BINION'S HORSESHOE -- LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
PRESS RELEASE
APRIL 26, 2003
2003 WORLD SERIES OF POKER
Binion's Horseshoe -- Las Vegas
EVENT #12 Limit Texas Hold'em
Buy-in -- $2,500
Total Entries -- 194
Total Prize Pool -- $451,050
Place Name Prize
1 Phil Hellmuth Jr (Palo Alto CA) 171,400 $171,400
2 Young Phan (Garden Grove CA) 85,700 $85,700
3 Herb Kelso (Ridgefield MS) 42,400 $42,400
4 Nick Franges (White Plains NY) 27,060 $27,060
5 Greg Alston (Las Vegas NV) 18,040 $18,040
6 Chuck McCormick (Oceanside CA) 15,780 $15,780
7 John Strzemp (Las Vegas NV) 13,500 $13,500
8 Richard Hoffmaster (Somers MT) 11,280 $11,280
9 Eli Elezra (Henderson NV) 9,010 $9,010
10 Kyle Rickey (Las Vegas NV) 7,220 $7,220
11 Thithi Tran (Torrance, CA) 7,220 $7,220
12 Carlos Mortensen (Madrid, Spain) 7,220 $7,220
13 Toto Leonidas (Glendale, CA) 6,320 $6,320
14 Scotty Nguyen (Henderson, NV) 6,320 $6,320
15 Steve Landfish (Middleburg Heights, OH) 6,320 $6,320
16 Ed Richardson (Tucson, AZ) 5,420 $5,420
17 Leandro Alvarez (Carson, CA) 5,420 $5,420
18 Darren Neishuler (Santa Monica, CA) 5,420 $5,420
Hellmuth is Back!
Former World Champion Stages Dramatic Comeback and Captures Eighth Gold Bracelet
There are many times, literally hundreds of times when I am playing poker when I know exactly what the other guy has. I mean, I know the exact cards. I don't think it's clairvoyance, maybe it's something you just develop over time.
-- Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
In what has become "the battle of the bracelets," Phil Hellmuth responded with an epic triumph in the $2,500 Buy-in Limit Texas Hold'em event, just two days after Doyle Brunson suggested to Phil, "catch me if you can." Hellmuth now has eight wins at the World Series of Poker, a figure exceeded only by the legendary poker master Brunson, with nine. It all started with a dream.
"I've never had visions of winning the tournament the night before," said Hellmuth. "The last few times I made the final table, I had visions of another player winning it rather than me. This time, I dreamed I would win it. It just blows my mind I would win the tournament with a 4 -- and sure enough it was a 4! I'm not saying I'm clairvoyant, obviously since I've only won two WSOP titles in the last seven years, but something is going on, and I can't explain it."
Indeed, the zenith of Hellmuth's phantasm came on the final hand of the night, when Hellmuth's 6-4 dominated his opponent's 6-2, and scooped the pot when the board showed A-9-7-4-J. Just as Hellmuth visualized the night beforein his dream, a pair of fours was a winner.
Hellmuth's dream almost turned into a nightmare earlier in the tournament, when he was "all-in" at one point and dangerously close to elimination. With seven players still in the tournament, Hellmuth was down to his last $10K (and out-chipped by more than 12-1). He survived an "all-in" and then proceeded to bulldoze over the table. 45 minutes later, Hellmuth was co-chip-leader with $100K.
Kyle Rickey, Eli Elezra, and Richard Hoffmaster were the first to be eliminated from the final table. Then, John Strzemp, who came in second to Stu Ungar in the 1997 championship event, went out in 7th place. Chuck McCormick, a high-stakes player from Oceanside, CA was the next player to hit the rail which left six players at the final table.
Greg Alston came into day two with the chip lead. Unfortunately, he went "card dead" at the worst possible moment. Alston was never able to generate any momentum on this day and finished a disappointing fifth. "I looked down at J-4, 7-3, and 6-2 all day long," lamented Alston afterward.
Down to four players, it appeared as if Nick Frangos from the New York City area would pose the biggest threat to Hellmuth. Frangos was second in chips, and had position on Hellmuth, sitting to his immediate left. Frangos, a high-stakes player who frequents Atlantic City and most of the major tournaments, was poised to try and isolate Hellmuth with re-raises any time he saw the 1989 World Champion get out of line. But the strategy backfired. Each time Hellmuth made a raise and Frangos came over the top, Hellmuth really had a hand. It didn't take long for Frango's chips to vanish, particularly when he lost five pots in a row (his diamond flush losing to a higher diamond flush was the backbreaker) and he was knocked out in third place.
Cigar-chomping Herb Kelso played tough at the final table. He had a decent-sized stack most of the day, but gradually lost his momentum about mid-way through the nine-hour marathon and was the next player to make an exit. Kelso was eliminated by Hellmuth -- and then there were only two.
Young Phan, from Garden Grove, CA faced Phil Hellmuth. The chip counts stood as follows: Phan with $209K vs. Hellmuth with $270K
From the outset of heads-up play, Phan punished Hellmuth and had the temperamental poker pro standing up and talking to himself at one point. "I have cost myself millions of dollars with my temper," Hellmuth later explained in reference to his controversial behavior. "The only person I've hurt is myself. Whenever I get negative, I get unlucky and I start to tilt. Then, I lose all my chips."
It appeared the crowd might be treated to another ballistic outburst when Phan won several pots in a row, took the chip lead, and was on the verge of turning Hellmuth into what he describes as "his own worst enemy." Hellmuth grumbled to himself that Phan was getting all the breaks, and wondered aloud if he would get dealt a few winning hands. The answer to that question would be a devastating rush of cards for Hellmuth that crushed Young Phan's big stack and completely reversed the chip advantage in favor of Hellmuth.
Phan watched in horror as Hellmuth won an astounding 13 hands in a row -- virtually unheard of in heads-up play. A few of the hands involved Hellmuth picking up the blinds, but more often both players would see the flop, Phan would completely miss and give up his hand when Hellmuth applied pressure. At one point, Hellmuth made a remarkable call with a king-high (no pair) on the river and won the pot when he snapped off the stone-cold bluff by Phan. Whether it was clairvoyance or great poker playing, that key hand put Phan down to the felt and primed Hellmuth for his eighth championship.
The final hand of the night, which closed a three-hour epic heads-up duel, came with Hellmuth's 6-4 topping Phan's 6-2, when a pair of fours came on the turn. To his credit, Phan remained completely composed and focused throughout the final table, never once getting flustered even though he must have been horrified to lose 13 hands in a row at one point. He also fought back multiple times from chip disadvantages, and gave Hellmuth a serious run for his money.
But in the end, the world's best hold'em player prevailed. Lest there be any doubt as to Hellmuth's knack for hold'em tournaments, every single gold bracelet he owns is for a hold'em event. The victory also put Hellmuth into a special class -- with over $3 million in prize money at the World Series of Poker. "The money's nice, but this is what I play for," Hellmuth said afterward as he snapped the gold bracelet on his wrist.
"I'm a feel player. Since the 2001 final table (Hellmuth made the championship finale two years ago) I haven't had any natural feel for the game. It's like I lost the power, or something. Friday, I woke up and fold my wife -- I have all my power back. I told Erik (Seidel) I'm playing with all my power for the first time since 2001. I'm going to get here again this year, I'm going to make at least two more final tables."
Interestingly, Hellmuth's win inspired another person who was sitting in the audience. With his wife, Kathleen, at his side -- Hellmuth closed off the evening by introducing his friend, Larry -- who recently suffered a stroke. Larry explained that he was hospitalized and could not move. He found Hellmuth to be such an inspiration, that he recovered somewhat and came down to Binion's Horseshoe to cheer on his friend in the tournament.
"You want to talk about mystical things," said Hellmuth. "When Larry came and sat down (in the audience) I won the next 13 hands in a row, right after that."
It was the thing dreams are made of.
-- by Nolan Dalla
Players going to the final table, with seat numbers and chip counts
1st Greg Alston Seat 7 with 96,000 Chips
2nd Herb Kelso Seat 1 with 70,000 Chips
3rd Nick Frangos Seat 5 with 69,000 Chips
4th Young Phan Seat 2 with 66.000 Chips
5th Phil Hellmuth Seat 4 with 60,000 Chips
6th Chuck McCormick Seat 9 with 50,000 Chips
7th Richard Hoffmaster Seat 6 with 38,000 Chips
8th John Strzemp Seat 8 with 24,000 Chips
9th Eli Elezra Seat 3 with 11,000 Chips
Kyle Rickey Seat 10 with 2,000 Chips
PRESS RELEASE
APRIL 26, 2003
2003 WORLD SERIES OF POKER
Binion's Horseshoe -- Las Vegas
EVENT #12 Limit Texas Hold'em
Buy-in -- $2,500
Total Entries -- 194
Total Prize Pool -- $451,050
Place Name Prize
1 Phil Hellmuth Jr (Palo Alto CA) 171,400 $171,400
2 Young Phan (Garden Grove CA) 85,700 $85,700
3 Herb Kelso (Ridgefield MS) 42,400 $42,400
4 Nick Franges (White Plains NY) 27,060 $27,060
5 Greg Alston (Las Vegas NV) 18,040 $18,040
6 Chuck McCormick (Oceanside CA) 15,780 $15,780
7 John Strzemp (Las Vegas NV) 13,500 $13,500
8 Richard Hoffmaster (Somers MT) 11,280 $11,280
9 Eli Elezra (Henderson NV) 9,010 $9,010
10 Kyle Rickey (Las Vegas NV) 7,220 $7,220
11 Thithi Tran (Torrance, CA) 7,220 $7,220
12 Carlos Mortensen (Madrid, Spain) 7,220 $7,220
13 Toto Leonidas (Glendale, CA) 6,320 $6,320
14 Scotty Nguyen (Henderson, NV) 6,320 $6,320
15 Steve Landfish (Middleburg Heights, OH) 6,320 $6,320
16 Ed Richardson (Tucson, AZ) 5,420 $5,420
17 Leandro Alvarez (Carson, CA) 5,420 $5,420
18 Darren Neishuler (Santa Monica, CA) 5,420 $5,420
Hellmuth is Back!
Former World Champion Stages Dramatic Comeback and Captures Eighth Gold Bracelet
There are many times, literally hundreds of times when I am playing poker when I know exactly what the other guy has. I mean, I know the exact cards. I don't think it's clairvoyance, maybe it's something you just develop over time.
-- Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
In what has become "the battle of the bracelets," Phil Hellmuth responded with an epic triumph in the $2,500 Buy-in Limit Texas Hold'em event, just two days after Doyle Brunson suggested to Phil, "catch me if you can." Hellmuth now has eight wins at the World Series of Poker, a figure exceeded only by the legendary poker master Brunson, with nine. It all started with a dream.
"I've never had visions of winning the tournament the night before," said Hellmuth. "The last few times I made the final table, I had visions of another player winning it rather than me. This time, I dreamed I would win it. It just blows my mind I would win the tournament with a 4 -- and sure enough it was a 4! I'm not saying I'm clairvoyant, obviously since I've only won two WSOP titles in the last seven years, but something is going on, and I can't explain it."
Indeed, the zenith of Hellmuth's phantasm came on the final hand of the night, when Hellmuth's 6-4 dominated his opponent's 6-2, and scooped the pot when the board showed A-9-7-4-J. Just as Hellmuth visualized the night beforein his dream, a pair of fours was a winner.
Hellmuth's dream almost turned into a nightmare earlier in the tournament, when he was "all-in" at one point and dangerously close to elimination. With seven players still in the tournament, Hellmuth was down to his last $10K (and out-chipped by more than 12-1). He survived an "all-in" and then proceeded to bulldoze over the table. 45 minutes later, Hellmuth was co-chip-leader with $100K.
Kyle Rickey, Eli Elezra, and Richard Hoffmaster were the first to be eliminated from the final table. Then, John Strzemp, who came in second to Stu Ungar in the 1997 championship event, went out in 7th place. Chuck McCormick, a high-stakes player from Oceanside, CA was the next player to hit the rail which left six players at the final table.
Greg Alston came into day two with the chip lead. Unfortunately, he went "card dead" at the worst possible moment. Alston was never able to generate any momentum on this day and finished a disappointing fifth. "I looked down at J-4, 7-3, and 6-2 all day long," lamented Alston afterward.
Down to four players, it appeared as if Nick Frangos from the New York City area would pose the biggest threat to Hellmuth. Frangos was second in chips, and had position on Hellmuth, sitting to his immediate left. Frangos, a high-stakes player who frequents Atlantic City and most of the major tournaments, was poised to try and isolate Hellmuth with re-raises any time he saw the 1989 World Champion get out of line. But the strategy backfired. Each time Hellmuth made a raise and Frangos came over the top, Hellmuth really had a hand. It didn't take long for Frango's chips to vanish, particularly when he lost five pots in a row (his diamond flush losing to a higher diamond flush was the backbreaker) and he was knocked out in third place.
Cigar-chomping Herb Kelso played tough at the final table. He had a decent-sized stack most of the day, but gradually lost his momentum about mid-way through the nine-hour marathon and was the next player to make an exit. Kelso was eliminated by Hellmuth -- and then there were only two.
Young Phan, from Garden Grove, CA faced Phil Hellmuth. The chip counts stood as follows: Phan with $209K vs. Hellmuth with $270K
From the outset of heads-up play, Phan punished Hellmuth and had the temperamental poker pro standing up and talking to himself at one point. "I have cost myself millions of dollars with my temper," Hellmuth later explained in reference to his controversial behavior. "The only person I've hurt is myself. Whenever I get negative, I get unlucky and I start to tilt. Then, I lose all my chips."
It appeared the crowd might be treated to another ballistic outburst when Phan won several pots in a row, took the chip lead, and was on the verge of turning Hellmuth into what he describes as "his own worst enemy." Hellmuth grumbled to himself that Phan was getting all the breaks, and wondered aloud if he would get dealt a few winning hands. The answer to that question would be a devastating rush of cards for Hellmuth that crushed Young Phan's big stack and completely reversed the chip advantage in favor of Hellmuth.
Phan watched in horror as Hellmuth won an astounding 13 hands in a row -- virtually unheard of in heads-up play. A few of the hands involved Hellmuth picking up the blinds, but more often both players would see the flop, Phan would completely miss and give up his hand when Hellmuth applied pressure. At one point, Hellmuth made a remarkable call with a king-high (no pair) on the river and won the pot when he snapped off the stone-cold bluff by Phan. Whether it was clairvoyance or great poker playing, that key hand put Phan down to the felt and primed Hellmuth for his eighth championship.
The final hand of the night, which closed a three-hour epic heads-up duel, came with Hellmuth's 6-4 topping Phan's 6-2, when a pair of fours came on the turn. To his credit, Phan remained completely composed and focused throughout the final table, never once getting flustered even though he must have been horrified to lose 13 hands in a row at one point. He also fought back multiple times from chip disadvantages, and gave Hellmuth a serious run for his money.
But in the end, the world's best hold'em player prevailed. Lest there be any doubt as to Hellmuth's knack for hold'em tournaments, every single gold bracelet he owns is for a hold'em event. The victory also put Hellmuth into a special class -- with over $3 million in prize money at the World Series of Poker. "The money's nice, but this is what I play for," Hellmuth said afterward as he snapped the gold bracelet on his wrist.
"I'm a feel player. Since the 2001 final table (Hellmuth made the championship finale two years ago) I haven't had any natural feel for the game. It's like I lost the power, or something. Friday, I woke up and fold my wife -- I have all my power back. I told Erik (Seidel) I'm playing with all my power for the first time since 2001. I'm going to get here again this year, I'm going to make at least two more final tables."
Interestingly, Hellmuth's win inspired another person who was sitting in the audience. With his wife, Kathleen, at his side -- Hellmuth closed off the evening by introducing his friend, Larry -- who recently suffered a stroke. Larry explained that he was hospitalized and could not move. He found Hellmuth to be such an inspiration, that he recovered somewhat and came down to Binion's Horseshoe to cheer on his friend in the tournament.
"You want to talk about mystical things," said Hellmuth. "When Larry came and sat down (in the audience) I won the next 13 hands in a row, right after that."
It was the thing dreams are made of.
-- by Nolan Dalla
Players going to the final table, with seat numbers and chip counts
1st Greg Alston Seat 7 with 96,000 Chips
2nd Herb Kelso Seat 1 with 70,000 Chips
3rd Nick Frangos Seat 5 with 69,000 Chips
4th Young Phan Seat 2 with 66.000 Chips
5th Phil Hellmuth Seat 4 with 60,000 Chips
6th Chuck McCormick Seat 9 with 50,000 Chips
7th Richard Hoffmaster Seat 6 with 38,000 Chips
8th John Strzemp Seat 8 with 24,000 Chips
9th Eli Elezra Seat 3 with 11,000 Chips
Kyle Rickey Seat 10 with 2,000 Chips
