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Event #23
$3,000 Limit Hold'em
2006 World Series of Poker
(WSOP)
Final Tournament Results
2006 World Series of Poker        
Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino – Las Vegas
Official Results and Report

Event #23
Limit Hold’em
Buy-In:  $3,000
Number of Entries:  341
Total Prize Money:  $941,160
Defending Champion (2005):  
Andre Boyer

Official Results:
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Place    Name                              Hometown                   Prize
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Ian Johns
Jerrod Ankenmen
Javier Torresola
Theo Tran
Mark Newhouse
Tad Jurgens
Brendan Taylor
Ben Robinson
Fi Tran
Joel Gunnarsson
John Noble
Charlie Ng
Gregory D. Alston
Melvin Weiner
Benjamin C. Johnson
Anthony “Tony” Salerno
Carlos Mortenson
George Marlowe
Scott Bohlman
Gang Huang
Barry Greenstein
Vincenzo M. Beatrice
Aram L. Zerounian
Nicole M. Harris
Marco Traniello
David Vander Poel
Mark J. Kim
Jay M. Glazer
David Baker
Robert Firestone
Scott Lazar
Russell Hendricks
Nancy Nguyen
Fred Louie
Matt Matros
Ronald McFarland
Syed Kadrt
Seattle, WA
Avon, CT
Tempe, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Chapel Hill, NC
Chandler, AZ
Henderson, NV
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Los Angeles, CA
Loderup, Sweden
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Miami Beach, FL
Los Angeles, CA
Brooklyn, NY
Howell, NJ
Las Vegas, NV
Marina Del Ray, CA
Homer Green, IL
Vancouver, Canada
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Hollywood, FL
Portola Hills, CA
Oceanside, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Torrance, CA
Mercer Island, WA
Katy, TX
Santa Barbara, CA
Studio City, CA
San Diego, CA
Denton, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Brooklyn, NY
Corona, CA
Diamond Bar, CA
$291,755
$150,586
$75,293
$65,881
$56,470
$47,058
$37,646
$28,235
$18,823
$11,294
$11,294
$11,294
$9,412
$9,412
$9,412
$7,529
$7,529
$7,529
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$5,647
$3,765
$3,765
$3,765
$3,765
$3,765
$3,765
$3,765
$3,765
$1,883
$1,883
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Tournament Report

Turning a Toothpick into a Lumberyard

Ian Johns Wins Limit Hold’em WSOP Championship

21-year-old poker player turns $6 into half-a-million


Las Vegas, NV – One of poker’s classic quips came from “Amarillo Slim”
Preston back during the 1970s.  Slim was asked what made the World Series
of Poker so special.  He answered, “It’s where a poker player can turn a
toothpick into a lumberyard.”

The latest lumberjack is Ian Johns, a 21-year-old professional poker player
from Seattle, Washington.  A few years ago, Johns started playing poker for
fun.  He deposited $50 into an online poker account and began playing in low-
stakes games.  Within a few days, his bankroll was depleted and down to
just $6.  Johns told his then-girlfriend (now wife, Mandy) he would quit
playing poker if he lost his last six bucks.  

Johns studied the game and slowly started to improve.  Within a few weeks,
his bankroll has swelled to a few hundred, then a few thousand dollars.  By
the time he was 21-years-old -- and eligible to enter the 2006 World Series
of Poker -- John’s bankroll had blossomed into half a million dollars.

Mandy Twiggs-Johns, the wife of the latest WSOP champion admits she was
not happy at first about her husband’s line of work.  “Then, he started
winning, and we took the cash and bought a new house,” she said.  “I now
see that poker is a game of skill and Ian really enjoys playing, so I have
accepted what he does.”    

The Johns are now in a quandary.  Since so much of the family income
depends on his online poker activities, they were shocked to learn about a
new Washington State law, which makes it a felony to play poker online.  
“It’s ridiculous,” Johns said when asked about the new state law which
prohibits his livelihood.  “I have not played online poker since June 7th (when
the new law went into effect).  We will probably be forced to move (out of
Washington State) because of the law.”

This was the first year that Johns played in the World Series of Poker,
presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.  Self-confident in his poker skills, Johns
hoped to come to Las Vegas for the first time, play in a few events, and
perhaps make a few extra dollars.  Little did he know that he would win
poker’s most coveted prize – a WSOP gold bracelet.

The 23rd tournament on the WSOP calendar was the $3,000 buy-in Limit Hold’
em competition.  A total of 341 entries produced a total prize pool of nearly a
million dollars.  It took two full days to eliminate most of the sizable field.  On
Day Three, nine finalists returned to the Rio Las Vegas to compete for the
championship.  The final table was a testament to the recent youth
movement in poker.  Only two players were aged over 30.  This was only the
second open event in 2006 not to include at least one former gold bracelet
winner.














Fi Tran was the first player to exit.  The medical salesman from southern
California arrived low on chips from the start.  He went out in ninth place.  
Tran collected $18,823.   

Ben Robinson, a.k.a. “Kid Rock” was the senior citizen at this final table, at
the advanced age of 49.  Robinson, who plays guitar in a Florida rock band
called “Top Priority” was cut from the group of eight when his ace-jack was
terribly out of tune against ace-queen.  Robinson’s royalties for this
tournament amounted to $28,235.

Brendan Taylor was the next player out.  The Henderson, Nevada poker
player was making his first-ever WSOP final table appearance.  Taylor’s exit
hand was dealt when he flopped top pair with kings but ended up losing to a
straight.  Taylor locked up seventh place, which paid $37,646.  

Tad Jurgens ran into every poker player’s worst nightmare when he was
dealt pocket kings, against his opponent’s pocket aces.  All the money went
in by the turn.  The aces held up and Jurgens was softly-handed sixth-place
prize money, good for $47,058.

Mark Newhouse went out a short time later.  The 22-year-old poker player
and student was eliminated in fifth place.  Newhouse added $56,470 to his
poker bankroll.

Theo Tran is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.  Like many of his
peers, Tran found he could make extra money playing poker.  On his final
hand of the night, Tran’s ace-ten lost to Jerrod Ankenman’s ace-king.  Fourth
place paid $65,881.  

Down to three just players, Javier Torresola was getting low on chips and
moved all-in.  He lost his remaining chips on his final hand of the night.  The M.
I.T. graduate who works as an engineer received $75,293 for third place.

Ian Johns enjoyed a sizable chip lead over Jerrod Ankenman during most of
their heads-up play.  Ankenman tried his best to make things interesting.  But
he never held the necessary cards or caught a big break that might lead to a
comeback.  The gold bracelet was clearly on Ankenman’s mind throughout
play at the final table.  As the co-author of the forthcoming book “The
Mathematics of Poker,” Ankenman had been forced to watch from the
sidelines as his talented co-author Bill Chen won two gold bracelets at this
year’s WSOP.  Clearly a win for Ankenman would have boosted book sales
and been a great story.  Note:  The Chen-Ankenman book will likely be
successful anyway, but another WSOP gold bracelet couldn’t hurt the
promotion.

Ankenman’s final breath came about seven hours into play.  The last hand of
the tournament was won by Johns, who made two-pair holding ace-three.  
Ankenman’s final hand was not shown.  Jerrod Ankenman, a Pepperdine
University graduate now living in Connecticut who is now a professional
poker player, received $150,586 as the runner up.

Ian Johns lifted his wife into the air as he celebrated winning his first-ever
WSOP gold bracelet.  Already outrageously successful from playing poker
online, John’s prize money in this tournament amounted to $291,755.

“This is a dream come true for me,” Johns said immediately following his
victory.  “It really has not quite sunk in yet.  All I know is – I hope to be
sitting up here again soon.  I expect to play many more tournaments over
the next year”        

Which now begs the question Amarillo Slim would have asked.  It may have
all started with a toothpick.  But can a poker player turn a lumberyard into a
forest?


Report by Nolan Dalla


Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #23):

Total Entries to Date:  21,489

Total Prize Money Distributed:  $ 45,341,072

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
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Spade
2006 WSOP Results
Name

Tad Jurgens
Mark Newhouse
Fi Tran
Ben Robinson
Ian Johns
Brendan Taylor
Javier Torresola
Jerrod Ankenman
Theo Tran
Chip Count

$60,500
$106,000
$31,000
$103,000
$207,000
$155,000
$132,000
$161,000
$74,000
Seat

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