Tag Archives: WSOP Main Event

Thor Hansen

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Thor Hansen was born in Oslo, Norway where his family owned a grocery store. He learned to play poker at the age of eight. His father would let him sit in for him and when he would return, he would discover that Thor won money. Thor continued to play poker after he dropped out of school at 13 to go to work. He soon discovered that more money could be made at playing pool and poker than by working and as a result he took to being a professional pool player. After a while he switched to professional poker and has never looked back.

Thor would win his first major title in 1988 when he took down the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event at the World Series of Poker. This would be the first of two bracelets for Hansen. He won the 2002 $1,500 Deuce to Seven Lowball bracelet and $62,600 in prize money. Hansen also cashed four times in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, with his most Main Event cash occurring at the 2008 WSOP. In addition, Hansen has made numerous final tables, including the final table of the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event where he finished 8th.

He won the Main Event of the Grand Prix of Poker in 1998. In 99 he won the $500 Limit Holdem event at the Carnivale of Poker and the $500 Seven Card Stud event at Legends of Poker. He also has titles at the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic and 2004 World Poker Open. He also has four money finishes in the World Poker Tour and one EPT money finish. For his career, Thor Hansen has won $2.55 Million in live tournaments.

To many Norwegian players, Thor Hansen is considered their “Godfather of Poker.” Hansen has long since moved to the United States, but is still the all-time Norwegian money win. Thor’s name may remind you of the Norse God and his play at the table may leave you thinking you’ve been hit by Thor’s Hammer.

O’Neil Longson

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O’Neil Longson is a professional poker player based out of Las Vegas that is considered to be one of the best Pot Limit Omaha players on the planet. He has been making a killing at both the cash games and in tournaments for many years. His game is not just limited to Omaha as his long tournament history goes to show.

Longson holds three World Series of Poker gold bracelets. He took his first in 1994 when he won the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. It then took him 9 nears to win his next bracelet, which he achieved in 2003. He won the $5,000 NL Deuce to Seven Lowball bracelet and $147,680. His third and final bracelet came in 2005 when he took the $1,500 Razz event. In addition to his three WSOP bracelet, Longson has also cashed twice in the WSOP Main Event.

Outside of the World Series of Poker, Longson has taken several other top titles as well. He won the Main Event of the 1995 L.A. Poker Classic and then followed it up later that year with a win at the Four Queens Classic in Pot Limit Omaha. He also took the 1996 Stud Championship event at the United States Poker Championship. He would win $200,000 for that title. In addition to these wins, Longson finished runner up in the 1997 Hall of Fame Poker Classic Main Event and in the 1998 United States Poker Championship Main Event. For his career, Longson has won over $2.1 Million in live tournaments.

Longson does not play as many tournaments nowadays because he has developed a hearing problem. He still plays a lot of cash games and terrorizes the players with his wild play. Even being hard of hearing, Longson is still a threat in a tournament. He just won a Pot Limit Omaha event in October 2008 at the Caesars Poker Classic.

O’Neil Longson has had a long and successful career. While it remains to be seen how long he will still play in tournaments, his success still speaks volume for his ability. His prowess at Pot Limit Omaha is the stuff of legend and stories about O’Neil Longson will probably continue long after he decides to step away from the game.

Lyle Berman

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Whether you know Lyle Berman as a professional poker player or as a businessman, you know that he is a big name in the world of poker. Berman attended the University of Minnesota where he received his degree in business administration. He worked with Berman Buckskin for several years, until the company was sold to W.R. Grace. He then stayed on as president and CEO and helped to grow the company until it was sold to the Melville Corporation.

In 1990, Berman was a co-found of Grand Casino, Inc. Some of the companies Indian Casino holding were spun off into a new company called Lakes Entertainment Inc, and Berman was named CEO. Later on both the World Poker Tour and PokerTek grew from Lakes Entertainment and Berman now serves as Chairman of the Board for both companies.

Berman is also an accomplished poker player. He has three World Series of Poker bracelets. Berman took his first bracelet in 1989 when he won the $1,500 Limit Omaha event. Next he took the $2,500 No Limit Holdem event at the 1992 World Series of Poker. His last bracelet was at the 1994 WSOP where he won the $5,000 NL 2-7 Lowball Event.

Berman has also has several strong finishes including a 4th place finish in the Main Event of the 1985 Super Bowl of Poker. He also has four runner-up finishes in events at the World Series of Poker, including runner up finishes in the 1997 and 2000 $5,000 2-7 Lowball events. Berman also won the Main Event of the 1991 Hall of Fame Poker Classic where he outlasted Paul “Eskimo” Clark for the $240,000 top prize.

Berman also has three money finishes in the World Poker Tour. Twice he has finished in the money in the $25,000 WPT Championship. He also made a final table at the 2005 World Poker Finals where he finished 5th.

At 67, Berman is still going strong. He made two final tables at the WSOP in 2008 after not making a final table in nearly 8 years. He finished 5th in both the Heads-Up No Limit Holdem World Championship and in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. For his career, Berman has over $2.46 Million in live tournament earnings. His earnings is more than some professionals will make in their careers playing full time. The fact that Berman splits his poker with his business interests makes it that much more impressive.

Whether it is business of poker, Lyle Berman has been successful with whatever he has touched. He helped grow several companies and even formed the most successful poker tour in history outside of the World Series of Poker. Every WPT Champion should owe a debt of gratitude to Berman for his insight and leadership. Lyle Berman is both a champion of poker and a champion of the business world.

“Miami” John Cernuto

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Seldom can a player say that tournament poker is less stressful than their normal job, but in the case of “Miami” John Cernuto, this applies. John Cernuto graduated from Florida State University with a degree in finance and took a job as an Air Traffic Controller. Cernuto figured that this would be the job that he would work until retirement. However, in 1981, President Ronald Regan fired over 11,000 Air Traffic Controllers due to a union strike and Cernuto was suddenly out of a job.

Cernuto then decided to move to Vegas and become a professional poker player. It did not go smoothly at first but after practice and study, he started to become a champion player. His first significant win was at the Super Bowl of Poker in 1988 when he took the $1,000 7 Card Stud title for $58,000.

Cernuto was a proficient player in all games, especially Omaha Hi-Lo. Over the next few years he made numerous final tables and won four times. In 1993, John had his first solid year at the WSOP, finishing in the money three times and making two final tables. He finished runner-up in the $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better event.

Cernuto would continue to play strong over the next three years, but he did not win his first major poker title until 1996. That year at the World Series of Poker, Cernuto won his first bracelet in the $1,500 Stud 8 or Better event and took home $147,000. He also finished 3rd that year in the $1,500 Pot Limit Holdem Event.

It didn’t take Cernuto long to win his 2nd major title as he won the $2,000 No Limit Holdem Event at the 1997 World Series of Poker. The next year, Cernuto would make three final tables at the WSOP with his best finish 3rd in the $5,000 Limit Holdem Event.

Over the next three years, Cernuto would continue to rack up the final table finishes and wins at smaller events, including 4 preliminary event wins at the 1999 Legends of Poker. In fact, he had 12 wins over the next three years total but none were major titles. It wasn’t until 2002 that Cernuto took down his next major win.

The 2002 World Series of Poker saw Cernuto cash 4 times and make two final tables. Among the final tables was a win in the $1,500 Limit Omaha Event, which won him his third bracelet and $73,320. Later that year, Cernuto would take the $4,000 Stud Event at the United States Poker Championship for $153,600.

After his USPC win, Cernuto’s only two other six figure paydays have been at the $5,000 Omaha 8 or Better World Championships at the 2004 WSOP and at the 2005 WPT Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure. He would finish 5th in this event. This has been his only WPT final table to date in an open event. Cernuto continues to make many strong tournament finishes at tournaments all over the U.S. For 2008, Cernuto has made 7 final tables, won one title, and finished 3rd in the $2,500 Stud 8-Omaha 8 Event at the World Series of Poker.

In his career, John Cernuto has won over $4.5 Million in live tournaments. Over the years, “Miami” John has been a regular consistent force in the poker world. His ability to play all poker games makes him a threat in any tournament he enters.

Kathy Liebert

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When it comes to success in poker, no woman has won more than Kathy Liebert. Liebert started her poker career playing in Colorado in low limit Holdem games. After a while, she was approached to be a prop player at the casino and Liebert started to really work on her game. She read all the materials that she could and continued to work at her game. One added advantage she had over other players is that she did not need the money as she was financially secure based on investments that she had made.

Eventually, Liebert started playing tournaments and began to have success in them as well, making numerous final tables in events all over the country. Her first big cash in a tournament occurred at the 1997 World Series of Poker when she finished 2nd in the $3,000 No Limit Holdem event. She won $123,690 for her finish.

Liebert would continue to have many strong finishes over the next few years. In addition to numerous final tables, she won events at the 1999 Winning ‘O’ the Green, the 1999 California State Poker Championships, and the 2000 L.A. Poker Classic. She also finished in the money in the 1998 and 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Liebert’s first million dollar payday did not occur until 2002 when she won the Party Poker Million and exactly $1 Million. This was the largest prize won by a woman in the history of poker. After her win at the Party Poker Million, Liebert started having success on the World Poker Tour. She made the final table of both the 2002 Legends of Poker and the Ultimate Bet Classic. She also finished in 7th at 2002 World Poker Finals.

Liebert would again have a WSOP runner-up finish in 2003 when she finished 2nd in the $1,500 Limit Holdem event. She would finally break through with a WSOP bracelet in 2003 when she won the $1,500 Limit Holdem Shootout event. Liebert would have several strong WSOP finishes after that point, with her best finish afterwards being in the 2008 Pot Limit Holdem World Championship. She finished in 3rd place for $306,064.

After her WSOP bracelet, Liebert’s largest paydays have come via the World Poker Tour. She made the final tables of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open, the 2006 World Poker Finals, and the 2008 North American Poker Championship. In total, Liebert has won over $1.2 Million on the World Poker Tour.

For her career, Kathy Liebert has won over $4.8 Million in live tournaments for her career. This ranks her first all time for women and ranks her 43rd all-time overall. In a world where women poker professionals market their looks more than their skills, Liebert does what all poker players should do, go out and take other players money. Her skills at the table not only make her a fearsome female player, but one of the most dangerous poker players on the planet.

Nani Dollison

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Nani Dollison is one of only two women to hold 3 World Series of Poker bracelets. Hailing from Hernando, MS, Dollison is known for her extremely solid and aggressive play.

Dollison had her first tournament win in 1999 when she took the $1,000 Limit Holdem event at the Mid-America Poker Classic in Tunica for $24,000. She would then go on to take her first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2000 when she won the Women’s Championship.

2001 proved to be Dollison’s best year in poker when she won four different poker tournaments. She first won the $500 Limit Holdem event at the World Poker Open in Tunica and then went on to have an outstanding World Series of Poker. First, she won her second WSOP bracelet in the $2,000 Limit Holdem Event, giving her a payday of $441,400. She then tied Barbara Enright for the all-time bracelet lead for women when she won the Women’s Championship for the second year in a row. To cap off her year she won a Bubble event at the Four Queens Classic. A bubble event is a tournament held among the players who finished 1 out of the money in prior preliminary events.

Dollison would go on to have several strong finishes over the years, but nothing to compete with her 3 WSOP bracelet wins. She did finish in the money in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, netting $54,965 for her 115th place finish. For her career, Dollison has won $774,679 in live tournaments. She ranks 19th all-time on the Women’s WSOP Money List and tied for first for most bracelet by a woman at the WSOP with three.

Nani Dollison has helped set the bar for women players at the WSOP with Barbara Enright. While she is not near the top the money list, she is at the top of the women’s bracelet count. Chances are that someone like Jennifer Harman or Annie Duke will someday pass Dollison, but for now, she has set the bar for other women to shoot for.

Erik Lindgren

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Patience and perseverance pay off in the end. Erik Lindgren knows that better than any poker player. He started off his poker playing days during college when he would play games at a local Indian casino and at side games on campus. Lindgren eventually gave up college to play full time. He started working as a prop player and would play online during his off hours. Over time, he would develop the style that many playing in tournaments all over the world are used to seeing from him.

He won his first big tournament in 2002 when he took the Main Event of the Bellagio Five Diamond Poker Classic. This success would carry over into 2003 when he had a wildly successful year in the World Poker Tour. First, he finished 7th at the Party Poker Million and then 5th at the Grand Prix of Paris. He would then go on to win the Ulimatebet.com Poker Classic and $500,000.

Lindgren would then kick off 2004 with his 2nd WPT title, taking the PartyPoker Million after a heads up battle with Daniel Negranu. This was his first, and so far only, Million dollar payday. Lindgren would go on to finish strong in several other WPT events over the years, finishing 5th in the 2005 L.A. Poker Classic and 3rd at the 2006 Borgata Poker Open.

Lindgren would go on to place well in several events and even would win the 2007 Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in event, but one thing that eluded Lindgren was a WSOP bracelet. For a long time, Lindgren was “The best player to never have won a bracelet.” This would finally change in 2008.

Lindgren wasted no time getting the money off his back when the won the $5,000 Mixed Holdem Event after defeating Justin Bonomo heads-up. While the event only paid $374,505, the fact that he was finally a WSOP Champion meant more than anything to him. He would then proceed to cash four more times during the WSOP, including a final table during the NL 2-7 Lowball Event and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. Lindgren would finish 3rd in the H.O.R.S.E. event. As a result of his performances during the WSOP, Erik Lindgren was named the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year.

In total, Lindgren has over $7.3 Million in tournament earnings. This makes him 17th on the all-time money list. Lindgren is a “red pro” at Full Tilt Poker.com where he plays in many tournaments and cash games. In February 2008, Lindgren hosted an event during the FTOPS event at Full Tilt. There were over 5,600 players in the event. Lindgren took down the event, making him the first pro in Full Tilt’s history to win an event that they have hosted.

Erik Lindgren is a fantastic tournament professional that learned that hard work and perseverance does eventually pay off in the end. Although it took him longer than he would have liked to become a WSOP champion, the rewards at the end were worth the wait. At just 32, expect Lindgren to win many more bracelets and WPT events.

Phil Ivey

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As professional wrestler Ric Flair would say, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” Right now, “The Man” in professional poker would be Phil Ivey. Phil Ivey started his poker career in Atlantic City casinos where he used to play with a fake ID and go by the name “Jerome.” Once he was old enough to actually play in the casino legally, he went to his regular casino buddies and told them the truth.

Phil Ivey is one of the few players that can consistently win at both cash games and tournaments. Ivey actually prefers to play cash games due to the amount of money that can be won at the game. He is a regular player in the “Big Game” in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio and has been mentored by all-time great poker players such as Doyle Brunson and the legendary Chip Reese. With the recent passing of Reese, many consider Ivey to be the all around best poker player in the world.

Although he prefers cash games, his success in tournaments has him among the all time greats in poker. He has 5 bracelets at the World Series of Poker. His first came in 2000 when he won the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. He then tied a WSOP record by winning three bracelets in a single year in 2002. He won the $2,000 S.H.O.E. bracelet, the $2,500 Stud 8 or Better bracelet, and the $1,500 7 Card Stud bracelet. He would then go on to win the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event in 2005.

Ivey also has one WPT title to his claim. He took down the WPT event at the L.A. Poker Classic in early 2008 for his first WPT title and $1.5 Million. In total, Ivey has 8 final tables with the WPT. In addition to his WSOP and WPT titles, he holds numerous titles around the US and the World, including the $25,000 No Limit Holdem event at the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions and the $120,000 Full Tilt Poker Invitational.

For his poker career, Ivey has won $10 Million in live tournaments, which puts him 7th on the all-time money list. The amazing thing about his story is that he has accomplished all these feats at just 32 years of age. He is commonly known as the “Tiger Woods of Poker” due to his dominance of the poker world. Ivey also is capable of dominating players in any game. His best game is considered to be Stud, but when he is at any poker table, players tremble.

The measuring stick for the poker world is Phil Ivey. Although players such as Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier get respect for what they have accomplished, all up and coming players look at Phil Ivey as the player they would most want to be like. Normally a player this dominant would be prone to an eventual burnout, but with Ivey’s background and the mentoring he has received, it is safe to assume that Ivey will continue to be the measuring stick to come for at least the next 20 years.

Mickey Appleman

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If you were to run into Mickey Appleman on the street, you would think that he was homeless. Everything from his dress to even the way he keeps his hair gives off the indication of someone that is destitute. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Appleman happens to be a poker champion and expert sports bettor.

Appleman started his gambling career about the middle 70’s. He was primarily a sports bettor and a highly successful one. He claimed that he had a natural knack for it and after he won his first be, he was hooked. Appleman moved to Vegas in 1975 and that year played in his first World Series of Poker. He would not see success until 1980 when he won his first bracelet in the $1,000 Stud 8 or Better Event. His next large score happened a few years later when he won the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Event at the Super Bowl of Poker.

The Super Bowl of Poker was considered the 2nd most prestigious title in poker back in the early days, much like the WPT Championship is 2nd to the WSOP Main Event. Appleman took down the $10,000 Main Event of the Super Bowl of Poker in 1985 and established himself as a top notch poker player.

Over the next few years, Appleman would make several final table finishes at the World Series of Poker but would not have another major win until 1992. That year he won the $5,000 2-7 Draw event to claim his 2nd bracelet and $119,250. He would finish runner up the next year in the $2,500 Pot Limit Holdem event. He would not record another professional cash for almost 2 years after that.

When Appleman did cash again, it was at the 1995 World Series of Poker. First, he finished 4th in the $5,000 2-7 Event and then he took home his third WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 Limit Holdem Event. After 1995, for several years Appleman would have many strong finishes at the WSOP, but wasn’t able to pull off a win.

Finally in 2003, Appleman was able to notch his 4th bracelet with a win in the $2,000 Pot Limit Holdem Event. So far, his fourth bracelet was the last major win on Appleman’s career. He still plays in many events at the World Series and regularly cashes in them. He finished 13th in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event in this year’s WSOP. To date, Appleman has over $1.66 Million in tournament earnings.

Appleman doesn’t play as large of a tournament schedule anymore, but when he does play, he still is a force to reckon with. For those that do not know him, many may wonder how this guy that looks like he could afford to buy himself a meal could possibly play poker. Of course, if they start to play, they soon learn that looks are deceiving when it comes to Mickey Appleman. When you have accomplished all that Appleman has, it really doesn’t matter how you dress, just tell him where the action is at.

David Williams

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David Williams got his start in poker as the result of having downtime from another game that he was a champion at, Magic. Williams was a champion Magic player but was suspended from active competition for a year after a deck of cards that he was using was determined to be marked intentionally. Williams would admit to the marked deck, but not to the fact that he purposely did so. It didn’t matter and the suspension was upheld. So Williams turned to tournament poker. He began playing poker online and eventually graduated to high stakes poker. It was while playing online that he earned a satellite to enter the 2004 World Series of Poker.

David Williams made initial news during the 2004 World Series of Poker due to the support of his mother from the rail and his friendship with Marcel Luske. Luske had taken Williams under his wing and helped him to develop his game while they were going through the field together. Luske would come just shy of the final table, but Williams would make the table.

Williams would even use one of Luske’s moves against Josh Arieh. He made a dark check before the flop was dealt out. Arieh moved all-in to Williams, but Williams had flopped a set and he ended up winning the hand and taking a huge chunk of chips off of Arieh. Eventually, Williams wound up heads-up with Greg Raymer and was an underdog to win. He held his won for a while, but on the final hand his full house of deuces full of fours was 2nd best to Raymer’s deuces full of eights and Williams would finish 2nd in the Main Event, but would receive 3.5 Million.

Williams would continue his success at the table later in the year when he finished runner-up to Daniel Negreanu at the WPT Borgata Poker Open for $573,000. He would then win a preliminary event during the World Poker Open later towards the end of 2004.
Williams would have a few decent finishes in tournaments in 2005, but no significant cashes. It wasn’t until making a final table at the Bay 101 WPT event that he would receive his next large cash. He finished 4th at the event and won $280,000.

The 2006 WSOP was another strong year for Williams. He finished 2nd in the 2-7 Lowball event and then took down his first major title, winning the $1,500 7 Card Stud Event. After the 2006 WSOP, Williams has many strong finishes but only two six figure paydays when he won a preliminary event during the 2007 Bellagio Cup and won “Jam Up Week” on Poker After Dark.

To date, Williams has over $6.14 Million in lifetime earnings. This puts him 25th on the all-time money list. At only 28, he still has a long time left in his career to make a run for the top spot all time. Williams has expressed an interest in going back to finish his college degree and possibly go into business. While it is unlikely that he would walk away from a profitable poker career, if he decides to chance are that he will have similar success in his new found path.