WSOP day seven roundup: Russian, relative newcomer win bracelets

A Russian player and a relatively unknown player won World Series of Poker bracelets in day seven of the annual series, and Phil Ivey will be looking for his sixth career WSOP bracelet in one of two final tables are set for today.

Chu wins $1,000 rebuy with just one buy-in
Rebuy tournaments give players the opportunity to get back in when bad luck (or bad decisions) eliminate their chip stacks early in the tournament. To say that $1,000 rebuy at the World Series of Poker can get a little crazy is an understatement. Last year, Daniel Negreanu bought back in a whopping 47 times.

Michael Chu, a 27-year old stock trader originally from Los Angeles, took a different approach. He bought in only once and turned his $1,000 entry fee in to a $585,774 first-place prize. Oh, and he gets a WSOP bracelet too.

Chu, originally from Korea, had never cashed in a WSOP event, and his only previous cash, according to The Hendon Mob database, was for $2,737 in a $300 No Limit Hold'em tournament at the U.S. Poker Championship last year.

Tommy Vu, a real estate mogul known for his late-night infomercials in the 1980s and 1990s, finished second to take home $364,761. Amir Vahedi, a WSOP bracelet holder and final table finisher in the 2003 Main Event, finished seventh.

First Russian WSOP bracelet winner crowned
Alex Kravchenko became the first Russian citizen to win a WSOP bracelet, beating 689 players in Event #9, a $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low tournament to win $228,446.

Kravchenko cashed in two WSOP events last year, but had never made a final table before yesterday.

Bryan Devonshire, who finished second in last year's $500 Casino Employees event, was once again a runner-up, taking home $140,336 for his largest career cash. Jordan Morgan, who finished second in last year's U.S. Poker Championship, was seventh.

Ivey in second in $5,000 Seven Stud championship
Phil Ivey has the most experience at the final table of the $5,000 world Championship Seven Card Stud tournament, and even though he's in second he'll have to overcome David Oppenheim.

Oppenheim has never cashed in a WSOP event, but does have four cashes on the World Poker Tour in the last year and eight WPT cashes overall. This is his first major final table since finishing third in a $5,000 WPT event 2003 Borgata Poker Open. He will sit down at the final table with $609,000 chips.

Ivey has five WSOP bracelets to his name and is looking to move up to seventh on the all-time bracelet list, tied with Jay Heimowitz, Men "The Master" Nguyen, and T.J. Cloutier. Ivey has $322,000.

Pat Pezzin, who already has two top-25 finishes this year, sits in third with $234,000. Chris Reslock, who cashed four times in the 2006 WSOP, is in sixth with $141,000. Both players are making their first appearance at a WSOP final table.

Ted Lawson, who won the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet in 2004, is in seventh with $90,000.

Marco Traniello is making his second final table of the 2007 WSOP, albeit as the short stack with $30,000. Traniello, better known as Jennifer Harman's husband, may soon be better known for his poker play. This tournament will mark his 13th cash in the last three WSOPs, more than any other player.

"ZeeJustin" leads $2,000 No Limit tourney
Internet poker pro Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo holds more than a 2:1 chip lead in Event #10, a $2,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament. Bonomo has proven that he doesn't need a modem to succeed, cashing in three WPT events, including a seventh-place finish at the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic in December.

Bonomo has more than $2 million chips, while Hunter Frey sits in second with $852,000. Michael Banducci, who cashed in three WSOP events last year and already has one this year, sits in third with $717,000. Stan Weiss, who won last year's WPT Mirage Poker Showdown for $1.3 million, is in fourth with $609,000.