2007 Grand Casino Tunica WSOP Circuit - Main Event

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2007 Grand Casino
Tunica
World Series of Poker
Circuit Event
Event #10
$5,000 No Limit Hold'em
Championship
Day 2 Chip Counts

2007 World Series of Poker Circuit
Grand Casino Tunica
Official Report
January 16, 2007

Event #10
No Limit Hold'em Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 + $150
Number of Entries: 377
Total Prize Money: $1,817,450

2007 WSOP Circuit Event Grand Casino Tunica

End of Day 2 Chip Counts:

The Final Table:

SEAT 1:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Andi “the Eliminator” Chang
Fort Myers, FL
378,000

Andi Chang is a 22-year-old poker player. He says he has no job. He won’t
need one, if he wins today. Andi’s poker nickname is “the Eliminator,” and he
has done his fair share of eliminating in this tournament. He was the chip
leader after Day One. Andi cashed twice at last year’s World Series of poker
– 15th in a pot-limit event and 29th in a no-limit event. He says he gets
inspiration from his brother, who has passed away.

SEAT 2:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi
Hollywood, FL
669,000

Michael Mizrachi is a 26-year-old professional poker player. He grew up
initially wanting to be a medical doctor, but he had so much success in his
early years as a touring pro, that he decided to play poker for a living. If
money is the true measure of success, then “the Grinder” clearly made the
right decision. After all, medical doctors only make 400 to 500 thousand
dollars a year, on average. And there’s no way “the Grinder” could live on
that. He has made six million dollars in tournament poker alone during the
last four years. He has 59 cashes, nine major tournament wins, yet to this
day – incredibly - he has no WSOP-related victories on his impressive
resume. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that “the Grinder” is one of the top
poker players in the world today.

SEAT 3:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Elvin Simpson
Downers Grove, IL
215,000

Elvin Simpson is a 26-year-old poker professional. In October 2006 he placed
5th in the Heartland Poker Tour championship, held in Gary, IN. He also has
four tournament victories at the Majestic Star Casino, just within the last six
months. Elvin says that he is blessed with a wonderful family and has made
it this far only by the good grace of God. Today, we shall see if a new poker
star is born as Elvin will be competing for what is potentially his biggest
payday ever.

SEAT 4:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Dennis “Ironman” Perry
Williamstown, KY
1,050,000

The chip leader at today’s final table is 56-year-old Dennis Perry. Dennis
worked for 32 years as an ironworker in and around Cincinnati which earned
him his nickname at the poker table – “ironman.” He has certainly
demonstrated nerves of steel in this tournament. Ironman has 16 cashes in
major poker tournaments during his career. Yet for all his success, he has
yet to win a major event to this date. He has six final table appearances
alone at WSOP-related events, including a fourth-place finish a few years ago
in Las Vegas, where he cashed for $195,000. With such a large number of
chips coming into today’s finale, the stage is now set. Ironman may be a
lead-pipe cinch to win his first major, or else he’s likely to suffer a major
meltdown.

SEAT 5:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Gioi Luong
Westminster, CA
146,000

Gioi Luong is a well-respected poker pro who has won over $1.5 million in
tournaments over the past three years. He has an astounding 86 cashes
since 2003, perhaps one of the highest rate of cashes for any tournament
player over that period. That’s the equivalent of cashing about once every
12 days. His four wins include victories at the National Championship of
Poker and Legends of Poker, both held in Los Angeles. However, Gioi has a
major challenge to overcome today, as he arrives ninth of nine players in the
chip count.

SEAT 6:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Matt Dean
The Woodlands, TX
240,000

Matt Dean is a 27-year-old professional poker player from The Woodlands, TX
just outside Houston. He is perhaps best known for his seventh-place finish
in the World Series of Poker main event in 2004, the year Greg Raymer won.
He earned $753,000 for that cash. Proving it was no fluke, Matt cashed the
following year in the WSOP main event, as well – and that included a field of
over 5,600 players. When is not making big money in tournaments, Matt
says he enjoys playing and participating in fantasy baseball. We’ll see if he
strikes out or hits a home run here today, as Matt strives for his first major
tournament victory.

SEAT 7:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Larry Vance
Torrance, CA
506,000

Larry Vance is retired. He would not tell us his age, but he says he’s “young
at heart.” He’s certainly played great poker the last few days and arrives
third in the chip count at this final table. Larry has 32 cashes on his poker
resume, including two tournament wins. He won the fourth annual East
Coast Poker Championship at the Turning Stone Casino in upstate New York
in November 2006.

SEAT 8:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Peter Martin
Washington, DC
410,000

Peter Martin is a 30-year-old marketing professional from the nation’s
capital. If there was an award for the Best All-Around player at this
tournament is would undoubtedly go to Peter. He has entered three events
here in Tunica – and made it into the money in all three. He cashed for 16th
in the first one, finished in 6th place in the second one (out of 750 players)
and now he has made it all the way to the final table in this event. Peter is
playing phenomenal poker at the moment and is certainly a player to watch
in this very talented lineup.

SEAT 9:
HOMETOWN:
CHIP COUNT:

Lance Allred
Hollywood, CA
166,000

Lance Allred is a 37-year-old poker pro. He is the reigning California State
Poker Champion. He won the main event there last year (taking the title
away from actor Ben Afleck who won it the year before). Indeed, Lance had
a great year in 2006 – with three tournaments won and 11 finals tables
made. He’s starting out 2007 with a bang, as well. When asked what’s the
most interesting thing about him away from the poker table, Lance replies,
“Leave that for the girls to decide.”

In The Money Finishers:

Place Name Hometown Prize

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.

Dan Schmiech
David Delaney
John Spagnuolo
Brian Wilson
Jordan Morgan
Narinder Khasria
Greg Merkow
Vanessa Rousso
Joe Wagner
Keith Lehr
Hilbert Shirey
Thomas McGrath
Jordan Smith
Nam Le
Jeff Cohen
Norm Ketchum
Joe Rivers
Harold Mahaffey
James Lindsay
Thomas Reed
Kris Kawoal
Chad Hahn
John Therrell
Justin Marsh
Kenny Brown
Brett Richey
Gary Thomas

Houston, TX
Orono, MN
Atlanta, GA
Ft. Myers, FL
Norman, OK
Toronto, ON, Canada
Plano, TX
Miami, FL
Zebulon, NC
Bossier City, LA
Winterhaven, FL
Tryon, NC
College Station, TX
New York, NY
Parkland, FL
Loves Park, IL
Tampa, FL
Anderson, SC
Hayesville, NC
Chapel Hill, NC
Merritt Island, FL
Westfield, IN
Collierville, AL
Freeport, IL
Gulf Shores, AL
Allston, MA
Baxter Spring, KS

$21,809
$21,809
$21,809
$18,175
$18,175
$18,175
$14,540
$14,540
$14,540
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$10,905
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270
$7,270

Site Directory

To view the complete schedule and results for the 2007 Grand Casino
Tunica WSOP Circuit Events, click on the link below:

2007 WSOP Circuit Grand Casino Tunica Schedule and Results

Prize Payouts:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th

$563,402
$290,792
$145,396
$127,222
$109,047
$90,873
$72,698
$54,524
$36,349