Tournament Notes:
--The winner of the $5,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low World Championship was John Guth, a 26-year-old professional poker player from Vancouver, WA. Guth plays poker in his home, specializing exclusively in Omaha High-Low games.
-- Guth demonstrates unusual discipline and fortitude for a player in his 20s. "All I do all day long is sit at home and play Omaha High-Low," he said in a post tournament interview. "That's my specialty."
-- Guth certainly does not lack confidence. "I will win the (next) Omaha High-Low tournament, too," he predicted. His next schedule tournament is Event #42, which starts in two days.
-- Guth's poker nickname is "Sir Scoopalot."
-- Guth went through a murderer's row of opponents late on Day Two of the tournament. He eliminated Mike Matusow, Todd Brunson, and Annie Duke in succession. On Day Three, Guth arrived third in the chip count at the final table. It took him nine hours to achieve victory.
-- Guth enjoyed the largest and rowdiest following of any final table player thus far as this year's WSOP. Despite the generally dawdling nature of Omaha High-Low, Guth received cheers and applause every time he won a pot. Over 20 friends and followers posed with Guth in the winning photograph, taken at tableside following the victory. First place paid $363,216 - one of the largest cash payouts in Omaha High-Low history.
-- The "Dreamcrusher," a.k.a. Randy Jensen is one of poker's most unorthodox characters. He has been known to destroy side games with his hyper-aggressive style. Other occasions, he has lost every single dollar in high-limit cash games. This tournament marked Jensen's first-ever WSOP final table, after winning over $1 million in various tournaments elsewhere. He took sixth place.
-- Michael Pollowitz certainly has his priorities straight. In his free time the 54-year-old Shoreline, WA man volunteers to help people with developmental disabilities. Pollowitz finished in seventh place.
-- The eighth-place finisher Bart Hanson is one of the poker commentators on "Live at the Bike," a regular Internet broadcast of the high-stakes games located at The Bicycle Club Casino in (Bell Gardens) Los Angeles.
-- Poker star Annie Duke took 13th place. She has more cashes than any woman in WSOP history (31).
-- Todd Brunson, who won a WSOP gold bracelet in 2005, finished in 14th place.
-- Mike "the Mouth" Matusow took 15th place. Through 36 events this year, Matusow has yet to make a final table appearance. He currently has the longest current WSOP streak of consecutive years with at least one final table appearance -- with 8.
--There are 19 events remaining on the schedule.
-- Chris Reslock, who won the Seven-Card Stud World Championship two weeks ago, finished in 26th place, just inside the money.
-- Through the conclusion of Event #36, four more players have moved into the WSOP "Millionaires Club," which means they each have in excess of $1 million in winnings at the WSOP in their lifetime. The most recent members of this elite poker club are Jeffrey Lisandro, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, Chau Giang, and Burt Boutin. All went past the million-mark in winnings this past week.
-- This event is the undisputed Omaha High-Low world championship. No event held anywhere featuring this game has a higher buy-in nor attracts as large or tough a field.
Nolan Dalla
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