By Arnold Warner
Northern California has once again been well-represented at the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. With 46 events completed as of press time, 203 people from NorCal have placed in the money, bringing home a grand total of $1,461,814.
Heading the list are three bracelet winners: Chiab Saechao of Visalia (Event #1, Casino Employees Championship), Oakland’s Max Steinberg (Event #33, No-Limit Hold’em), and Phil Hellmuth of Palo Alto (Event #18, Seven Card Razz) who got his record-breaking 12th WSOP title.
Steinberg’s win netted him $440,238— the biggest score so far—followed by Chris DeMaci of San Jose who took second in Event #34 (Pot Limit Omaha/Six Handed) which earned him $316,308.
Hellmuth
After taking a victory lap in celebration of bracelet number 12 and the $182,893 that came with it, Hellmuth was asked how important it was for him to finally get a bracelet in a non-Hold’em event. He said, “You know, after three seconds [last year] I don’t think people were bringing up the Hold’em quite as much anymore. But still, I’ll take it. I felt like I was supposed to win the Deuce-Seven last year, but [John] Juanda played great. I feel like I was supposed to win the Players Championship, and you know, [Brian] Rast played great, and I just missed a bunch of hands. And I really thought I was gonna win the Stud Eight-or-Better two days ago. I kept thinking, ‘Wow.’ I kept seeing myself as the winner. Who knew it was going to be two days later instead in the Razz. So, I’m pretty pleased right now.”
The final table was a tough one, including top pros Barry Greenstein, Scott Fischman, and Brandon Cantu. Asked if he was rooting against his heads up opponent Don Zewin, Hellmuth added, “There’s no one on the planet that I do root against, honestly…. I was rooting for myself over Don Zewin. I was rooting for myself. Let’s put it that way.”
Hellmuth’s impressive WSOP statistics include his 12 gold bracelets, 89 cashes, 45 final table appearances, and over $8 million in earnings.
Steinberg
Steinberg, a 23-year-old pro, has played primarily online, specializing in short-handed and heads-up. He’s been making a name for himself in live tournaments the last couple years, though. In addition to his WSOP bracelet this year, he had a near-miss second place two years ago, and has amassed more than $1 million in live tournament cashes to date.
After his victory, he was asked if he felt any added pressure due to his second place finish in 2010. He said, “There’s definitely pressure coming in. When I came into the day, I was definitely feeling I just want to get to the final table, and then we’ll see what happens from there. Once I got there, I felt very, very comfortable. And, you know, I just felt really at ease here because I didn’t feel any pressure. Especially heads up…. It was actually the opposite. Like no pressure at all.”
Commenting on whether or not his play at the WSOP constitutes a switch to live poker he said, “I would say that I don’t know how much longer I’ll be playing poker. But I think that I do get excited playing live poker. Maybe I’m not yelling or screaming, but I do enjoy myself. Online is sort of my thing. I still play online too. I just had enough money to sit on for a while. Just, you know, I’ve been doing my thing. I was really excited for the WSOP because it was a chance to play poker every day again and just see what I can do. We’ll see what my future holds. I’m not really sure what it’s going to be though.”
Saechao
For the second year in a row, a NorCal player has won Event #1, Casino Employees Championship at the WSOP. Saechao, a 35-year-old Blackjack dealer from Visalia came out on top of the 732 entrants, taking home $70,859. Originally from Thailand, he came to the United States when he was 15.
This was Saechao’s first cash in a major poker tournament. He says he mostly plays low-stakes cash games and the occasional low buy-in tournament. “I won my seat into the WSOP Main Event a few years ago, and then I won a seat again the following year. I decided to myself then that maybe I really can play this game after all,” he said.
His bracelet, he said, is not likely to sit in a box collecting dust. “I plan to wear it and show it off. Not too many can come over here to Las Vegas and go back home with this!”
NorCal players who have cashed
in the first 46 events of the
2012 World Series of Poker
Event #1: Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em, $500 buy-in, 732 entries, $329,400 prize pool
1st, Chiab Saechao, Visalia, $70,859
24th, Tom Weihrauch, San Jose, $2,223
35th, Phi Tran, Stockton, $1,828
37th, Glenn Lew, Sacramento, $1,828
72nd, Robert Rooney, Oakland, $925
78th, Hieu Le, Elk Grove, $820
Event #2: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 2,101 entries, $2,836,350 prize pool
13th, Todd Keikoan, Pinole, $23,655
40th, Candida Richessa, Sacramento, $10,324
45th, Danny Smith, Folsom, $10,324
48th, Michael Lee, Los Altos Hills, $8,565
49th, Ubaid Habib, Tracy, $8,565
52nd, Tracy Myers, Delhi, $8,565
61st, Phil Hellmuth, Palo Alto, $7,204
82nd, Elliot Shmukler, San Jose, $4,538
106th, Ernesto Magat, San Jose, $3,531
115th, Evan Schwartz, Oakland, $3,531
116th, Edmond Barna, San Francisco, $3,531
132nd, Ian Steinman, Mountain View, $3,531
Event #3: Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha, $3,000 buy-in, 317 entries, $865,410 prize pool
49th, Gordon Vayo, San Francisco, $3,395
54th, Tim West, Los Altos, $3,395
Event #5: Pot-Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 639 entries, $862,650 prize pool
32nd, Zach Jiganti, San Francisco, $4,830
51st, Richard Tsai, Saratoga, $3,364
Event #7: Seven Card Stud, $1,500 buy-in, 367 entries, $495,450 prize pool
9th, Joseph Ranciato, Sacramento, $9,046
Event #8: Omaha Hi-Low Split – 8 or Better, $1,500 buy-in, 967 entries, $1,305,450 prize pool
14th, Joey Spanne, Danville, $11,957
20th, Wellington Draper, San Francisco, $7,989
22nd, Michael Stewart, Soquel, $7,989
44th, Matt Lefkowitz, Carmel Valley, $5,639
52nd, Phil Hellmuth, Palo Alto, $4,817
84th, Omar Mehmood, Foster City, $2,924
85th, Chris Swan, Los Gatos, $2,924
103rd, Kenneth Shei, Menlo Park, $2,480
Event #9: No-Limit Hold’em Re-entry, $1,500 buy-in, 3,404 entries, $4,595,400 prize pool
72nd, Cherie Beasley, San Francisco, $8,547
83rd, Matthew Weber, Sacramento, $6,157
124th, John Newmerzhycky, McKinleyville, $4,595
141st, Todd Thuan Bui, Sacramento, $4,595
142nd, William Mark Davis, McKinleyville, $4,595
153rd, Jerry Yang, Madera, $4,043
253rd, Brian Gudim, San Jose, $3,216
Event #11: Pot-Limit Omaha, $1,500 buy-in, 970 entries, $1,309,500 prize pool
29th, Howard Andrew, Walnut Creek, $6,691
34th, Isaac Baron, Los Gatos, $6,691
78th, Jeffrey Lennon, Fresno, $3,260
Event #12: Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em, $10,000 buy-in, 152 entries, $1,428,800 prize pool
4th, Tommy Chen, San Jose, $130,606
17th, Max Steinberg, Oakland, $10,966
Event #13: Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 730 entries, $985,500 prize pool
14th, Chris Swan, Los Gatos, $10,111
52nd, Chung Law, Milpitas, $3,833
55th, Hyung Lee, Petaluma, $3,242
73rd, Robert Pacleb, Vallejo, $2,453
80th, Millie Shiu, Milpitas, $2,453
Event #14: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout, $1,500 buy-in, 1,138 entries, $1,536,300 prize pool
5th, David Chase, Alameda, $64,555
22nd, Adrian Flores, Alameda, $5,295
45th, Matt Keikoan, San Francisco, $5,295
88th, Ryan Rinker, Vacaville, $5,295
104th, Derrick Yamada, Sacramento, $5,295
Event #15: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split – 8 or Better, $5,000 buy-in, 212 entries, $996,400 prize pool
15th, Phil Hellmuth, Palo Alto, $11,637
18th, Marco Johnson, Walnut Creek, $9,675
Event #16: No-Limit Hold’em/Six Handed, $1,500 buy-in, 1,604 entries, $2,165,400 prize pool
4th, Gordon Vayo, San Francisco, $121,262
38th, Dmitry Savelyev, San Bruno, $7,578
57th, Haviz Khan, Stockton, $5,207
81st, Yochai Konig, San Francisco, $3,897
Event #18: Seven Card Razz, $2,500 buy-in, 309 entries, $702,975 prize pool
1st, Phil Hellmuth, Palo Alto, $182,793
Event #19: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 2,302 entries, $3,107,700 prize pool
5th, Gregg Wilkinson, Sacramento, $128,441
28th, Aaron Amator, Durham, $13,021
80th, Danny Smith, Folsom, $5,500
90th, Matthew Weber, Sacramento, $4,785
101st, Jeffrey Lennon, Fresno, $3,729
119th, Steve Moca, Pleasanton, $3,729
143rd, Jeff Fletcher, Danville, $3,356
156th, Jeremy Tucker, Petaluma, $3,356
159th, Arthur Tanimoto, Elk Grove, $3,356
173rd, Sharon Helldorfer, Pioneer, $3,076
183rd, Thomas Levesque, Clovis, $3,076
195th, Frank Holloway, Fairfield, $3,076
196th, Randy Lew, Mountain View, $3,076
226th, Buzzard Alavi, San Francisco, $2,796
Event #20: Limit Hold’em, $5,000 buy-in, 166 entries, $780,200 prize pool
9th, Ayman Qutami, Redwood City, $19,395
14th, Kenneth Shei, Menlo Park, $13,138
Event #21: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,000 buy-in, 2,799 entries, $2,519,100 prize pool
52nd, Max Steinberg, Oakland, $6,928
74th, Wilbert Chun, San Mateo, $4,182
109th, Michael Diaz, Oakland, $2,771
141st, Bryan Hyden, San Jose, $2,469
164th, Robert Fox, Los Gatos, $2,469
185th, Richard Tsai, Saratoga, $2,217
240th, Dean Reno, San Jose, $2,015
243rd, Evan Schwartz, Oakland, $2,015
254th, Antonio Martin, Merced, $1,839
255th, Michael Davey, Berkeley, $1,839
262nd, Gabriel Bronsztein, Santa Rosa, $1,839
278th, Michael Wisnoskil, Napa, $1,839
Event #22: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit), $2,500 buy-in, 228 entries, $518,700 prize pool
7th, Von Altizer, American Canyon, $14,725
Event #23: No-Limit Hold’em/Six Handed, $3,000 buy-in, 924 entries, $2,522,520 prize pool
52nd, Galen Hall, San Francisco, $7,643
Event #24: Omaha Hi-Low Split – 8 or Better, $5,000 buy-in, 256 entries, $1,203,200 prize pool
24th, Matt Lefkowitz, Carmel Valley, $10,348
Event #25: Limit Hold’em Shootout, $1,500 buy-in, 366 entries, $494,100 prize pool
14th, Millie Shiu, Milpitas, $3,088
37th, Alexander Keating, Saratoga, $3,088
43rd, Omar Mehmood, Foster City, $3,088
Event #27: H.O.R.S.E., $1,500 buy-in, 889 entries, $1,200,150 prize pool
42nd, Wendy Freeman, San Francisco, $4,404
48th, Thomas Weideman, Fair Oaks, $4,404
62nd, Andrew Barber, Sacramento, $3,468
Event #28: No-Limit Hold’em/Four Handed, $2,500 buy-in, 750 entries, $1,706,250 prize pool
31st, Mohammed Rezalan, San Rafael, $8,821
Event #29: Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship, $1,000 buy-in, 4,128 entries, $3,715,200 prize pool
44th, Robert Herlien, Pacific Grove, $11,851
82nd, Laurie Morgan, Sacramento, $4,533
91st, Gary Askew, Healdsburg, $3,827
125th, David Vida, Pinole, $3,269
142nd, Loren Cloninger, Salinas, $3,269
153rd, Randall Rapp, Fresno, $3,269
182nd, Shawn Lawrence, Fairfield, $2,786
199th, John Solis, Oakland, $2,786
238th, William Mince, Menlo Park, $2,415
258th, Steven Choi, Berkeley, $2,415
290th, Denise Grove, Santa Rosa, $2,118
300th, Seyed Edalat, San Jose, $2,118
307th, Gary Lee, San Jose, $2,118
343rd, George Mosby, Windsor, $2,118
362nd, Orlando Rodriquez, Salinas, $1,858
364th, Larry Grove, Santa Rosa, $1,858
366th, Lora Stewart, Elk Grove, $1,858
386th, Daniel Larios, Tracy, $1,858
Event #30: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit), $1,500 buy-in, 285 entries, $384,750 prize pool
27th, Steven Hansen, Livermore, $3,124
30th, Chris Swan, Los Gatos, $2,593
32nd, Galen Hall, San Francisco, $2,593
34th, Mark Trombley, Foster City, $2,593
Event #31: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 2,811 entries, $3,794,850 prize pool
12th, J.C. Tran, Sacramento, $38,214
31st, John Dull, Fresno, $15,407
108th, Daniel Jose, Vacaville, $4,174
109th, Jensen Toma, Fremont, $4,174
131st, David Chase, Alameda, $4,174
145th, Kristina Holst, Palo Alto, $3,719
170th, Ted Bui, Stockton, $3,719
188th, Shirley Ng, Pacifica, $3,339
193rd, Charles Copeland, Sacramento, $3,339
209th, Robert Jones, Oakland, $3,036
241st, Scott Laird, Pinole, $3,036
249th, Benjamin Sarnoff, San Francisco, $3,036
260th, Tim West, Los Altos, $2,770
Event #32: H.O.R.S.E., $10,000 buy-in, 178 entries, $1,673,200 prize pool
4th, Phil Hellmuth, Palo Alto, $134,056
Event #33: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,000 buy-in, 2,795 entries, $2,515,500 prize pool
1st, Max Steinberg, Oakland, $440,238
99th, Neil Yanogacio, San Jose, $3,144
124th, Jeremy Tucker, Petaluma, $2,767
161st, Andrew Ho, Davis, $2,465
234th, Erik Klabunde, Pittsburg, $2,012
285th, Andy Wong, Stanford, $1,836
293rd, Daniel Young, Shaver Lake, $1,836
Event #34: Pot-Limit Omaha/Six Handed, $5,000 buy-in, 419 entries, $1,969,300 prize pool
2nd, Chris DeMaci, San Jose, $316,308
Event #35: Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No-Limit), $2,500 buy-in, 393 entries, $894,075 prize pool
26th, Eric Mankin, Sacramento, $6,437
36th, Randy Lew, Mountain View, $5,195
Event #36: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout, $3,000 buy-in, 587 entries, $1,602,510 prize pool
42nd, Hung Tran, San Jose, $9,086
50th, Gordon Vayo, San Francisco, $9,086
Event #37: Eight Game Mix, $2,500 buy-in, 477 entries, $1,085,175 prize pool
38th, Omar Mehmood, Foster City, $5,599
Event #38: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 2,534 entries, $3,420,900 prize pool
26th, Michael Palamidessi, West Sacramento, $17,378
43rd, Karl Dawson, Mammoth Lakes, $11,563
105th, Ivan Holmes, Berkeley, $3,831
107th, Andrew Pauka, San Jose, $3,831
124th, Robert Hillman, San Mateo, $3,831
161st, Brian Kee, Visalia, $3,421
167th, Richard Osborne, Martinez, $3,421
188th, Jason Montague, Berkeley, $3,079
233rd, Cory Carlson, Ukiah, $2,771
Event #40: Limit Hold’em Six Handed, $2,500 buy-in, 302 entries, $687,050 prize pool
2nd, Marco Johnson, Walnut Creek, $112,525
29th, Ayman Qutami, Redwood City, $4,912
Event #41: No-Limit Hold’em, $3,000 buy-in, 1,394 entries, $3,805,620 prize pool
23rd, David Lunde, Sacramento, $22,377
43rd, Michael Turnbull, San Jose, $15,679
86th, Gregg Wilkinson, Sacramento, $7,840
88th, Joshua Shaw, Sacramento, $7,840
94th, Kelsey Hendriks, Chico, $7,117
107th, Duy Le, San Francisco, $6,470
132nd, Gordon Vayo, San Francisco, $5,937
Event #42: Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low – 8 or Better, $2,500 buy-in, 393 entries, $894,075 prize pool
18th, Daniel Harmetz, Sacramento, $6,884
39th, Joshua Karnad, Hollister, $4,845
Event #43: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,500 buy-in, 2,770 entries, $3,739,500 prize pool
12th, Randy Lew, Mountain View, $37,657
28th, Evan Karcie, San Francisco, $15,182
37th, Roni Hayon, Sunnyvale, $12,415
91st, Zackary Moore, Clearlake, $4,674
114th, Kristina Holst, Palo Alto, $4,113
119th, Chandrasekha Billavara, San Francisco, $4,113
195th, Matthew Dimaggio, San Francisco, $3,291
231st, Joey Spanne, Danville, $2,992
234th, Myron Johnson, Sacramento, $2,992
291st, Richard Osborne, Martinez, $2,730
Event #44: No-Limit Hold’em, $1,000 buy-in, 2,949 entries, $2,654,100 prize pool
9th, David Forster, Alameda, $34,503
23rd, William Daymon, McKinleyville, $13,297
39th, Todd Keikoan, Pinole, $8,812
95th, Hemanth Kumar, Sunnyvale, $3,318
105th, Kenneth Shei, Menlo Park, $2,920
115th, Douglas Stavolone, San Jose, $2,920
131st, Ubaid Habib, Tracy, $2,920
141st, Richard Harroch, San Francisco, $2,601
161st, Zachary Dowhower, S. Lake Tahoe, $2,601
168th, Julian Galvan, Sacramento, $2,601
199th, Matt Keikoan, San Francisco, $2,336
222nd, Matthew Berto, Vallejo, $2,123
224th, Kelli Griggs, Folsom, $2,123
265th, Ronald May, San Jose, $1,937
281st, Mohammed Elrifai, Oakland, $1,937
Event #46: No-Limit Hold’em, $2,500 buy-in, 1,607 entries, $3,655,925 prize pool
32nd, Derrick Yamada, Sacramento, $16,781
56th, Andres Garcia, Salinas, $10,237
63rd, Scott Cole, Redwood City, $10,237
75th, Brandon Wong, Clovis, $7,860
105th, Isaac Baron, Los Gatos, $5,703
107th, Ubaid Habib, Tracy, $5,703
109th, Randy Lew, Mountain View, $5,703
116th, Bradley Gordon, San Jose, $5,703
134th, Harold Check, San Francisco, $5,265
141st, Matthew Gouge, Sacramento, $5,265
151st, Matt Keikoan, San Francisco, $4,826
