1. Francois Safieddine Denver, CO $521,785 2. John Phan Long Beach, CA $330,846 3. Marcus Obser Delray Beach, FL $212,021 4. Devin Porter Salt Lake City, UT $139,794 5. Shawn Hattem Montreal, Canada $97,856 6. Lars Bonding Fairfax, VA $74,557 7. Humberto Brenes Costa Rica $55,918 8. Alex Bolotin Brooklyn, NY $40,773 9. Grospellier Bertrand Paris, France $29,124 10. Matthew Gilsdorf Escondido,CA $21,435 11. Mike Matusow Las Vegas, NV $21,435 12. Alex Outhred Los Angeles, CA $21,435 13. Sten Viberg Boden, Sweden $19,105 14. Denise Molloy La Jolla, CA $19,105 15. Randall McCallam New York, NY $19,105 16. Joshua Ladines Orlando, FL $16,775 17. John Roveto Deleuth, GA $16,775 18. Mark Zand Weston, FL $16,775 19. Sean Lefort Ontario, CAN $14,445 20. Sebastin Skuja Finspang, Sweden $14,445 21. Greg Mueller Vancouver, CAN $14,445 22. Faraz Jaka San Jose, CA $14,445 23. James Walker Dublin, GA $14,445 24. Martin Green United Kingdom $14,445 25. Michael Sica Jr. No Brunswick, NJ $14,445 26. Lance Yuen Atlanta, GA $14,445 27. Justin Scott Redford, MI $14,445 28. Kelly Kim Whittier, CA $12,348 29. Roderick Cho Santa Clara, CA $12,348 30. Nick Nowkirk Lincoln, NE $12,348 31. David Redlin Sylvania, OH $12,348 32. John Paul Kelly Dylesbury, UK $12,348 33. Thong Pham Garland $12,348 34. $12,348 35. Thomas Hover Las Vegas, NV $12,348 36. James Ekman Madison, WI $12,348 37. Mortyn Wilson Shropshire, UK $10,485 38. Jon Turner Las Vegas, NV $10,485 39. John Shipley Solihull, UK $10,485 40. Daniel Harmetz Sacramento, CA $10,485 41. Marlis Sawick Etobicoke, Canada $10,485 42. Suleiman Abueid Oak Lawn, IL $10,485 43. David Levi Las Vegas, NV $10,485 44. Carl Olson Seattle, WA $10,485 45. Marco Johnson Walnut Creek, CA $10,485 46. Michael Krueger Covington, GA $8,854 47. Dustin Woolf Los Angeles, CA $8,854 48. David Margolis Louisville, TN $8,854 49. Partick Keogan Elkhart, IN $8,854 50. Mark Boudwijn Netherlands $8,854 51. Michael Meredith Westfleid, NJ $8,854 52. Allen Kellener $8,854 53. Narinder Khasria Milton, Canada $8,854 54. Rajendrakumar Sawant Topeka, KS $8,854 55. Jason McKinley Louisville, TN $7,339 56. Richard Toth Miskolc, Hungarian $7,339 57. Donald Sjulstan Phoenix, AZ $7,339 58. Brian Wolfe Raleigh, NC $7,339 59. Rafael Ibaibarriaga Reno, NV $7,339 60. Arturo Diaz San Diego, CA $7,339 61. Jody Phillippo Phoenix, AZ $7,339 62. Pontus Khosravi $7,339 63. Ben Bianco Franklin Squareny, NY $7,339 64. Steven Cersa Northville, MI $6,058 65. Constantine Moustakis Danvers, MA $6,058 66. Steven Shanks Las Vegas, NV $6,058 67. Robert Saltiel New York City, NY $6,058 68. Robert Castoire Cecilia, KY $6,058 69. Neil Creighton Aberdeen, Scotland $6,058 70. Dr. Jason M Levine Miami, FL $6,058 71. Karen Thomas Long Beach, CA $6,058 72. Shawn Buchanan Abbotsford, Canada $6,058 73. Adam Katz Delray Beach, FL $5,126 74. Scott Leventhal Delray Beach, FL $5,126 75. Chad Brown Los Angeles, CA $5,126 76. Daniel Santoro No Bellmore, NY $5,126 77. Dong Sanders Calgary, Canada $5,126 78. Kevin Pion Kawski San Diego, CA $5,126 79. Matthew Carmody Hollywood, CA $5,126 80. Robert Eisenberg Philadelphia, PA $5,126 81. Motoyuki Mabuchi Osaka, Japan $5,126 82. Ville Wahlbeck Finland $4,310 83. Arnaud Maltern Paris, France $4,310 84. Peter Tagilaferro New York City, NY $4,310 85. Boulos Estafanous Darien, IL $4,310 86. John Matheny Mooresville, NC $4,310 87. Scott Glazer Hollywood, CA $4,310 88. Thomas McCormick Fargo, ND $4,310 89. Joseph Montervino Yardville, NJ $4,310 90. Robertus Hollink Netherlands $4,310 91. Paul Zibits Longbeach, CA $3,844 92. Geoffrey Wilson Gainsville, FL $3,844 93. Jonathan Little Pensacola, FL $3,844 94. Robert Stevanovski Cornelius, CA $3,844 95. Fredrik Halling Sweden $3,844 96. Michael Allis Lancaster, CA $3,844 97. Kelly Mulyk Strathmore, Canada $3,844 98. Terris Preston Toronto, Canada $3,844 99. Robert Cole Lexington, KY $3,844

Tournament Notes:

--The winner of the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship was Francois Safieddine, from Denver, Colorado. He was born in Lebanon and arrived in the U.S. during the 1980s. Safieddine now owns three of the hottest nightclubs in Denver.

-- Safieddine is 33-years-old. He is married and has four children. His last child, a girl, was born just six months ago.

-- Safieddine has a French surname. A little-known fact is that Lebanon has a large French-speaking community. In fact, Safieddine is tri-lingual - fluent in English, French, and Lebanese.

-- He has only been playing poker for about four years. This was his fifth time to cash at the WSOP, with 15th place being his best finish up to this tournament. First place paid a whopping $521,785.

-- The final table was played on the ESPN main stage, although cameras and crew took the day off. Live radio coverage was provided by Bluff Media over the Sirius Radio Network.

-- The runner-up has suffered a serious case of the "second-place" blues at recent WSOPs. John "the Razo" Phan is a well-respected pro who has won millions in tournament play, yet has not won a WSOP gold bracelet. Last year, Phan finished as the runner-up in a shocking upset to Jon Friedberg. He never had the chip lead when heads-up against the eventual winner and lost the match after about 45 minutes of action.

-- Two-time gold bracelet winner Humberto "Shark" Brenes now has more cashes than any other player at the WSOP since 2005. He cashed for the 15th time since June 1, 2005, which surpasses Marco Traniello by one count. Brenes is also the first player at this year's World Series to reach three final tables. He has a 3rd, 7th, and 8th -place finish on his record.

-- This was another final table heavy with international flair. Players represented Belarus, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Lebanon, and the United States.

-- Mike "the Mouth" Matusow holds an impressive record, having made it to at least one final table every year at the WSOP since 1999. His bid to extend his record fell just short in this event, as Matusow went out late on Day Two in 11th place.

Nolan Dalla

2007 World Series of Poker