| 2007 World Series of Poker | |
|---|---|
| Location | Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino,Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dates | June 1 – July 18 |
| Champion | |
 Jerry Yang | |
← 2006 2008 → | |
The2007World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 (US) no-limitTexas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18th. All events were held at theRio All Suite Hotel and Casino inLas Vegas, Nevada, byHarrah's Entertainment, which has run the annual event since its purchase from the Binion family in 2004.
For the first time players began each event with double the amount of chips as the buy-in. This means that players in the Main Event started with 20,000 chips.[1] The blind structure has also been increased and some blind levels removed but slowed to allow for more play.
In addition to the $50,000H.O.R.S.E. event, which was first played at the2006 World Series of Poker, this year there were 2 additional H.O.R.S.E. events with lower buy-ins ($2,500 and $5,000).
Tom Schneider, who won 2 events and made 1 other final table, won the Player of the Year Award.Michael Binger andChad Brown led all other players with eight money finishes.
The annual celebrity event was changed this year, as it became a pro and celeb event called "Ante Up for Africa", hosted by actorDon Cheadle and poker proAnnie Duke. The final two players,Dan Shak and Brandon Moran, agreed to share first place and donate all prize money to charities inDarfur.
Thelast woman standing of the 2007 Main Event wasMaria Ho who finished in 38th place.
Also this year,KEM Plastic Playing Cards were once again used for the events, rather thanCopag brand plastic playing cards, which were used during the2005 and2006 World Series of Poker.
Phil Hellmuth won his 11th career bracelet, breaking a tie with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan for the career bracelet lead.
| # | Event | Entries | Winner | Prize | Runner-up | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 World Championship Mixed Hold'em | 451 | Steve Billirakis(1/1) | $536,287 | Greg Mueller | Results |
| 2 | $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em | 1,039 | Frederick Narciso(1/1) | $104,701 | Charles Fisher | Results |
| 3 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 2,998 | Ciaran O'Leary(1/1) | $727,012 | Paul Evans | Results |
| 4 | $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em | 781 | Mike Spegal(1/1) | $252,290 | Gavin Smith | Results |
| 5 | $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better | 327 | Tom Schneider(1/1) | $214,347 | Ed Tonnellier | Results |
| 6 | $1,500 Limit Hold'em | 910 | Gary Styczynski(1/1) | $280,715 | Varouzhan Gumroyan | Results |
| 7 | $5,000 Pot LimitOmaha w/Rebuys | 145 | Burt Boutin(1/2) | $868,745 | Erik Cajelais | Results |
| 8 | $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys | 814 | Michael Chu(1/1) | $585,744 | Tom Vu | Results |
| 9 | $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better | 690 | Alex Kravchenko(1/1) | $228,446 | Bryan Devonshire | Results |
| 10 | $2,000 No Limit Hold'em | 1,531 | Will Durkee(1/1) | $566,916 | Todd Terry | Results |
| 11 | $5,000 World ChampionshipSeven Card Stud | 180 | Chris Reslock(1/1) | $258,453 | Phil Ivey(0/5) | Results |
| 12 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Short Handed | 1,427 | Jason Warner(1/1) | $481,698 | David Zeitlin | Results |
| 13 | $5,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold'em | 398 | Allen Cunningham(1/5) | $487,287 | Jeff Lisandro | Results |
| 14 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud | 395 | Michael Keiner(1/1) | $146,987 | Nesbitt Coburn | Results |
| 15 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 2,628 | Phil Hellmuth(1/11) | $637,254 | Andy Philachack | Results |
| 16 | $2,500 H.O.R.S.E. | 382 | James Richburg(1/2) | $239,503 | Walter Browne | Results |
| 17 | $1,000 World Championship Ladies No Limit Hold'em | 1,286 | Sally Boyer(1/1) | $262,077 | Anne Heft | Results |
| 18 | $5,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em | 257 | Saro Getzoyan(1/1) | $333,379 | Geoff Sanford | Results |
| 19 | $2,500 No Limit Hold'em | 1,013 | Francois Safieddine(1/1) | $521,785 | John Phan | Results |
| 20 | $2,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better | 340 | Ryan Hughes(1/1) | $176,358 | Min Lee | Results |
| 21 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout | 900 | Don Baruch(1/1) | $264,107 | Jared Davis | Results |
| 22 | $5,000 No Limit Hold'em | 640 | James Mackey(1/1) | $730,740 | Stuart Fox | Results |
| 23 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha | 576 | Scott Clements(1/2) | $194,206 | Eric Lynch | Results |
| 24 | $3,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better | 236 | Eli Elezra(1/1) | $198,984 | Scotty Nguyen(0/4) | Results |
| 25 | $2,000 No Limit Hold'em | 1,619 | Ben Ponzio(1/1) | $599,467 | David Hewitt | Results |
| 26 | $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. | 192 | Ralph Schwartz(1/1) | $275,683 | Bill Gazes | Results |
| 27 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 2,315 | David Stucke(1/1) | $603,069 | Young Cho | Results |
| 28 | $3,000 No Limit Hold'em | 827 | Shankar Pillai(1/1) | $527,829 | Beth Shak | Results |
| 29 | $1,500 Seven CardRazz | 341 | Katja Thater(1/1) | $132,653 | Larry St. Jean | Results |
| 30 | $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Short Handed | 847 | Hoyt Corkins(1/2) | $515,065 | Terrence Chan | Results |
| 31 | $5,000 World Championship Heads Up No Limit Hold'em | 392 | Dan Schreiber(1/1) | $425,594 | Mark Muchnik | Results |
| 32 | $2,000 Seven Card Stud | 213 | Jeff Lisandro(1/1) | $118,426 | Nick Frangos | Results |
| 33 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/Rebuys | 293 | Alan Smurfit(1/1) | $464,867 | Qushqar Morad | Results |
| 34 | $3,000 Limit Hold'em | 296 | Alexander Borteh(1/1) | $225,483 | Brandon Wong | Results |
| 35 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 2,541 | Ryan Young(1/1) | $615,955 | Dustin Dirksen | Results |
| 36 | $5,000 World Championship Omaha Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better | 280 | John Guth(1/1) | $363,216 | Robert Stevanovski | Results |
| 37 | $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | 599 | Greg Hopkins(1/1) | $269,274 | Jason Newburger | Results |
| 38 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 2,778 | Robert Cheung(1/1) | $673,628 | Richard Murnick | Results |
| 39 | $50,000World Championship H.O.R.S.E. | 148 | Freddy Deeb(1/2) | $2,276,832 | Bruno Fitoussi | Results |
| 40 | $1,500 Mixed Hold'em | 620 | Fred Goldberg(1/1) | $204,935 | Rene Mouritsen | Results |
| 41 | $1,000 World Championship Seniors No Limit Hold'em | 1,882 | Ernest Bennett(1/1) | $348,423 | Tony Korfman | Results |
| 42 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better | 687 | Lukasz Dumanski(1/1) | $227,454 | David Bach | Results |
| 43 | $2,000 Limit Hold'em | 472 | Saif Ahmad(1/1) | $217,329 | William Jensen | Results |
| 44 | $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split | 534 | Frankie O'Dell(1/2) | $240,057 | Thang Luu | Results |
| 45 | $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Short Handed | 728 | Bill Edler(1/1) | $904,672 | Alex Bolotin | Results |
| 46 | $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better | 668 | Tom Schneider(2/2) | $147,713 | Hoyt Verner | Results |
| 47 | $2,000 No Limit Hold'em | 2,038 | Blair Rodman(1/1) | $707,898 | Amato Galasso | Results |
| 48 | $1,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball w/Rebuys | 209 | Rafi Amit(1/2) | $227,005 | Lenny Martin | Results |
| 49 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 3,151 | Chandrasekhar Billavara(1/1) | $722,914 | Taylor Douglas | Results |
| 50 | $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha | 314 | Robert Mizrachi(1/1) | $768,889 | Rene Mouritsen | Results |
| 51 | $1,000 S.H.O.E. | 730 | Dao Bac(1/1) | $157,975 | Adam Geyer | Results |
| 52 | $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys | 1,048 | Michael Graves(1/1) | $742,121 | Theo Tran | Results |
| 53 | $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout | 720 | Ram Vaswani(1/1) | $217,438 | Andy Ward | Results |
| 54 | $5,000 World Championship 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Rebuys | 78 | Erik Seidel(1/8) | $538,835 | Chad Brown | Results |
| 55 | $10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold'em Main Event | 6,358 | Jerry Yang(1/1) | $8,250,000 | Tuan Lam | Results |
The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event began on July 6 with the first of four separate starting days. 6,358 players entered, 2,415 fewer than in 2006.[3] This is the first time since1992 that the Main Event experienced a reduction in participants. As the total number of registrants for the 2007 WSOP set a record at 54,288 with a total prize pool of $159,796,918 ($59,784,954 for the Main Event),[4] the decrease in the number of participants in the Main Event has been attributed to arecent law that limits Internet gambling.[5] As a result of this law, Harrah's did not allow online poker websites to directly purchase Main Event seats and offer them as prizes, if the sites conducted business with US citizens.[6] Online entries to the Main Event that were won as prizes on Internet poker sites were a substantial contributor to the dramatic growth the Main Event seen in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.[5][7] The reduced field also meant a nearly one-third reduction in the Main Event's grand prize, from the record $12 million (US) in2006 to $8.25 million.
A flatter payout structure was introduced in 2007 further reducing the prize money awarded to the final table finishers. Players who busted early in the money received a larger share than they would have in 2006. The lowest payouts in 2007 were $20,320 (just over double the buyin), as compared to $14,597 in 2006. Every player who made the final table in 2006 won over 1.5 million dollars.
A minor controversy arose during the main event. The colors of the chips made it very difficult to differentiate between the chip values. Pokernews.com posted the following note on its live reporting log, "It has literally been impossible for us to count these players' stacks due to the positioning of the cameras and the incredibly similar colors of the various chip denominations."[8] Pokernews also reported that the chip color has affected play, "Because of the similarly-colored chips it took the dealer some time to count down Kluber's stack, and not long after Rahme began thinking about his response Kluber called the clock on him."[8] Other players have complained that they can't count their opponents stacks and fear asking for a chip count as speaking may reveal the strength of their hand.
| Name | Number of chips (percentage of total) | WSOP Bracelets* | WSOP Cashes* | WSOP Earnings* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Phillip Hilm | 22,070,000 (17.3%) | 0 | 1 | $6,930 |
 Tuan Lam | 21,315,000 (16.7%) | 0 | 2 | $10,443 |
 Jon Kalmar | 20,320,000 (15.9%) | 0 | 1 | $91,950 |
 Raymond Rahme | 16,320,000 (12.8%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Lee Childs | 13,240,000 (10.4%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Watkinson | 9,925,000 (7.8%) | 1 | 9 | $1,283,185 |
| Hevad Khan | 9,205,000 (7.2%) | 0 | 2 | $20,255 |
| Jerry Yang | 8,450,000 (6.6%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Alex Kravchenko | 6,570,000 (5.2%) | 1 | 6 | $278,844 |
*Career statistics prior to the beginning of the 2007 Main Event.
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jerry Yang | $8,250,000 |
| 2nd | Tuan Lam | $4,840,981 |
| 3rd | Raymond Rahme | $3,048,025 |
| 4th | Alex Kravchenko | $1,852,721 |
| 5th | Jon Kalmar | $1,255,069 |
| 6th | Hevad Khan | $956,243 |
| 7th | Lee Childs | $705,229 |
| 8th | Lee Watkinson | $585,699 |
| 9th | Phillip Hilm | $525,934 |
NB: This list is restricted to top 100 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 11th | Scotty Nguyen | $476,926 |
| 16th | Kenny Tran | $381,302 |
| 23rd | Bill Edler | $333,490 |
| 25th | Daniel Alaei | $333,490 |
| 26th | Roy Winston | $333,490 |
| 38th | Maria Ho | $237,865 |
| 39th | Rep Porter | $237,865 |
| 42nd | Dag Mikkelsen | $237,865 |
| 56th | Kirk Morrison | $154,194 |
| 60th | John Spadavecchia | $154,194 |
| 61st | Gus Hansen | $154,194 |
| 64th | Julian Gardner | $130,288 |
| 69th | Brandon Adams | $130,288 |
| 73rd | Huck Seed | $106,382 |
| 77th | Willie Tann | $106,382 |
| 83rd | Humberto Brenes | $82,476 |
| 96th | Dario Minieri | $67,535 |
| Name | Championship Year(s) | Day of Elimination |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston | 1972 | 1 |
| Doyle Brunson | 1976, 1977 | 1 |
| Bobby Baldwin | 1978 | 2 |
| Tom McEvoy | 1983 | 2 |
| Berry Johnston | 1986 | 4 (113th) |
| Johnny Chan | 1987, 1988 | 1 |
| Phil Hellmuth | 1989 | 1 |
| Brad Daugherty | 1991 | 1 |
| Jim Bechtel | 1993 | 2 |
| Dan Harrington | 1995 | 2 |
| Huck Seed | 1996 | 5 (73rd) |
| Scotty Nguyen | 1998 | 6 (11th) |
| Chris Ferguson | 2000 | 3 |
| Carlos Mortensen | 2001 | 4 (217th) |
| Robert Varkonyi | 2002 | 4 (177th) |
| Chris Moneymaker | 2003 | 2 |
| Greg Raymer | 2004 | 1 |
| Joe Hachem | 2005 | 2 |
| Jamie Gold | 2006 | 1 |
Under the leadership of WSOP commissioner,Jeffrey Pollack, theWorld Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion of theWorld Series of Poker. In September 2007, the first WSOP championship events outside of Las Vegas took place in London. It was the first time thatWSOP bracelets were awarded outside of Las Vegas.[9] Three tournaments were held, with the main event being a£10,000 buy-in no-limit hold 'em tournament. The main event was won byNorwegian online prodigyAnnette Obrestad, who won on the day before her 19th birthday and became the youngest person ever to win a WSOP bracelet.