Event #17 - $1,000 NL Hold'em - 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Results

Event #17
$1,000 Buy-in
No Limit Hold'em
Final Tournament Results
2006 World Series of Poker
(WSOP)

2006 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino – Las Vegas
Official Results and Report

Event #17
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,000
Number of Entries: 2,891
Total Prize Money: $2,630,810
Defending Champion (2005):
Jon Heneghan

Official Results:

Place Name Hometown Prize

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.
153.
154.
155.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
176.
177.
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
192.
193.
194.
195.
196.
197.
198.
198B.
199.
200.
201.
202.
203.
204.
205.
206.
207.
208.
209.
210.
211.
212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
217.
218.
219.
220.
221.
222.
223.
224.
225.
226.
227.
228.
229.
230.
231.
232.
233.
234.
235.
236.
237.
238.
239.
240.
241.
242.
243.
244.
245.
246.
247.
248.
249.
250.
251.
252.
253.
254.
255.
256.
257.
258.
259.
260.
261.
262.
263.
264.
265.
266.
267.
268.
269.
270.

Jon Friedberg
John “The Razor” Phan
Mike Pomeroy
Tom Hawkingberry
Kevin O'Donnell
Corey Chaston
Humberto Brenes
Mike Halford
Thang T. Luu
Carlos Mortensen
Karen Black
Lowell Kim
Terry Trevathan
Shane McCarrell
Matthew Palmucci
Nicholas Hill
Wei Chan
Boulos Estafanous
Tae Baik
Richard Sparks
Simon Ford
David Parde
Mark R Wilds
Steven Connally
Jonathan N. Dull
Jeffrey Rosenblatt
Charlie Ng
William Kyle Orvis
Joseph Falcone
Zachary W. Shapiro
Jason Stern
John Shipley
Frank G. Huntress
Nega A. Marucci, III
David Walton
George A. Auscomb Jr.
Randy A. Haddox
Mark Burtenshaw
Anthony Limantzakis
John Bardwell
Marek Kolk
John Repetti
Michael W. Chow
Marlis Sawicki
Robert Hutchins
Ronald Peterson
Greg Mueller
Matthew Rightnour
Chris W. McCormack
Lore Cargile
Ed Apodaca
Peter Boysen
John Zaheri
William P. Durkee V
David Katz
Colby Spere
Ashley Young
Gary Long
Gregg Goldstein
James Russell
Daniel Lowe
Joseph M. Ebert
Ronnie R. Rogers
Kevin O'Sullivan
Marcello Del Grosso
Thomas J. Hayman
Bryan Connole
Yakir Retner
Todd Miskos
Carlos Lopez
Michael Katz
Steven Zoine
Michael Kilgoris
Richard Spring
Samir Zoudo
Annand Ramdin
Sean Cain
Steve Vincent
Satish Vitha
Michael Sanderson
Paul Finn
William Vosti
Peter Lawson
Lara Covert
Thomas Swanson
Isaac Galazan
Colin McDonnell
Justin Title
Erik Sorensen
Gregg Grivas
Dennis Wu
Camillo Calabrese
Randolf W. Sears
Corey W. Souther
Motoyuki Mabuchi
Kevin Westcott
Clayton D. Connelly
Brian Hansen
Kevin Song
Justin C.V. Tran
Nhan Le
Mike J. Sanchez
Jared Smith
Matthew H. Engel
Brittani Simberg
William Shanks
Rick Ruffman
David Scheinbart
Jacinto Lopez
Michael "Mickey" Seagle
William Jensen
Terry Myers
Paul Ahmed
Kevin Ho
Steven J. Mitchell
Tom Russo
David Lataille
Edmund Liu
Quinn Do
Adam Naglich
Jeff Rasmussen
Frank Puleo
Thomas Hover
Stephen Ladowsky
Tina Bergstrom
Gee Way Lee
John Hank Sitton III
Peter M. Falkenstein
Jacob Hoffman
Brad Mahon
Jean Gaspard
Kris Fields
Carl A. Davis
Gary N. Lew
Jeremy Armstrong
Sheree Bykoesky
James Fox
Glyn Banks
Gary Gosewehr
Joe Ramos
Joseph Yun
Christopher Mudd
James Thomas
Craig Brockman
Larry Etherington
David Williams
Anthony Renella
Mark Bonsack
Charles Lunn
Gioi Luong
Ylon Schwartz
John Huston
Kevin Miller
Patrick Breno
Ryan Larson
Randolph Spain
Edward Zakaria
Joseph Holmes
Duane Drushella
Stephen Waldo
Richard Steinmetz
Stanley Davis
Tomishau Krizanie
Jason Chung
Richard Ferro
Gregg Merkow
Billy Cockman
Mats Eriksson
Keith Noblett
Jonathan Sedaghati
Stephen Muszkat
John Salmon
Michael Serrano
Barry Seedman
Leon Walk
Lyly McKeany
Grand "Tony" Cantalupo
Matthew Flynn
Ross Boatman
Dustin Carlton
Robin Schoder
Jon Loshbaugh
Theo Osborne
Brett Smith
Evan Peterson
Mark Green
Andrew Barciz
Arthur Bressher
Michael Bokan
Kully Burnet
Mats Millson
Roy Vagderslvis
Jeremy Magal
Brandon Adams
Richard Joel
John Helppi
Rick Montijo
Mark Entwistle
Peter Hedlund
Terry Huggins
Shannon Fadal
Jesse Petrake
Michael Waiter
Gregory Eberlein
Phillip Tague
Eric Stanton
Theodore Mullikin
Christoper Guinnup
Talia Kahio
Michael Tham
Philip Biho
Art Diaz
Vaughn McClelland
Gavin
Bret McClame
Michael Q. McArdle
Roger Pitsimmons
Michael Airharut
Phillip Gurian
Michael Olson
Jonathan Little
Philip Ariganello
John Walliser
Kevin Currey
Mark Barre
Steven Federspiel
James Mattox
William Forrest
Kendall Fukumoto
Gary Braufman
Douglas Smith
Steven Abt
Charles Blankenship
John Pires
Donato Bielli
Parris Holmes
Scott Mele
Justin Patel
Terry Breeden
John Saini
Daniel Eskola
Richard Basso
Jonathan Crawford
Ronald Delcamp
David Drews
Jared Okun
Marc Aubin
Kristopher Johnson
Richard Seward
Bradford Damm
Michael Gwyn
David Gibbone
Branden Lee
Michael Vitullo
Fred Finley
Sandro Gebert
Glenn Theobald
Arnold Kirschenmann
Stephen Kujubu
Kim Austin
Michael Riebe
Michael Carlin
John Rusk
Markus Gonsalves
Mikhail Vaynshteyn
James Pittman
Steven Lance
Bryan Ellenburg
Shawn Mattaro
Erik Behling

Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Detroit, MI
Pittsburgh, PA
Scottsdale, AZ
Thorold, ON, Canada
San Jose, Costa Rica
Memphis, TN
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Whittier, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Lufkin, TX
Yuma, AZ
Nashua, NH
Phoenix, AZ
Chapel Hill, NC
Darien, IL
Leonia, NJ
Beverly Hills, CA
Albenia, Canada
Beverton, OR
Biloxi, MS
Fountain Valley, CA
Fresno, CA
Mont- Royal, Canada
Las Vegas, NV
Longmont, CO
Hawley, PA
Los Angeles, CA
San Jose, CA
Solihull, UK
Austin, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Frenkenmuth, MI
Houston, TX
Idaho Falls, ID
Salt Lake City, UT
Haines City, FL
NA
Henderson, NV
Honolulu, HI
Etobicoke, ON Canada
Monterey, CA
Kalispell, MT
Vancourver, CA
Clearfield, PA
Las Vegas, NV
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Elizabeth, CO
Aarbus, Denmark
Houston, TX
Pittsburgh, PA
Venice, CA
Henderson, NV
Pleasanton, CA
Naples, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Arlington, VA
Las Vegas, NV
Rochester, NY
Edwardsburg, MI
Los Angeles, CA
Toronto, ON, Canada
Macomb, MI
Palm Springs, CA
Tel Aviv, Israel
La Salle, ON, Canada
Dallas, TX
Manalapan, NJ
Merrick, NY
Huntsville, AL
Las Vegas, NV
Modesto, CA
Bronx, NY
San Jose, CA
Henderson, NV
Cerritos, CA
Odenton, md
Pueblo, CO
Arroyo Grande, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
Lawrence, KS
Duluth, MN
Sunny Isles Beach, FL
Studio City, CA
Austin, TX
Copenhagen, Denmark
Las Vegas, NV
Cleveland, OH
Las Vegas, NV
Victorville, CA
Seattle, WA
Osaka, Japan
Blue Island, I
Fort Smith, AR
Colorado Springs, CO
Rowland Hgts, CA
Sacramento, CA
Huntington Beach, CA
Tucson, AZ
Reno, NV
Allen, TX
Santa Monica, CA
Mays Landing, NJ
Colts Neck, NJ
Woodland Hills, CA
Dallas, TX
Marion, NC
Silver Springs, MD
Yuma, AZ
Springdale, AR
Gainesville, FL
Hillsboro, WI
Peyton, CO
Surprise, AZ
Davis, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Carmel, IN
St. Louis, MO
Blue Diamond, NV
Toronto, ON, Canada
Las Vegas, NV
Houston, TX
Greenville, SC
Ann Arbor, MI
Nappanei, IN
Gilbert, AZ
Evanston, IL
Harrison, OH
Levelland, TX
Sugar Land, TX
Beverly Hills, CA
New York, NY
Las Vegas, NV
Smithville, TN
Port Washington, WI
Tulane, CA
Honolulu, HI
Kirksville, MO
Reno, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Phoenix, AZ
San Marcos, CA
Aurora, IL
Maple Valley, WA
Toccoa, GA
Westminster, CA
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Helena, MI
Richmond Heights, MO
NA
Las Vegas, NV
Brewer, ME
Windsor, ON, Canada
Weston, FL
Albany, OR
Corinth, TX
Ambridge, PA
De Forest, WI
Oakland Park, FL
Houston, TX
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Stockholm, Sweden
Plano, TX
Tarzana, CA
Gordon, NSW
Maricopa, AZ
Hoffman Estates, IL
Henderson, NV
Warren, OH
Santa Barbara, CA
Chatsworth, CA
Milwaukee, WI
London, England
Mantua, OH
Conifer, CO
Denver, CO
U.K.
Palmer, AK
Irvine, CA
Shelbyville, IN
Scottsdale, AZ
Manalapan, NJ
Sacramento, CA
Kailua, HI
Sweden
London, England
Vancouver, Canada
NA
Conyers, GA
Helsinki, Finland
Bakersfield, CA
NA
NA
Palo Pinto, TX
Los Angeles, CA
NA
Phoenix, AZ
Surprise, AZ
Denver, CO
Lexington, KY
Gatlinburg, TN
Saline, MI
NA
New York, NY
Lahaina, HI
Chula Vista, CA
Jersey Shore, PA
NA
Bristol, IN
Gainesville, FL
NA
Austin, TX
NA
Wauwatosa, WI
Pensacola, FL
Ohaou, HI
Phoenix, AZ
Orlando, FL
Pearland, TX
North Liberty, IA
Kingsland, GA
Las Vegas, NV
Honolulu, HI
Las Vegas, NV
Lenexa, KS
Meadowbrook, PA
Middle River Ba, MD
Santa Clara, CA
Broken Arrow, OK
San Antonio, TX
Lake Hiawatha, NJ
Cary, NC
Spotsylvania, VA
Sulmar, CA
Stockholm, Sweden
Saint Clair Shores, MI
Las Vegas, NV
Seattle, WA
Los Angeles, CA
Tampa, FL
Montreal, Canada
Loveland, CO
Port Orchard, WA
San Diego, CA
Woodstock, VA
Mt. Royal, NJ
Aiea, HI
Woodland Hls, CA
Arvada, CO
Venice, CA
Pembroke Pines, FL
Bakersfield, CA
Sacramento, CA
Beaufort, SC
Mentor, OH
Golden, CO
Mahomet, IL
San Diego, CA
Alberta, Canada
Yorba Linda, CA
Twinsburg, OH
Valley Vlg, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Wauuatosa, WI

$526,185
$289,389
$157,322
$122,596
$105,232
$88,132
$74,715
$61,561
$49,722
$38,936
$35,516
$32,622
$29,991
$27,360
$24,730
$22,099
$19,468
$16,837
$14,206
$14,206
$14,206
$11,576
$11,576
$11,576
$9,471
$9,471
$9,471
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$7,892
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$6,314
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$5,262
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$4,209
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$3,157
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$2,368
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578
$1,578

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Tournament Report

Nothing to Lose, Everything to Win

Jon Friedberg Pulls-Off Stunning Upset Victory

Mammoth 2006 WSOP attracts second-largest live poker tournament
in history

Las Vegas, NV – Janis Joplin once sang, “freedom is just another word for –
nothing left to lose.” What the 1969 song lyric meant was that it’s far easier
to be daring and take chances when there is not so much at stake. Jon
Friedberg, winner of the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship
certainly understands this. He won the second-largest live poker tournament
in history at the 2006 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best
Light.

Friedberg overcame a field of 2,891 players to win over half-a-million dollars
in prize money. Only the main event of the 2005 WSOP attracted more
entries. A whopping 270 players finished in-the-money.

Friedberg, who won his first-ever gold bracelet, is a 31-year-old MBA
graduate from Pepperdine University. He is a businessman and investor with
a number of ongoing start-up ventures. Freidberg lives in Las Vegas.

It took two very long days to eliminate 2,882 participants. That left the final
nine players, who returned for Day Three. When the final table started,
Michael Pomeroy looked to be the player to beat. He enjoyed a sizable chip
advantage. In fact, Pomeroy possessed one-third of the total chips in play.
Only one former gold bracelet winner was present -- two-time champion
Humberto Brenes. He won two WSOP titles in 1993, for Pot-Limit Omaha and
Limit Hold’em.

About 15 minutes into play, Thang T. Luu lost most of his chips with ace-jack
against pocket kings, and then was eliminated a few hands later. Luu, born
in Vietnam and now living in Las Vegas, received $49,722.

Mike Halford went out on the very next hand. He was pot-committed with
jack-seven when the flop came Q-7-6 and actually had the best hand against
John Phan’s flush draw. However, a heart fell on the river making the flush,
which busted Halford. The Las Vegas poker pro now has 2nd, 5th, 8th, and
10th-place finishes at the WSOP over the last two decades. He collected
$61,561.

Costa Rican superstar Humberto Brenes’ bid for his first gold bracelet in 13
years was dashed when Mike Pomeroy spiked a queen holding ace-queen
versus Brenes’ ace-king. Brenes, who owns several businesses in Central
America and also has 41 cashes in his illustrious WSOP career, said adios and
was paid $74,715 for seventh place.

Next, Canadian poker player Corey Chasten went out in a three-way pot won
by Kevin O’Donnell. Chaston received $88,132 as the sixth-place finisher.
When play became five-handed, Mike Pomeroy increased his chip lead to 2 to
1 and had about half of the chips in play. Kevin O’Donnell was not so
fortunate. Fresh off winning the big pot which eliminated Chasten, O’Donnell
flopped top pair holding ace-jack. But Jon Friedberg hit a third eight on the
river to make three-of-a-kind, which broke O’Donnell. He earned $105,232.
Jon Friedberg started making his move when play was at four-handed. He
narrowed the gap with the chip-leader Pomeroy, who busted the next player
from the tournament. Tom Hawkingberry, who works as a compressed gas
plant operator, exploded when his ace-four was dominated by Pomeroy’s ace-
jack. Pomeroy made a gratuitous flush, putting Hawkingberry out in fourth
place. He earned $122,596.

Which now brings us to singer Janis Joplin’s poker tournament strategy. In a
post-tournament interview which occurred two hours later, Friedberg made
an acute observation that summarized his reasons for success. He explained
that it is sometimes easier to play a small stack than a big one. “I prefer to
come into a tournament as a shorter stack than a big stack,” Friedberg said.
“As odd as that sounds, when I am a short stack I feel like I have nothing to
lose. But when I come in as a tall stack I am scared to lose my chips and it
affects my game. To me, there are definite advantages to coming in with the
short stack and I know it is uphill from there. I am willing to gamble, take
chances, and play my game -- more so than if I have chips.”

Friedberg’s strategy proved effective. He pushed John Phan out of a few big
pots and, in at least one sense, became the victim of his own success.
Friedberg seized the chip lead and then annihilated the player who had
dominated the final table up to that point. Mike Pomeroy lost all of his chips
with queen-three against Friedberg’s pocket fives. Pomeroy caught a queen,
but Pomeroy caught a five (making a set), which wrecked Pomeroy’s dreams
of victory. Michael Pomeroy, an auto worker from Detroit, raced off with
$157,322.

When heads-up play began, Friedberg enjoyed a 4 to 1 chip lead. Later,
Friedberg reflected back on his feelings when initially faced with the prospect
of playing against John Phan heads-up for the gold bracelet. “I think I
needed a 4 to 1 chip lead to beat John. He is one of the very best players in
the world. I’ll be honest -- I was scared to death to play him heads-up and
even at 4 to1, I was scared to play against him.”

The fear certainly did not show. Phan was never seriously able to threaten
Friedberg’s chip lead. About 90 minutes into heads-up play, the final hand of
the night was dealt when Phan tried to make a pre-flop steal holding the less-
than-desirable queen-four suited. Friedberg called the all-in move holding
ace-seven suited. The final board showed 10-9-3-2-7, giving Friedberg a pair
of sevens and his first WSOP victory.

As the runner up, John “The Razor” Phan received $289,389 in prize money.
He was visibly disappointed with the outcome. “I have to try and keep my
head up,” Phan said. “There is always tomorrow in poker. I’ll be back
tomorrow.”

Friedberg agreed that he had dodged a bullet by not having to confront Phan
from a competitive disadvantage. “(Phan) was the single most feared
opponent I had at this table,” Friedberg said. “John is not going to be happy
when he sees the (ESPN) television footage of me when I pushed him off
some key hands. John is a great player and I feel very fortunate to have
come out on top tonight.”

“I started off here on the final table eighth (in the chip count) out of nine
players. I had a key double-up hand early. Then, I had a couple of very lucky
suck outs and got some chips and was able to win. Every poker player’s
dream is to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. I came here, and now
did it. I really can’t believe it.”

Writer’s Note: 1969’s “Me and Bobby McGee” was actually written by Kris
Kristofferson, but it was popularized by Janis Jopin.

Report by Nolan Dalla

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #17):

Total Entries to Date: 16,912

Total Prize Money Distributed: $ 30,808,892

World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack

Director, Sponsorship and Licensing -- Ty Stewart

Director, Communications and Operations – Gary Thompson

Director, Broadcasting and New Media – Craig Abrahams

Vice President of Specialty Gaming -- Howard Greenbaum

WSOP Tournament Director – Robert Daily

WSOP Tournament Director/Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s
Entertainment – Jack Effel