1. Dutch Boyd Culver City, CA $475,712 2. Joseph Hachem Melbourne, Australia $256,800 3. Jeff Knight Las Vegas, NV $153,511 4. Michael Goodman Scarsdale, NY $115,607 5. Pete Hassett Riverside, IL $91,917 6. David Solomon Austin, TX $68,227 7. Mirza Nagji New York, NY $42,642 8. Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas, NV $38,852 9. Vergard Nygaard Halden, Norway $35,061 10. Isaac Sanders Boulder, CO $31,271 11. Gioi Duc Luong Westminster, CA $27,480 12. Gavin Smith Las Vegas, NV $23,690 13. Todd Nichols Cave Creek, AZ $19,900 14. Harry Thomas Hamilton, OH $18,004 15. Marcus Garza San Antonio, TX $16,109 16. Gavin Griffin Darien, IL $14,214 17. Takov Nepomniashohig Moscow, Russia $12,319 18. David Shallow Great Britain $10,424 19. Behzad Teranie Los Angeles, CA $9,476 20. Craig Gray Portland, OR $9,476 21. Freddy Deeb Las Vegas, NV $9,476 22. Russ Floyd Houston, TX $9,476 23. Karina Jett Las Vegas, NV $9,476 24. Richard Brodie Kirkland, WA $9,476 25. Jason Loehde Minneopolis, MN $9,476 26. Kathy Lieber Las Vegas, NV $9,476 27. Kenny Hsiung Cincinnati, OH $9,476 28. Rick Fuller Monroe, WA $9,476 29. Chau Nguyen Dallas, TX $9,476 30. Paul Kraus Los Angeles, CA $9,476 31. Erick Lingren Las Vegas, NV $8,528 32. Ulises Roman Huntington, WV $8,528 33. Mike Matusow Las Vegas, NV $8,528 34. Robert Arm Boca Raton, FL $8,528 35. Jim Herndon El Paso, TX $8,528 36. Ville Wahlbeck Finland $8,528 37. Joe Pharo Scottsdale, AZ $8,528 38. Thor Hansen El Segundo, CA $8,528 39. James Bechtel Gilbert, AZ $8,528 40. Sawant Rajendrakumar Topeka, KS $8,528 41. Brian Peterson Jr. Jupiter, FL $8,528 42. Joseph Tehan Las Vegas, NV $8,528 43. Logan Trindade Los Angeles, CA $6,633 44. Benjamin Roberts London, England $6,633 45. Daniel Alaei Santa Fe Springs, CA $6,633 46. Aaron Lerner Quebec, Canada $6,633 47. Amit Rafi Israel $6,633 48. Patricia Nixson Las Vegas, NV $6,633 49. Matthew Keikoan Richmond, CA $6,633 50. Douglas Lee Calgary, Canada $6,633 51. James Lester Jr. Cincinnati, OH $6,633 52. John Hennigan Las Vegas, NV $6,633 53. Gregory Wynn Phoenix, AZ $6,633 54. Cindy Violette Los Angeles, CA $6,633 55. Kevin Nathan Roseville, CA $4,738 56. Michael Kobzeff Westminster, CA $4,738 57. Ezra Udoff Washington D.C. $4,738 58. Wendell Barnes Charlton, MA $4,738 59. Lorne Dubrowsky West Bloomfield, MI $4,738 60. Michael Palizzi Olympia, WA $4,738 61. Paul Smith Minneapolis, MN $4,738 62. Jeffrey Lim Guymon, OK $4,738 63. Vanessa Rousso Las Vegas, NV $4,738 64. William Chen Lafayette Hill, PA $4,738 65. Joshua Tieman Lake Zurich, IL $4,738 66. Mark Hamnawi Blue Baltimore, MI $4,738 67. Ian Frazer London, England $3,790 68. Daniel Bokesch Columbus, OH $3,790 69. Michael Williams Orange County, CA $3,790 70. Thomas Macey Chicago, IL $3,790 71. Cormel Petresco Las Vegas, NV $3,790 72. Al Ardebihi Ashburn, VA $3,790 73. Evan Brown New York, NY $3,790 74. John Roveto Atlanta, GA $3,790 75. Steve Ambrose Waterloo, Ontario $3,790 76. Beth Shak Bryn Mawa, PA $3,790 77. Joseph Sebok San Francisco, CA $3,790 78. Donald Barton Pahrump, NV $3,790 79. Kyle Brossia Perrysburg, OH $3,790 80. Ali Davaudi Houston, TX $3,790 81. Patrick Antouilus Finland $3,790 82. William Baxter Las Vegas, NV $3,790 83. David Melrose Dallas, TX $3,790 84. Antanas Guogv Lithuania $3,790 85. Charles “Chip” Jett Las Vegas, NV $3,790 86. Travis Paquette Manchester, NH $3,790 87. Barry Greenstein Rancho Palos Verdes, CA $3,790 88. Terrence Chan Vancouver, B.C. $3,790 89. Anita Perl Coral Springs, FL $3,790 90. Steven Rassi Morton, IL $3,790

The Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat

Russ “Dutch” Boyd shatters WSOP champ
Joe Hachem’s bid for bracelet number two

Colorful and controversial poker pro wins stunning WSOP victory

Las Vegas, NV – Standing on the upper row of the aluminum rafters looking down upon the expansive poker combat zone that is the 2006 World Series of Poker is normally not a very good vantage point. But at 7:38 pm on Sunday, July 2, 2006 – it very well might have been the best seat in the house.

Russ “Dutch” Boyd had just won $475,712 and his first WSOP gold bracelet in the short-handed hold’em world championship. Bent off to the side with his head bowed in bitter disappointment was the reigning world poker champion -- Joe Hachem. It was a snapshot that said everything one needs to know about the inestimable difference between winning and losing. Boyd’s “crew” screaming in ear-piercing joy, jumping wildly up and down, and finally lifting the 25-year-old wunderkind up in the air as though he had just hit the game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth. In the meantime, emotionally-wrecked Hachem was curled over in stoned silence with eyes shut, his wife Jeanie’s arm wrapped around her champion. Greg Raymer, the 2004 WSOP champion and Hachem’s pal, was there for comfort and support.

The final hand was as amazing as it was shocking. After fighting off 1,066 challengers over three long days and nights, the heads-up duel between Boyd and Hachem lasted for two full hours. Just when it looked like Hachem might seize the chip lead, Boyd would suppress his rival’s challenge, each time leading more and more credence to the notion that – love him or hate him – Dutch Boyd is a very, very talented poker player.

Hachem pumped his fist in the air when he first saw the hole cards on what would turn out to be the final hand of the largest short-handed poker tournament in history. The trap he had set for hours hoping to entrap Boyd snapped shut, and Boyd was the wounded animal. Replicating the valor and persistence that rocketed Hachem to the forefront of the poker universe nearly a year to the day when he won the 2005 World Series of Poker, Hachem showed ace-queen to Boyd’s ace-five. Hachem’s hand was a huge favorite. If the ace-queen held up and won, Hachem would suddenly enjoy his largest chip lead of the tournament. If he lost, it would all be over. So far, if Hachem was writing a script to win a poker tournament, this is the one he would write.

There has probably never been a larger gallery watching the final moments of a live poker tournament than this one. Packed ten deep around the stands already filled to capacity, everyone was standing -- all eyes in the Rio’s 209-table poker room fixed on ESPN’s giant television monitors. They all gazed upward as the flop came A-K-9 of mixed suits. Hachem’s grin turned into a smile. Boyd’s anxiety turned into distress. A jack on the turn did not help either player, and it all came down to a single card. One card was the difference between a quarter-million in extra prize money, and (certainly more meaningful to these two player) a gold bracelet. Boyd desperately needed a five. When the overhead lights glared off the white face of what would be an earth-shattering 3 by 5 inch two-seat voucher of ecstasy and agony, Hachem knew immediately that he was in trouble. It was a low card, but not too low. It was a middle card with an undetermined number of pixels. Then, as the card was tabled, everything suddenly came into focus. It was – depending on who you were cheering for, a fabulous, agonizing, beautiful, ugly, breathtaking, painful -- five.

Indeed, poker tournaments can be exhilarating and excruciating things.

The final table started hours earlier with six players:

Name - Chip Count - Seat #

Pete Hassett $148,000 1
Dutch Boyd $909,000 2
David Solomon $93,000 3
Joeseph Hachem $287,000 4
Michael Goodman $575,000 5
Jeff Knight $62,000 6

David Solomon was the first player out. The yoga instructor from Austin, Texas got short-stacked and moved-in with his last 25,000 in chips holding king-six. He lost to Mike Goodman’s king-queen suited. Solomon’s poker wisdom earned him $68,227.

Next, Pete Hassett went out with king-queen against Joe Hachem’s ace-jack. Hachem caught an ace, good for a pair, and Hassett went bust. Peter Hassett, a video game tester from Chicago was unplugged from the final table but did receive $91,917 in prize money.

Mike Goodman was eliminated as the fourth-place finisher. The New York City-based poker player who recently graduated from college was making his first-ever WSOP final table appearance. Goodman arrived at the final table second in the chip count, and ended up falling down a few spots to fourth place, which paid $115,607.

Jeff Knight said “goodnight” a short time later when he was caught bluffing on his final hand and was bankrupted by Dutch Boyd. Knight, a professional gambler (non-poker) from Las Vegas, cashed for $153,511.

That left the blood-match that many, if not most, had been anticipating. In so many ways, this was a complete contrast of style and character. Dutch Boyd – brazen, bold, and some would say “brilliant.” Joe Hachem – gracious, gallant, and good-natured.

There were several notable hands during the final confrontation. But none was more momentous as – the hand with the five.

“You walk into this room, you look around, and everybody is so good,” Dutch Boyd said in a post-tournament interview with ESPN’s Norman Chad. “I have been coming here for four years, and three years I have played in it. This room is so full of great players that I really never knew if I would be able to get one of these (gold bracelets).”

“It’s not like they give these away. I look at the names of players who have won a gold bracelet, players like Doyle (Brunson), T.J. (Cloutier), and Joe (Hachem)….and it’s just amazing to be sitting here. It’s an incredible feeling.”

Back atop of the rafters taking it in and watching it all end -- the picture was perfectly clear. Boyd continued his interview perched in front of bundles of tightly bound hundred-dollar bills, his right tattooed wrist glimmering in wrapped gold from the battle fought and won. There were photographs taken. There were more interviews. There was loud celebration.

On the horizon, just over the massive crowd swarming around the latest WSOP winner, the reigning world poker champion from Australia shuffled away slowly in dead silence, consoled by his wife – most certainly the only person on earth who could share and empathize with the pain of the moment. Hachem tottered passed the scattered tables and players of an ongoing tournament over in the next section looking for an exit. Slowly, they began to stand. They began to clap. They began to cheer. They knew a champion when they saw one.

By Nolan Dalla

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #5):

Total Entries to Date: 7,246

Total Prize Money Distributed: $8,763,510

2006 World Series of Poker