dealt pocket aces and got into a raising war with Abolfathi after making trip kings (holding K-Q) when a third-king fell on the river. The big pot put Abolfathi up to third in the chip count, zooming from pretender to contender. Elsby earned $32,801 as the first player out.

Lars Hansen is one of many talented Scandinavian players who have fared well at the WSOP in recent years. However, he went out next when he lost a series of pots and had to commit his final chips with a dog hand. The dog failed to bark, and Hansen marched away in eighth place. He received $36,446.

Patrick Maloney suffered much the same fate – a few bad hands and then low on chips -- a forced final commitment with a weak hand. Maloney’s 7-6 failed to slay Michele Lewis’ Q-10 and the night was over for the Las Vegas-based poker pro. Seventh place paid $43,735.

Hank Sparks arrived as the co-chip leader at the start, but got a shock on his final hand of the night when his pocket nines lost to Michele Lewis’ pocket tens. Sparks, appropriately enough an electrical engineer by trade, got zapped and had to settle for $51,024 for sixth place.

Vipul Kothari, from Edison, NJ was eliminated next. Kothari left in a disappointing way, losing with A-K suited after the flop brought two cards to his suit. But the flush card of salvation failed to come. All of Kothari’s chips went over to Kianoush Abolfathi. Kothari went to the cage and collected $58,313 for fifth place.

The first female to make a final table appearance at this year’s WSOP was Michele Lewis, a real estate broker and full-time mother of two children. Lewis arrived within striking distance of the chip lead a few times, but suffered a tough beat on her final hand of the tournament. Lewis was dealt pocket aces against Josh Schlein’s Q-10 suited. After the flop came with two of Schlein’s suits, a raising war broke out. A spade on the river completed Schlein’s flush and paved the exit path for Lewis. Part of her $72,891 in winnings, she says, will go to a charity that works to promote and fund cancer research.

Down to three players, just as it looked as though Josh Schlein might start to pull away from his two rivals, he took a number of disappointing beats with the second-best hand and ended up the victim of a complete chip reversal. Schlein finally busted-out with top pair (kings) which lost to Abolfathi’s set of deuces. Third-place paid $101,318.

That big hand gave Abolfathi a 4 to 1 chip lead when heads-up play began. His lone opponent, Eric Buchman would prove to be a tough final blockade. Despite being out-chipped by a large margin throughout the final duel, Buchman won several key hands and did his best to pull off a comeback. He got close a few times, but in the end – the big stack and the more aggressive player who knew how to take advantage of the situation won. After 90 minutes of scratching and clawing, Abolfathi finally delivered the knockout blow with a pair of tens to Buchman’s no-pair, and a new poker champion was crowned at the Rio.

As the runner-up, Eric Buchman received $174,938 in prize money. The winner showed great appreciation for the moment and proudly snapped on the coveted gold bracelet. Abolfathi was the $1,500 Limit Event champion.

By Nolan Dalla

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #4):

Total Entries to Date: 6,178

Total Prize Money Distributed: $7,305,690

2006 World Series of Poker