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Gaming NewsHamrick wins WSOP Hold'em bracelet, $604,22226 June 2010Dean Hamrick is primarily known as the player finished one position away from being knighted as an inaugural "November Nine" finalist in 2008, but now, he can lay claim to poker's most coveted prize: a World Series of Poker bracelet. Hamrick, a 25-year-old poker pro from East Lansing, Mich., won the fifth $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em championship at WSOP on Saturday morning, claiming his first WSOP bracelet and $604,222. Prior to playing poker full-time, Hamrick was a student at Michigan State University. He studied economics. Hamrick says he has plans to return to college and finish his education. He is 16 credits short of graduation. Hamrick collected $591,869 for his "bubble" final table achievement in 2008, a payout just shy of what he earned by winning this event. He used those winnings to play other tournaments and has performed quite well in the two years since his first big cash. However, this victory marked his biggest poker achievement. "It was the most money I had ever won," Hamrick said of his 2008 Main Event finish. "You don't really feel that bad. After all, I had won $600,000. But as time passed and I began to realize what a big deal it was, being the first time there was a November Nine, it started to hurt again (to not be a part of that). To get that close was really tough. Overall, it was a great experience and it caused me to do a lot of other things in poker." The runner up was Tom O'Neal, from League City, Texas. He is 61-years-old and teaches math to special needs students. O'Neal won $375,627 in his first WSOP cash. The final table lasted more than 14 hours. "I could see (Tom O'Neal) getting tired. I figured if I could stay monotonous and do the same thing over and over, that he might stop making good decisions; he might get tired and stop being aggressive," said Hamrick. "Trouble was, I almost put myself to sleep." The tournament's final hand came with Hamrick holding ace-queen against O'Neal's ace-nine. O'Neal was all-in pre-flop, and while both players paired their ace, Hamrick's queen kicker beat O'Neal. Ian Wiley, from Las Vegas, Nev., finished third. He is a 25-year-old professional poker player competing in the WSOP for the first time this year. Wiley enjoyed a nice score in this event, cashing for $265,869. Niccolo Caramatti, a 35-year old professional poker player originally from Italy now living in London, England, finished fourth for $191,744, Aaron Kaiser, a 24-year old graduate of the University of Maryland finished fifth. Kaiser has said he hopes to retire by age 30; he now has $140,013 to sock away in his retirement fund. Ryan Hemmel, a 22-year old graduate of Cornell from Long Valley, N.J. was sixth for $103,461. Andrew Rosskamm, a 28-year old portfolio manager from Cleveland, Ohio, was seventh, Thomas Johnson, a 42-year registered nurse from Bermuda Dunes, Calif., was eighth, and Aaron Gustavson, a 24-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas, Nev., was ninth. The top-270 finishers in the 2,521-player event finished in the money. Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – James Schaaf (12th), Humberto Brenes (16th), Carter Phillips (48th), Jeff Madsen (139th), Michael Gracz (206th), and Andre Boyer (226th). Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Mike Swick, from Houston, Texas, finished 10th. Modified from notes provided by Nolan Dalla for www.wsop.com
Hamrick wins WSOP Hold'em bracelet, $604,222
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
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