Tournament Notes:
-- -- The winner of the "Seven-Card Stud World Championship" at the 2007 World Series of Poker is Chris Reslock. He is originally from Chicago, IL. Reslock, now 58, lives and plays poker for a living in Atlantic City, NJ.
-- The longer story of how Reslock changed careers is near-legendary. Unsure as to whether he could make it as a pro poker player, Reslock planted his taxi in the parking garage at one of the big casinos - a sort of insurance policy that in case things did not work out, the cab was always there to pay the bills. The taxi sat in the garage for a week. Then, a month passed. Then, several months passed. Reslock never even bothered to go back to the casino to see if the car had been towed. Given that he has won over a million dollars in tournaments, and acquired a fair sum from cash games as well, don't expect Reslock to be behind the wheel of anything other than a luxury car from now on.
-- Reslock's breakthrough tournament win was in 2003 at the "Showdown at the Sands" in Atlantic City. In 2005, he won the WSOP Circuit championship at the Atlantic City Showboat (good for $335K). That event was televised by ESPN. With the win, he qualified to play in the 2006 Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. He took fourth place in that tournament (netting $150,000), which was filled with former champions. Reslock won his first WSOP gold bracelet after finishing in the money four times. First place paid $258,453.
-- The runner-up was poker superstar Phil Ivey. He fell just short of capturing his sixth WSOP gold bracelet. This was Ivey's 26th lifetime cash at the WSOP. At age 31, he is the youngest player to reach that mark in WSOP history.
-- David Oppenheim finished in third place. He is noted for playing in the highest cash games in the world. Considering the stiff competition Reslock faced in this event, his victory is all the more impressive.
-- The first female player to make a final table appearance at the 2007 WSOP is Oriane Teysseire. She is from Paris, France. She finished in 7th place.
-- Marco Traniello is fast becoming one of poker's elite. He cashed yet again in this event and become the first player to make it to two final tables at this year's WSOP. He finished ninth in the pot-limit hold'em championship four days ago. A surprising fact: Now with 13 cashes since the 2005 WSOP, he has finished in-the-money more times than any other poker player in that same period.
-- Jerrod Ankenman finished in 10th-place in this brutally tough field. It was Ankenman's second cash so far this year. Ankenman is noted for being the co-author of "The Mathematics of Poker" along with two-time gold bracelet winner Bill Chen.
-- The 13th-place finisher was Thor Hansen, originally from Norway. With this cash, he jumped up into 18th-place on the all-time lifetime cashes list. Hansen now has 35.
-- Johnny Chan moved up in 16th-place all-time (cashes) with his 18th-place showing. However, a much-anticipated Chan-Ivey final table did not materialize.
-- The crowds inside the Rio to watch all three days of this star-studded event were most likely the largest crowd collectively to ever assemble for a seven-card stud tournament. Several thousand poker fans took turns along the rail to star gaze and watch poker history being made.
-- Maureen Feduniak has certainly paid her dues as a poker tournament player. She has entered countless WSOP events over the past decade. She came close to winning her first gold bracelet last year. Feduniak put up a noble fight in this event and ended up as the 17th-place finisher.
-- The final table was played on the ESPN stage, which has been deemed the "poker arena." However, after five straight nights of filming, the cameras were turned off. That did not dampen the spirit of the competition as a large crowd assembled to watch most of the final table competition.
-- This event has become the de facto "Seven-Card Stud World Championship." It is the highest buy-in stud event in the world. It attracts the toughest field of any competition, by far. It is a World Series of Poker attraction. Now and henceforth, it shall be the official world championship of the game.
-- Speaking of the WSOP's official website, a new feature debuted tonight. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack writes "The Commish's Corner" – a personal blog that will chronicle his views of the biggest and most prestigious sporting event on the planet. Pollack's vision has piloted poker into its next sonic boom and his forthcoming comments should prove insightful and interesting. The Commish's Corner can be found at: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/blogs/blog_post.asp?blogID=790
Nolan Dalla
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