Event #4 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em

$1,500 Limit Hold'em
Event #4
2006 World Series of Poker
(WSOP)
Official Tournament Results

Place

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Name

Kianoush Abolfathi
Eric Buchman
Josh Schlein
Michele D. Lewis
Vipul Kothari
Hank Sparks
Patrick Maloney
Lars Hansen
Matt Elsby
Brandon Bates
Sean Luckey
Robin Mezhibousky
Chad Davis
Kevin Manley
Ron Burke
Gary Margadonna
Stuart Krasney
Aaron Z. Bartley
Genki Jinno
Joe Cassidy
Phil Ivey
Chris McHugh
Troy Tuggle
Chris Tsiprailides
Steve Wong
Jonathan Little
Ryan McGuire
Young Phan
Jason Gillis
Selma Gluhbegovic
Wyley Lynch
Michael Russ
Greg Mueller
Howard Boyd
Peter Dominie
Julio Rodriguez
Jorge Martinez
Ed Sass
Van Nguyen
James Giuffre
Jed Pickerson
Phil Gordon
James Green
Brad Anderson
Mitch Kroll
Robert Vollmer
Ed Brodsky
Michael Hill
Aaron Ogus
Jerry Dunning
George Billias
Kuei Chi Chang
Bud Lavassani
Alan Schein
Fi Tran
Jim Wavra
Jesse Martin
Christopher Feeney
Eugene Ji
Joshua Blanchfield
Kendrick Roberts
Phuong Nguyen
Paul A. Taylor
Victor I. Parashiv
David G. Pincus
Gregory S. Wilson
Kyle D. Miaso
Keith N. Sexton
Eric J. Nickelson
Andre Ross
Unknown
John Jenkins
Cal Namihino
Jesse Jamison
Donald Sekorky
B.I. "T.D." Dong
Tom Koral
Claudie Holland
Jonathan Aquiar
Vanessa Rousso
James Richburg
Salem Valimahomed
Kenny Chanthamalo
Mark Jones
James Browwer
Andrew Wynn
James Gaill
Michael Castelli
Chad Burum
Eric H. Young
Ernie Scherer III
David Stroj
Joel Black
Larry Thomas
Christopher James
Kevin Kim
Denton Gleaves
Allan Cunningham
Jeff Mervis
Tim Post

Hometown

Marina Del Rey, CA
Valley Stream, NY
Owings Mills, MD
Houston, TX
Edison, NJ
Long Beach, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Copenhagen, Denmark
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Las Vegas, NV
Holmdel, NJ
Greenville, TX
Arlington Heights, IL
La Selva Beach, CA
Granbury, TX
Tustin, CA
Cary, NC
Kanagawa, Japan
Costa Mesa, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Brighton, MI
Syracuse, NY
Hoofddorf, Holland
Pensacola, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Garden Crove, CA
San Clements
Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, NV
Nutley, NJ
Boamlager, Germany
Westchester, OH
Charlotte, NC
Baily, CO
Key Largo, FL
Wallingford, CT
Bell Gardens, CA
Chicago, IL
Oceanside, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Columbia, MO
Fresno, CA
Solon, OH
Springboro, OH
San Diego, CA
Wiesbaden
Kimbland, WA
Sarasota, FL
E. Lyme, CT
Taiwan
Burbank, CA
N. Miami, FL
Los Angeles, CA
Spokane, WA
New York, NY
Orlando, FL
New York, NY
Boston, MA
Houston, TX
Auborn, WA
Las Vegas, NV
Chicago, IL
Davis, CA
Crystal Lake, IL
Scottsdale, AZ
Henderson, NV
San Jose, CA
Montreal, Canada
NA
Walnut Creek, CA
Honolulu, HI
Phoenix, AZ
Medino, OH
Palo Alto, CA
Skokie, IL
Fayetville, NC
Boston, MA
Las Vegas, NV
Long Beach, CA
Cambridge, MA
East Lyme, CT
Manhattan Beach, CA
Marysville, WA
New York, NY
Appomattox, VA
Ottowa, IL
Muvato, CA
Ontario, Canada
Los Angeles, CA
Chula Vista, CA
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
San Leandro, CA
Castleton, NY
Los Angeles, CA
North Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Humcston, IA

Prize

$335,289
$174,938
$101,318
$72,891
$58,313
$51,024
$43,735
$36,446
$32,801
$29,156
$26,970
$24,783
$22,596
$20,409
$18,223
$16,036
$13,849
$11,663
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$9,476
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$7,289
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$5,831
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$4,373
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$3,645
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,916
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$2,187
$1,749.60
$1,749.60
$1,749.60
$1,749.60
$1,749.60

Tournament Report

Kianoush Abolfathi Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet

Iranian-born student now living in Los Angeles wins biggest limit hold’em
prize in history!

Las Vegas, NV – Once upon a time there was a poker game called “Limit Hold’
em.” It was the most popular game in the land. Everywhere you went, in
each cardroom and every casino, limit was the game that was played. Then,
the earth shook and the poker world changed -- perhaps forever.

When ESPN began showing the 2003 World Series of Poker in prime time,
millions of television viewers were exposed to an exciting “new” poker game
for the very first time. No-limit hold’em, a game previously tucked away
inside smoky backrooms played regularly only by a few dusty old-timers,
skyrocketed in popularity and revolutionized poker and the way it is
perceived everywhere.

Limit hold’em has since become poker’s step-child. Sure, remains widely-
played and is a staple game inside many cardrooms. But, in tournament
poker, no-limit is king.

Limit poker requires a very different set of skills and strategies to win. Unlike
the reckless “all in” mentality often present at no-limit tables, limit is a game
of patience and percentages. For that reason it is not nearly as dramatic to
watch, due to its more methodological qualities.

Nevertheless, the first limit hold’em event at this year’s World Series
attracted one of the largest “limit” fields in poker history. A whopping 1,068
players put up $1,500 each for the chance to win a gold bracelet. One-
thousand, and sixty-eight entries. Ho-hum. Just another day at the 2006
World Series of Poker.

The winner was a 29-year-old Iranian-born student from Los Angeles named
Kianoush Abolfathi. He won $335,289 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Abolfathi’s comeback victory from one of the lowest stacks was as impressive
as it was remarkable. He started at the final table eighth in the chip count.
It took Abolfathi just under seven hours to obliterate eight would-be
champions en route to his first major tournament victory.

After two long days of play, the limit final table was set with the nine
survivors. When the first hand was dealt out, seating positions and chips
counts were as follows:

The first player eliminated was the shortest stack. In fact, the hand would
set the stage for what would ultimately become “the Kianoush Abolfathi
show.” Matthew Elsby was dealt pocket aces and got into a raising war with
Abolfathi after making trip kings (holding K-Q) when a third-king fell on the
river. The big pot put Abolfathi up to third in the chip count, zooming from
pretender to contender. Elsby earned $32,801 as the first player out.
Lars Hansen is one of many talented Scandinavian players who have fared
well at the WSOP in recent years. However, he went out next when he lost a
series of pots and had to commit his final chips with a dog hand. The dog
failed to bark, and Hansen marched away in eighth place. He received
$36,446.

Patrick Maloney suffered much the same fate – a few bad hands and then
low on chips -- a forced final commitment with a weak hand. Maloney’s 7-6
failed to slay Michele Lewis’ Q-10 and the night was over for the Las Vegas-
based poker pro. Seventh place paid $43,735.
Hank Sparks arrived as the co-chip leader at the start, but got a shock on his
final hand of the night when his pocket nines lost to Michele Lewis’ pocket
tens. Sparks, appropriately enough an electrical engineer by trade, got
zapped and had to settle for $51,024 for sixth place.

Vipul Kothari, from Edison, NJ was eliminated next. Kothari left in a
disappointing way, losing with A-K suited after the flop brought two cards to
his suit. But the flush card of salvation failed to come. All of Kothari’s chips
went over to Kianoush Abolfathi. Kothari went to the cage and collected
$58,313 for fifth place.

The first female to make a final table appearance at this year’s WSOP was
Michele Lewis, a real estate broker and full-time mother of two children.
Lewis arrived within striking distance of the chip lead a few times, but
suffered a tough beat on her final hand of the tournament. Lewis was dealt
pocket aces against Josh Schlein’s Q-10 suited. After the flop came with two
of Schlein’s suits, a raising war broke out. A spade on the river completed
Schlein’s flush and paved the exit path for Lewis. Part of her $72,891 in
winnings, she says, will go to a charity that works to promote and fund
cancer research.

Down to three players, just as it looked as though Josh Schlein might start to
pull away from his two rivals, he took a number of disappointing beats with
the second-best hand and ended up the victim of a complete chip reversal.
Schlein finally busted-out with top pair (kings) which lost to Abolfathi’s set of
deuces. Third-place paid $101,318.

That big hand gave Abolfathi a 4 to 1 chip lead when heads-up play began.
His lone opponent, Eric Buchman would prove to be a tough final blockade.
Despite being out-chipped by a large margin throughout the final duel,
Buchman won several key hands and did his best to pull off a comeback. He
got close a few times, but in the end – the big stack and the more aggressive
player who knew how to take advantage of the situation won. After 90
minutes of scratching and clawing, Abolfathi finally delivered the knockout
blow with a pair of tens to Buchman’s no-pair, and a new poker champion
was crowned at the Rio.

As the runner-up, Eric Buchman received $174,938 in prize money. The
winner showed great appreciation for the moment and proudly snapped on
the coveted gold bracelet. Abolfathi was the $1,500 Limit Event champion.

Report by Nolan Dalla

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #4):

Total Entries to Date: 6,178

Total Prize Money Distributed: $ 7,305,690

World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack

Director of Sports and Entertainment Marketing (Licensing) -- Ty Stewart

Director of Sports and Entertainment Marketing (Communications) – Gary
Thompson

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

UltimatePokerForum.com
The Ultimate Poker Site

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

Event #4
Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,500
Number of Entries: 1,068
Total Prize Money: $1,457,820
Defending Champion (2005):
Erik Froehlich

Official Results:

Name

Vipul Kothavi
Matt Elsby
Josh Schlein
Michele Lewis
Eric Buchman
Kianoush Abolfathi
Lars Hansen
Hank Sparks
Patrick Maloney

Chip Count

$132,000
$51,000
$243,000
$225,000
$213,000
$75,000
$156,000
$243,000
$259,000

Seat #

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9