Two bracelets, six tournaments in busy day at WSOP

Two bracelets were won, two tournaments played down to a final table, and two tournaments began on one of the busiest days in World Series of Poker history at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas yesterday. Today will be almost identical, with bracelets to be won in Pot Limit Omaha and Limit Hold'em.

Schneider beats top pros for first bracelet
Tom Schneider fended off a final table filled with well-known professional players to win the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better bracelet and claim the $214,347 first-place prize.

Annie Duke finished third, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson was fourth, David Benyamine was sixth and John "The Razor" Phan was eighth. Ed Tonnellier won $118,456 for his second place finish.

Schneider is the author of a poker book titled "Oops! I Won Too Much Money," and hosts a radio show titled "Beyond the Table" in Phoenix, Ariz. Schneider had previously made two WSOP final tables, including a fourth-place finish in a 2002 Pot Limit Hold'em event.

This windfall isn't Schneider's biggest career win. He took home $256,115 for finishing third at the WPT's World Poker Challenge in Reno last year.

Smith falls short of elusive WSOP title
Gavin Smith, the WPT Season Four Player of the Year, fell just short of winning his first WSOP title last night, finishing second in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event.

Michael Spegal, a retired marine from St. Marys, Ga., beat Smith in a heads-up battle to take home $251,957 and his first WSOP bracelet. Smith won $155,446.

Jonathan Friedberg, a 2006 bracelet winner, finished third, while Eric "Rizen" Lynch, who was third in the event last year, finished seventh. Bruce Van Horn, the runner up in the 1996 Main Event, was sixth, and Marco Traniello, better known as Jennifer Harman's husband, was ninth.

Loaded Pot Limit Omaha final table to be contested today
An international who's-who of poker will be playing when the final table of the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys event gets underway this afternoon.

Englishman David "Devilfish" Ulliot leads the field going into the final table with $1.3 million in chips. Ulliot won a WSOP bracelet in 1997 and has been a runner-up three times since. Canadian Erik Cajelais is close behind with just under $1.1 million.

Larry Jonsson (Sweden), Robin Keston (England) and Humberto Brenes (Costa Rica) represent the rest of the non-U.S. players making the final table. Brenes, who entered the 2007 WSOP ranked fifth in all-time cashes and 15th in all-time final tables, is making his 21st career final table. Brenes, however, hasn't won a WSOP title since 1993, when he won both of his bracelets. He has a long way to go today, coming into the final table with just $275,000 in chips.

John Juanda is playing for his fourth WSOP bracelet, but also has a long row to hoe. Juanda is the tournament's short stack with $220,000.

Gorham sets the bar at Limit Hold'em final table
James Gorham already has what everyone else at the $1,500 Limit Hold'em table is looking to get: WSOP bracelet number one.

Gorham, who is second with $632,000 chips, won a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournament last year to take home $765,226. Only two other players at this final table have previous WSOP cashes, and only one (Dariush Imani) has made a WSOP final table.

Gary Styeznyski leads the field with $817,000, while Hansu Chu ranks third with $389,000.

Two more tournaments underway
Two other tournaments, one a $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys and the other a $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, got underway yesterday.

The rebuy event played down to the money yesterday, and 81 players will be vying for one of nine spots at the final table this afternoon.

Sorel Mizzi leads a talented field of professional poker players with $240,000 chips. Michael Binger, who finished third in last year's Main Event and already has one cash this year, is in second with $186,700. Amir Vahedi, who owns one WSOP bracelet and has made three final tables -- including the 2003 Main Event -- is in third with $183,100, while 2004 bracelet winner Gavin Griffin is in fourth iwth $154,200.

Other notable players remaining include: Michael Gracz ($130,100); Mark Newhouse ($73,200); Antonio Esfandiari ($69,000); Steve Paul-Ambrose ($46,600); and Kristy Gazes ($41,200).

One hundred seventy-one players remain in the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better tournament. Jordan Morgan, the runner-up in the 2006 U.S. Poker Championship, holds a slight chip lead after one day of play with $43,400. He will be looking to make his second career WSOP final table by the end of the day today.

Richard Ashby, who made a WSOP final table in a 2003 Omaha Hi-Low event and finished 12th in a $5,000 buy-in Omaha Hi-Low tournament in last year's World Series, is less than $1,000 chips behind Morgan. John "The Razor" Phan sits in sixth with $28,100.

Other notable players returning for day two include: Todd Brunson ($18,900), Rolande De Wolfe ($17,500), Bill Chen ($9,700), Robert Mizrachi ($9,500), Thor Hansen ($8,600), Erik Seidel ($5,100), Chip Jett ($4,900), Berry Johnston ($3,300), Jay Heimowitz ($2,700) and Paul Darden ($2,200).