1. Michael Spegal St. Marys, GA $251,957 2. Gavin Smith Las Vegas, NV $155,446 3. Jonathan Friedberg Las Vegas, NV $101,147 4. William Hill Clarksburg, MD $67,076 5. Thomas Savitsky Randolph, NJ $47,912 6. Bruce Van Horn Ada, OK $36,732 7. Eric Lynch Olathe, KS $27,682 8. Jeff Langdon Santa Fe, NM $20,229 9. Marco Traniello Las Vegas, NV $14,906 10. John McCarthy Jersey City, NJ $10,115 11. Nick Binger Raleigh, NC $10,115 12. Tony Basile Toronto, ON $10,115 13. Stephen Jones Springfield, IL $9,050 14. Bill McNamara Fairfield, CT $9,050 15. Robert Gerstenzang Jamestown, NY $9,050 16. Javad Navran CA $7,985 17. Steve Mills UK $7,985 18. Ken Koski Canton, MI $7,985 19. Mark Wilds Biloxi, MS $6,921 20. Josh Patterson Simpsonville, SC $6,921 21. Jean Bellande Las Vegas, NV $6,921 22. Graham Wheldon Cambridge, England $6,921 23. Cody Slaubaugh Rugby,ND $6,921 24. Frank Margolis Thousand Oaks, CA $6,921 25. Robert Zipf Ravenstein, Germany $6,921 26. Eugene Todd Brooklyn, NY $6,921 27. Jameson Hughes Lakeland, FL $6,921 28. Robert Thies Debary, FL $5,962 29. Francois Safieddine Denver, CO $5,962 30. Bart Wetsteijn Middelburg, Netherlands $5,962 31. David Roepke Troy, TX $5,962 32. Robert Ellis Houston, TX $5,962 33. KENNY WU LONG BEACH, CA 34. Andrew Webking Seattle, WA $5,962 35. Nhan Le Orange County, CA $5,962 36. Shannon Puskarich Las Vegas, NV $5,962 37. Matthew Shepsky Illinois $5,962 38. Shane Beckham New Zealand $5,111 39. Zorn Venture CA $5,111 40. Nick Andricopulos Chicago, IL $5,111 41. Gilbert Salas NA $5,111 42. Ed Giron Jacksonville, FL $5,111 43. Mark Smith Georgetown, KY $5,111 44. NA NA $5,111 45. Freddy Deeb Las Vegas, NV $5,111 46. Keith Tilston Austin, TX $4,365 47. Kirke Rivkin Deerfield, IL $4,365 48. Archibald Van Horn Ada, OR $4,365 49. Wallace Darling Aurora, CO $4,365 50. Colin Shattock UK $4,365 51. Danny Ciaramella Brays Landing, PA $4,635 52. Scott Bohlman Homer Glen, IL $4,365 53. Robert Firestone Santa Barbara, CA $4,365 54. Daniel Alspach Las Vegas, NV $4,365 55. David Hipperson St. Louis, MO $3,567 56. Jan Christoph Von Halle Hamburg, Germany $3,567 57. Larry Vickers Winter Garden, FL $3,567 58. Kenneth Auker Rock Island, IL $3,567 59. Joseph Lazaro Carson City, NV $3,567 60. Jesse Jamison Glendale, AZ $3,567 61. Benjamin Sarnoff San Francisco, CA $3,567 62. Katja Thater Hamburg, Germany $3,567 63. Ishak Noyan Sodertalje, Sweden $3,567 64. David Plastik Las Vegas, NV $2,981 65. Nicholas Rosenberger Orlando, FL $2,981 66. Lee Kun Oakton, VA $2,981 67. Nesbitt Coburn Minneapolis, MS $2,981 68. Derek Tomimoto Redondo Beach, CA $2,981 69. Jonathan Snyder Mt. Juliet, TN $2,981 70. Kevin Manley Arlington Heights, IL $2,981 71. Mark Lowe UK $2,981 72. Arias Jorge Venezuela $2,981

Tournament Notes:

-- Michael Spegal won $252,290 for first place. He overcame a decisive chip advantage. He was arrived sixth in the chip count going into the final table, versus several top pros. He overcame the odds and won his first gold bracelet in what was his first-ever cash at the WSOP. This is his third year to play at the WSOP.

-- On this night of his victory, Michael Spegal was celebrating his ninth wedding anniversary. His wife Jeanne sat at ringside and celebrated their win. "She can have the prize money. I'll take the bracelet," Spegal joked. ESPN commentator Norman Chad ribbed Spegal during the post-tournament interview, noting "You are the only married man I know of who gets to play poker on his anniversary."

-- Spegal is 39-year-old former United States Marine. He was born in Newton, IA. He owns an equipment rental and UPS store in southeast Georgia. He has been married to his wife Jeanne for nine years. They have four children.

-- Spegal's poker nickname is "Bob Cat Spegal."

-- The final table lasted approximately five hours. The star-studded field guaranteed a full house, which was packed inside the ESPN poker arena at the Rio.

-- Among the players who came up short were former WSOP gold bracelet winner Jon Freidberg and tournament pro Gavin Smith.

-- Gavin Smith was the runner up. He battled with Spegal for the win, but ended up with a frustrating second-place showing. Smith is widely considered to be one of the best tournament players NOT to have yet won a WSOP gold bracelet. During the heads-up battle with Spegal, Smith delivered the line of the night when he said to his opponent, "Why don't you start playing like a business man and not like a poker player. Stop it!"

-- The ninth-place finisher Marco Traniello has the somewhat shadowy status of being married to one of the best poker players in the world, wife Jennifer Harman. However, it is Traniello who has outperformed just about everyone at WSOP over the past two years. Traniello cashed a whopping seven times at the 2005 World Series. He cashed four times in 2006. Now with a cash in this event, Traniello has a combined total of 12 WSOP cashes dating back to the start of the 2005 WSOP. No other poker player has more in this time frame.

-- The sixth-place finisher Dr. Bruce Van Horn is a physician (pathologist) from Ada, Oklahoma. He is most famous for being the runner-up in the 1996 main event to Huck Seed. Dr. Van Horn's son also played in this event, and cashed. Archie Van Horn took 48th place - good for $4,365.

-- The most popular area inside the tournament room appears to be the Milwaukee's Best Light beer garden set up over the poker arena. Spectators can visit the elevated deck and see action on both sides of the room. With tables and chairs for spectators, it may be the only vantage spot in the room to actually watch six tournaments going on all at once, which is what was taking place on this day - two final tables, two Day Twos, and two start-up events.

-- This was the third WSOP poker event this year to be recorded for broadcast by ESPN. The show is expected to debut sometime in July.

-- After his upset win at the final table, the "Big Cat" was visibly moved when his wife was invited up to the Corum gold bracelet stand and was permitted to present and latch the coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelet on her husband’s wrist. With WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack doing the official honors, Michael "Big Cat" Spegal collected the most meaningful anniversary present a poker player could ever hope to receive.

Nolan Dalla
Photos Courtesy of IMAGEMASTERS PHOTOGRAPHY

2007 World Series of Poker