WSOP roundup: Internet pros take down tournaments

Ryan Young, an Internet poker player from California who has been waiting tables to make ends meet, may have gotten a bankroll boost big enough last night to play full time. Young won 2007 World Series of Poker Event #35, a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournament, to claim the $615,955 first place prize.

Young has been playing Internet poker for about four years. His previous largest cash in a WSOP event was for $5,260, and he had earned more than $80,000 in tournament winnings in the year leading up to his first WSOP bracelet.

Young defeated Iowa's Dustin Dirksen heads up, while Nam Le finished third. Las Vegas pro John Esposito was fourth.

Hi-Low specialist wins World Championship title
John Guth doesn't pretend to be an expert at every poker variation. He knows his best game is Omaha Hi-Low, and that's pretty much all he plays.

"All I do all day long is sit at home and play Omaha High-Low," he said in a post tournament interview. "That's my specialty."

After winning the $5,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low event last night, there aren't too many people who will question his ability.

Guth won $363,216 and a WSOP bracelet. His largest previous cash in a live tournament was $12,695 for finishing second in a $200 Omaha Hi-Low event at the 2006 Orleans Open.

Robert Stevanovski finished second, while Bart Hanson finished eighth for the second time at this year's Series.

Cloutier out, Bronshtein leading field in Pot Limit Hold'em event
Yuval Bronshtein used a hyper-aggressive style and a lot of luck to take the chip lead going into the final table of the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event last night.

Bronshtein, who has been surrounded by a contigent of Bodog supporters, has $516,000 in chips heading into the final table, which will be held at the sequestered final table and can be seen at www.worldseriesofpoker.com. It is the first WSOP final table of Bronshtein's career.

Greg Hopkins is in second with $454,000 and Jason Newberger is in third with $278,000. Both players will be making their third career WSOP final table. Gioi Luong, who had six WSOP cashes last year and already had two this year heading into the Pot Limit event, will be making his first career final table. He sits in fourth with $239,000.

T.J. Cloutier, who was attempting to claim sole possession of the record for most WSOP final tables, just missed out, finishing 11th. Read more about Cloutier's day.

No Limit event field slashed to 171 in one day
For every 16 players that entered the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em at the WSOP yesterday, only one survived.

Only 171 of the original 2,778 players survived day one. The tournament field will be reduced down to nine by the end of play today, with the final table set for tomorrow.

Michael Banducci is the chip leader heading into day two with $184,600 in chips. Marcel Luske is in eighth with $106,800, with Men "The Master" Nguyen in 13th with $91,500.

Other notable players still in the field include: Kathy Liebert (20th, $82,100); Alex Jacob (36th; $66,100); Eric "Rizen" Lynch (46th, $60,000); Chris Ferguson (88th, $39,600); and Erica Shoenberg (110th, $30,900).