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WSOP Update - Day 25

By Ryan McLane

Mats Rahmn Wins Event #27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Swedish-born 24-year old Mats Rahmn captured his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet on Thursday (July 20), defeating a field of 2,126 player in the $1,500 WSOP Event #27 No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

Rahmn told reporters he's been coming to WSOP for three-years, but mostly stuck to the larger tournaments he could qualify for online. He cashed in last year's Main Event and has had some success in Europe, but his breakthrough win didn't come until yesterday.

Receiving $655,141 for his first place finish, Rahmn said he's going to take a break for a couple days before playing in another event, but he does plan to stick around Vegas to play some more WSOP tournaments including the 2006 Main Event.

To win his first bracelet, Rahmn had to go through final-table-chip leader Richard Toth of Hungary. The international final pairing was a classic, with several chip lead changes and a final flop that gave both participants a chance at a straight.

Unfortunately for Toth, Rahmn held two red Kings and a gut-shot straight draw with a flop that came J-10-9. Holding J-8, Toth moved all-in and was quickly called. Rahmn's monster hand held up, giving him his first major tournament victory.

Before Thursday, Rahmn's biggest tournament win came in 2005 when he won a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the Barcelona Open. Rahmn earned $66,000 for that victory.

Lin is One-for-One in WSOP Final Tables

Benjamin Lin plowed through an all-star final table to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #28, a $5000 7-Card Stud tournament.

Having never before made a WSOP final table, Lin looked anything but intimidated, betting frequently and getting involved in many pots. His best WSOP finish before Thursday was 12th place in 2005. He'd cashed in five previous WSOP events, but never was able to make a final round. He no longer has that distinction.

Cyndy Violette, "Miami" John Cernuto, Russ Salzer, Mike Caro and Shahram "Sean" Sheikhan all competed at the Event #28 final table, but each fell short of Lin, who came into the last round as the chip leader and never let up.

Sheikhan battled valiantly in the day's heads up portion, but Lin had too many chips, mostly coming from his heads-up clashes with Violette in three-handed play. Combined in 2005 and 2006, the "Sheik" has finished in second twice and in third once, slowly climbing the list of best tournaments players to never win WSOP gold.

Violette, who can reasonably be considered one of the best all-around female poker players in the world, held the tournament chip lead several times, including a long stretch at the final table. Several clashes against Lin proved to be her downfall.

Already a bracelet winner in 7-Card Stud (2004 7-Card Stud High-Low), Stud is arguably Violette's best game and she proved it during this three-day event. Of Violette's 11 career WSOP final tables, six have come in Stud events.

Fan favorite "Miami" Cernuto's bid for his fourth gold bracelet also succumbed to Lin's strong play. This is the second time in the 2006 WSOP that "Miami" made a final table short-stacked and still made a strong push for gold. He finished fifth.

Joe Hachem Makes Another WSOP Final Table Appearance

Anytime a player's first bracelet comes in the Main Event, it's impossible to avoid the one-hit wonder rumor. None of the last four Main Event Champions, Robert Varkonyi (02), Chris Moneymaker (03), Greg "Fossilman" Raymer (04), and Hachem (05) has followed up their victories with any significant WSOP success.

In 2006, Hachem is doing his best to remove himself from that list. Hachem is among the final nine in WSOP Event #29, a $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event. This is the second time Hachem has a made a final table this year, the first coming in Event #7 where he took a bad beat in the tournament's final hand to place second.

If he wants to win his second bracelet in this event however, he has some work to do. Hachem comes into the Friday final table in middle position, a significant amount behind the chip leader Alex Jacob.

Jacob, who's name first surfaced in the poker world earlier this year when he came in second to Victor Ramdin at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods Poker Classic, has a commanding chip lead with 584,000, more than double his nearest competitor.

The near-WPT champion is making a name for himself in the WSOP poker circles by making the final table in Event #14, the poplar $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em with re-buys tournament, and cashing in Event #2. His ninth place finish was impressive; especially considering the other final table participants included "Captain" Tom Franklin, Tim Phan, Andy Bloch, and the event champion, Allen Cunningham.

With a 2 to 1 chip lead, it's safe to call Jacob the early favorite, but lurking among the other nine are Hachem and WSOP veterans Kevin Ho, John Gale, Lee Markholt, and Greg Alston. Final table play begins today (July 21) at 2 p.m. PST.

Event #30 Day Two Features Some of Poker's Top Names

With 36 players remaining in WSOP Event #30, a $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, it's still anyone's tournament, but with some experienced players high on the chip count list will, it's certain there will be a big name at the final table.

"Captain" Tom Franklin, who's name seems to be appearing on every 2006 WSOP "In the Money List," leads the field. This is Franklin's fifth cash in the 2006 WSOP, one of which was a close third place in Event # 14.

Close behind him are a couple of poker's young guns. Two-time WPT Champion Erick Lindgren is in third place and rising WSOP star Jeff Madsen is a close fifth. Madsen, the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet (Event #22), has already made two final tables and cashed in three events in his first year of eligibility.

Trailing, but not far out, is 2006 WSOP Event #25 Champion David "The Dragon" Pham in sixth place. Just a few days after grabbing his second WSOP bracelet, Pham is in good position to challenge the field for a shot at his third.

Ryan McLane is a gaming industry reporter for Casino City and is assigned to the poker beat. Email your comments and questions to him at ryanmclane@casinocity.com .

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