J.C. Tran has done in his career what most tournament poker players can only dream of. He has more than USD 6 million in winnings, a World Series of Poker Circuit ring, a World Poker Tour title, a WPT Player-of-the-Year award and he currently sits at the pinnacle of the Bluff Magazine/ESPN Poker Power Rankings. The one noticeable absence on his career record was a World Series of Poker bracelet.

John "the Razor" Phan became the first person to win two World Series of Poker events this year. He won Event No. 40: USD 2,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, for the first prize of USD 151,896. Phan outlasted a talented final table that included pro and author David Sklansky (6th) and Robert Mizrachi, brother of Michael, “The Grinder.” Former main event winner Greg Raymer finished 11th.

David Woo won a World Series of Poker bracelet on Monday after finishing off the final table of a huge 2,720 player field in Event #39 (USD 1,500 No Limit Hold 'em). The final table began with everyone chasing Thom Werthmann, a 38-year-old poker pro from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Werthmann was gunning for his second WSOP bracelet to go with the one he won 2005 after defeating Layne Flack heads-up in a Pot Limit Hold 'em event.

Alle deutschen Hoffnungen in diesem Event ruhten auf Jan von Halle, der gutgelaunt als Chipleader in den heutigen Tag gegangen war. Leider hatte der Hamburger trotz weitgehend souveränen Spiels nicht das Glück auf seiner Seite und beendete das Turnier nur als Viertplatzierter. Das Turnier wurde in Level 18 (Blinds 6.000/12.000) wieder aufgenommen, die Spieler gingen zunächst äußerst bedächtig vor. Buttonraise/Fold/Fold - so sah das übliche Procedere aus.

David Benyamine is already one of the top cash-game players in the world and has two World Poker Tour titles on his resume. Now he can add World Series of Poker bracelet winner to his list of accomplishments. Benyamine won Event No. 37, the USD 10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better for his first bracelet and the first prize of USD 535,687. Benyamine outlasted a final table that included Mike Matusow, who was looking for his second bracelet of 2008.

Jesper Hougaard won Event #36 ([[USD]] 1,500 No Limit Hold ''em) on Saturday after dominating the final table to bag [[USD]] 610,304 and a World Series of Poker bracelet. Hougaard, 24, is a former professional table tennis player and coach from Copenhagen, Denmark. He played on the Danish national team but left to pursue a career at the poker tables. Before banking his big win on Saturday Hougaard had recorded three previous WSOP cashes and had more than [[USD]] 100,000 in career tournament earnings.

Blair and Grant Hinkle didn't come to the 2008 World Series of Poker looking to make history. But that's exactly what the brother combination from Kansas has done, and it took less than two weeks. Eleven days after his older brother shocked the poker world and captured a bracelet in the USD 1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event , Blair Hinkle made sure the family bragging rights didn't last very long.

Der des USD 1.500-No-Limit-Hold'em-Events begann mit 17 Spielern, da die Teilnehmer des Final Tables in der vorangegangenen Nacht bis 2:30 Uhr noch nicht gefunden waren. Nach zwei Stunden Spielzeit stand dann die Finaltischbesetzung mit zehn Spielern fest. Nach einem Preflop-Raise von Bobby Firestone schob Jordan Smith vom Big Blind all seine Chips in die Mitte und wurde gecallt. Firestone zeigte 8 [key:card_hearts] 8 [key:card_diamonds] und Smith A [key:card_spades] 5 [key:card_hearts]. Das Board brachte keine Hilfe und Jordan Smith war der unglückliche Elfte in diesem Turnier mit einem Gewinn von USD 36.567.

Kenny Tran is the 2008 World Series of Poker Heads-up World Champion after defeating eight consecutive opponents on his way to a gold bracelet and USD 539,040. Tran's Sunday night victory in Event #25 (USD 10,000 Heads-up No Limit Hold ''em) earned him his first WSOP bracelet to add to a career that already includes a final table finish in the 2007 WSOP USD 50,000 H.O.R.S.E event as well as deep finishes in both the 2007 Main Event and the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event.

The World Series of Poker was in full gear over the weekend and many tournaments have ended. Most notably, Scott Seiver won Event #21, a No-Limit Hold'em tournament with a USD 5,000 buy in. Seiver held off a tough field of competitors. 731 players entered the tournament, and Seiver walked away with USD 755,891 for his first place finish. He also won a WSOP bracelet. Dave Seidman finished in second place, also winning a nice chunk of money, USD 482,372.

Um 15 Uhr wurde es ernst beim USD 3.000-H.O.R.S.E.-Event. Da nicht wie geplant bereits am Vortag auf acht Spieler heruntergespielt wurde, die am offiziellen Final Table das Bracelet ausspielen, nahmen 16 Spieler an zwei Tischen Platz. Begonnen wurde mit Limit Hold’em (Blinds: 3.000/6.000) und dort erwischte es mit JJ Hazan (16.) auch gleich den ersten Shortstack. In der nächsten Disziplin, Omaha Hi-Lo, verabschiedeten sich dann David Levi auf Rang 15 und Mallory Smith als 14.

One of the storylines of the 2008 World Series of Poker thus far has been the monster fields in some events. Event #2 set a record as the largest non-Main Event poker tournament in history (3,929 players) and already six tournaments have attracted 1,000 players or more. But Event #18 (USD 5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ rebuys), on the other hand, was not one for the masses.