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Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Official Report
Event #1
Casino Employees Championship
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $500
Number of Entries: 866
Total Net Prize Pool: $389,700
Number of Places Paid: 81
First Place Prize: $83,833
May 27-28, 2009
Tournament Highlights:
The Winner
• The 2009 World Series of Poker Casino Employees Champion is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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The Players
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Odds and Ends
• The tournament kicked off in grand style with WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel at center stage. The center stage platform is positioned at the center of the Amazon Ballroom at the Rio Convention Center, which holds 160 of the tournament’s 295 tables.
• During his introduction, Jack Effel thanked the tournament players, who are all casino employees. He stated, “It’s you who are out there spreading the word about the World Series of Poker which keeps the players coming back again and again. Thank you!”
• During his introduction, Jeffrey Pollack noted “Jack Effel is the best tournament director on the planet,” which brought a rousing ovation. Effel and his staff have worked tirelessly for months refining and some say perfecting the schedule and structures to the players’ benefit.
• Jeffrey Pollack, speaking to the large gathering of casino employees and poker players stated, “Without you, the WSOP would not be possible. You make it happen.”
• While exiting the stage, Jeffrey Pollack casually remarked to that he had difficulty sleeping the night before, in great anticipation for the opening of the 2009 WSOP. Summing up the thoughts and feelings of millions of poker players around the world he stated, “Last night felt like Christmas Eve.”
• Next, Jeffrey Pollack introduced 11-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and 1989 world champion Phil Hellmuth to the crowd, who was bestowed with the “Shuffle Up and Deal” honors. Hellmuth made it clear that he supports the new rules in effect for this year’s WSOP. He also joked with the crowd that he occasionally gets out of line, “but never, ever with the dealers – only the other players,” he said. Although Hellmuth’s introduction brought a predictable mix of cheers and boos from the good natured crowd, his comments were favorably received.
• Prior to the start of the event, the tournament room was filled with popular music from the year 1970. Since this is the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, much of the music and memories that his year’s series will flashback to the earlier era. The three songs played as background music prior to the start were “American Woman” by The Guess Who, “Instant Karma” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, and “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel.
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The Event
• The first Casino Employees Championship was held at the 2000 WSOP. It was actually called the “Dealers World Poker Championship” at the time, since the tournament was open only to casino dealers (the following year, all casino employees became eligible). That inaugural event attracted 109 entries and was won by Dave Alizadeh, from Las Vegas.
• Casino employees were given their own poker tournament, which became a gold bracelet event from the first year forward. The tournament was added to the WSOP schedule to honor the efforts and commit of poker dealers and all casino employees who help make the WSOP so successful.
• The Casino Employees Championship is included amongst all official WSOP records and statistics. However, it is not an open event, since there are restrictions on entry. The event is generally grouped with the Seniors World Championship and Ladies World Championship, which are non-open events but which are still coveted titles afforded the same distinction as all gold bracelet tournaments.
• From 2000-2003, the championship was a Limit Hold’em tournament. Since 2004, the championship has been a No-Limit Hold’em tournament.
• The largest turnout in history for this event occurred in 2006, when 1,232 casino employees participated.
• Last year, the tournament was held towards the end of the WSOP (Event #55). However, this year the tournament returned to its traditional spot on the schedule as the opening event of the WSOP.
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WSOP Statistics
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• Clocking in at seemingly infinite XXXXXXXXX hours and XXXXXXX minutes, this was the longest final table in the 39-year history of the World Series of Poker. Measured in time from start to finish, the duration of this “final nine” exceeded the mind-numbing 16-hours played in the $1,500 buy-in Razz championship, won by O’Neil Longson (29 June 2005). The nine finalists in this event took their seats and started began at 1:23 pm. The final hand was not dealt until XXXXXXXXX. (Note: The two-hour dinner break was not factored into the length of play)
• This final table lasted XXX hands. This mark shattered the previous record set during the legendary duel between the late Chip Reese and Andy Bloch, which occurred in the 2006 $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. championship (14 July 2006). That final table lasted a whopping 354 hands according to the official logs recorded at the time. Hence, this finale broke the record by XXXXXXXXXXXX hands.
• The length of play exceeded the longest hold’em final table in history by XXXXXXXXXXXXX. The previous record was set at the 2005 Main Event finale, won by Joe Hachem (15 July 2005), which lasted 14.5 hours.
• XXXXXXXXXXX collected ₤868,800 for first place, which is equal to about $1,598,587 in US currency.
• John Juanda is a 37-year-old professional poker player from Las Vegas, NV. He XXXXXXXXXXXXXX now owns four WSOP gold bracelets. His last WSOP victory came back in 2003.
• This was Juanda’s 45th career cash at the WSOP. It was also his 23rd final table appearance.
• Juanda was born in Indonesia. He was a teenager when he arrived in the United States. He earned his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University. He received his MBA from the University of Seattle.
• Juanda has won many other major poker tournaments, most notably the 2005 Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in poker challenge, and the 2001 World Poker Open Main Event (and numerous others events). He has now accrued over $8 million in career lifetime earnings.
• Juanda arrived at the final table as the chip leader. He lost the lead a few times, but remained thoroughly in command throughout the grueling marathon match.
• Two out of the top three finishers were Russian players. The topic which shall indisputably arise in post-WSOP Europe discussions is the emergence of Russian poker players upon the global poker scene. Indeed, with the performances of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (X) and Ivan Demidov (3rd)), the 2008 WSOPE Main Event was a coming out party, of sorts. While Russian players Alexander Kravchenko, Yevegeny Kafelnikov, and Ralph Perry have knocked on the proverbial door in recent years with their WSOP gold bracelet victories, the success not just one, but two Russian-based players in such a formidable field is a clear indication that the Russian Federation is producing world-class poker talent, equal to (and perhaps superior than) many other nations.
• XXXXXXXXXXXXX victory means that the seven WSOPE tournaments played so far (2007-2008) have been won by players from Italy, Germany, Norway, Afghanistan, and Denmark (2).
• The runner up was Stanislav Alekhin, from Moscow, Russia. At age 23, he was the youngest player of the final nine. Prior to making poker his full-time vocation, Alekhin was a student. Had he won this championship, it would have been his first major tournament victory.
• This was the first time in WSOP history that two Russian nationals were at a final table.
• The tournament attracted 362 players. This is the same number of players who entered the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event.
• Although the numerical turnout was identical, the top prize of ₤1,598,587 was slightly lower than last year’s first-place payout. This was due to an adjustment to the payout structure which gave lower finishers a greater percentage of the total prize pool. This is referred to a a flattened-out pay structure. For example, the 36th-place finisher this year earned ₤25,340 compared to last year, which paid only ₤27,150. The other prize money in between also increased over last year’s amounts.
• Three of the nine players at the final table were former WSOP gold bracelet winners, who collectively held nine previous titles. By contrast, last year’s WSOPE finale had no previous winners.
• Ivan Demidov took third place. In doing so, he established a poker record that might never be broken. With his WSOP Europe final table appearance, Demidov becomes the first player in history to make the final table of both the WSOP Main Event and the WSOP Europe Main Event – within a single year. Demidov ranks second going into the “November Nine” finale, to be played 9-10 November.
• Swedish poker pro Bengt Sonnert was eliminated in fourth place.
• Four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu finished in fifth place. Negreanu was one of the tournament’s early chip leaders. He arrived at the final table fifth in chips, and went out in the lateral bust order based on his starting stack.
• Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Scott Fischman finished in sixth place.
• The highest-finishing local player was Robin Keston, from London. He ended up as the seventh-place finisher.
• Toni Hiltunen attempted to become the first Finnish-born poker player in WSOP history. However, he ended up going out in eighth place.
• Chris Elliott (Alloa, UK) finished in ninth place, an impressive feat considering that he ranked 176th in the chip count when there were 179 players remaining.
• Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Mike Matusow finished in 18th place.
• Eight-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Erik Seidel finished in 19th place.
• Former WSOP gold bracelet winner Mel Judah finished in 21st place.
• Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Josh Arieh finished in 33rd place.
• James Keys (Bury St. Edmunds, UK) is the only player to have cashed in both WSOPE Main Events. Last year he took ninth place. This year, he finished 36th.
• Defending champion Annette Obrestad played in this event, but was eliminated near the end of the first day.
• Nikolay Evdakov, from Moscow, Russia played in this event, but did not cash. In 2008, Evdakov shattered the record for “most cashes in a single year” at the WSOP, when he finished in-the-money ten times (the previous record was eight cashes). With all in-the-money finishers now determined for 2008, Evdakov’s record officially ends with ten cashes.
• The buy-in amount for WSOPE Event 4 was ₤10,000, equivalent to about $18,400 (USD) at the current exchange rate.
• XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXThe Main Event was played over six days. The entire duration of the tournament lasted 27 levels, which was XX hours and XXX minutes of actual playing time.
• Two-thirds of the “November Nine” played in the WSOPE Main Event. These six players included: Ivan Demidov, Peter Eastgate, Kelly Kim, Craig Marquis, Scott Montgomery, and David “Chino” Rheem.
• On Day 1-A, two of the November Nine finalists sat side-by-side, in what was a random seat draw. Craig Marquis played against Scott Montgomery in a preliminary battle about six seeks before they face each other again in the world championship.
• Players reached the prize money (36th place) in the middle of Level 14. Stephen Ladowsky (Toronto, Canada) was the unfortunate “bubble” finisher. He finished in 37th-place, just one spot out of the money. Ladowsky’s misfortune cost him ₤25,340, equal to about $45,191 at the current exchange rate.
• Americans held the top four spots in the standings at the end of Day One. They continued their good fortune on Day Two, as they held all of the top five chip positions. Americans remained in the top four spots after Day Three. When the final table began, American player John Juanda was the chip leader, with Russian player Stanislav Alekhin in second place.
• With the appearance of both Stanislav Alekhin and Ivan Demidov at the final table, this marked the first time in history that two Russsian poker players made it to a WSOP final table.
• The start of Day Two chip leader was Andy Bloch (Las Vegas, NV USA). Murmurs began to circulate that this might be Bloch’s much-anticipated breakthrough victory, after making eight final tables (but no wins). However, he ended up busting out in 23rd place.
• This tournament is classified as “WSOPE Event 4,” as well as “WSOP Event 59” as it is the 59th WSOP gold bracelet event of the 2008 calendar year. The only yet-undecided event still remaining is the Main Event finale, which concludes in Las Vegas 9-10 November, 2008.
• World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair included the final four gold bracelet events of the 2008 season. WSOP events 1-55 were played in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) from 28 May through 14 July (plus the November finale). Events 56-59 were played in London, England from 19 September through 2 October.
• All WSOPE results are included in official WSOP records — including all-time wins, cashes, final table appearances, etc.
• This marks the second consecutive year of the WSOPE Presented by Betfair. In 2007, three WSOP gold bracelet events were played in London. Hence, seven WSOP gold bracelet events have been played outside the United States.
• The tournament attracted six former world champions, including Doyle Brunson (1976/1977), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2000), Carlos Mortensen (2001), and Joe Hachem (2005).
• This tournament attracted 41 former WSOP gold bracelet winners including:
Josh Arieh
David Benyamine
Chris Bjorin
Farzad Bonyadi
Doyle Brunson
Brandon Cantu
Allen Cunningham
Freddy Deeb
Eli Elezra
Antonio Esfandiari
Joe Hachem
Sherkahn Farnood
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson
Scott Fischman
Layne Flack
Barry Greenstein
Thor Hansen
Phil Hellmuth
Dan Heimiller
Theo Jorgensen
Phil Ivey
John Juanda
Alexander Kravchenko
Ted Lawson
Kathy Liebert
Jeff Madsen
Mike Matusow
Carlos Mortensen
Nenad Medic
Daniel Negreanu
Scotty Nguyen
Annette Obrestad
Max Pescatori
John Phan
Erik Seidel
Jennifer Tilly
David “Devilfish” Ulliott
Jen Voertmann
David Williams
Robert Williamson III
Steve Zolotow
• All four WSOPE events this year were played at Casino at the Empire, located in Leicester Square, in Central London. Leicester Square is best known as the theatre district of the city. Casino at the Empire is part of London Clubs, International, which is owned by Harrah’s Entertainment.
• Casino at the Empire holds 25 poker tables. Gaming tables were removed during the 16-day duration of WSOPE in order to make necessary room for the large turnout of players and spectators.
• WSOP Europe is sponsored by Betfair, which is known as the world’s largest betting exchange. According to Betfair: “The exchange allows customers to choose their own odds and bet against each other.” Betfair is a registered, legal bookmaker in the U.K. and is also licensed in Australia, Austria, and Malta. For more information, visit: www.betfairpoker.com.
• During the play of this final table, Betfair offered a live betting exchange on the outcome.
• This year’s World Series of Poker is the largest in history. A grand total of 59,767 players entered the 59 gold bracelet events held during the 2008 calendar year. This number exceeds last year’s total entries, which was 54,288.
• The figures are now final. This was the richest World Series of Poker in history. A grand total of $190,238,576 in prize money awarded in 2008 makes this the richest event in all of sports.
Note: All results are now official and may be reprinted by media.
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For official news and the latest updates from the 2009 World Series of Poker, visit: www.worldseriesofpoker.com
For statistics and historical information from the 2009 World Series of Poker, contact Nolan Dalla at: nolandalla@aol.com or nolandalla@gmail.com
For official photographs from the 2009 World Series of Poker, visit: http://pa.photoshelter.com/user/impdi For specific media photo requests, email image22@aol.com and list “Urgent Media Request” as the subject line. Note: All photos must be credited as follows: “IMPDI 2009”
The 2009 World Series of Poker’s title sponsor is Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. For more information, visit: www.jacklinks.com
World Series of Poker President and Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Vice President of Sponsorship and Licensing — Ty Stewart
Vive President of Broadcasting and New Media – Craig Abrahams
Director of Communications – Seth Palansky
Regional Vice President of Specialty Gaming — Howard Greenbaum
WSOP Events Manager — Angele Marshall
WSOP Marketing Manager – Elizabeth Anne Hill
WSOP Tournament Director – Jack Effel
About the World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest, and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament, dating back to 1970. In 2008, the event attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money. The creation of the new delayed Main Event final table more than doubled ratings on ESPN over the previous year. In December 2008 the WSOP was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of World Series of Poker EuropeSM in 2007. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at:
www.worldseriesofpoker.com or: www.twitter.com/wsop
A special thanks to WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla for providing these updates.

Source: Doyle Brunson Poker Blog
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