WSOP - Deeb wins H.O.R.S.E., Jamie Gold cashes

Deeb takes down H.O.R.S.E. World Championship

The most coveted prize among professional poker players now belongs to Freddy Deeb.

Click here to read Aaron Todd's report from the scene.

Known for his bright red shirts and his high-stakes cash game play, Deeb outlasted arguably the toughest field in poker early Friday morning to win the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament (Event #39).

Deeb earned $ 2,276,832 million and his second WSOP gold bracelet with the victory. But more important to the long-time pro was the prestige attached to the title.

"When I won my first bracelet, I was mostly a cash game player so it didn't really matter that much to me," Deeb said. "But this one – it means everything to me. They are the toughest players in the world. It has the highest buy-in. Except for the $10,000 buy-in (main event), this is the bracelet that means the most of any of them."

Deeb, who born in Lebanon, had to flee his homeland during the 1970's when civil war was ravaging the country. Unable to secure a work permit, Deeb entered a casino to make his millions and never looked back. He has been living the American dream for more than 30-years, earning a living with his gambling prowess.

"When I sit down to play, I do not ask anyone -- what is the game," Deeb said when asked about the mix of poker games in H.O.R.S.E. "I just play whatever the game is dealt….You see what level they are at, and you go a level higher. That's how you win."

And the other winner is… (Event #43)

Saifuddin Ahmad quietly won his first gold bracelet last night while the rest of the poker world was paying attention to the H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. Ahmad outlasted 462 opponents to win $217,329 in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event.

Ahmad, a 59-year old businessman originally from Bangladesh, first came the United States more than 40 years ago in search of education and opportunity. He earned a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Cal-Tech before entering the business world. He now owns several Tony Roma restaurants in the Los Angeles area.

This is Ahmad's third time playing WSOP, but his first time cashing.

Marcel Luske, Stuart Paterson highlight Event #44 final table

Marcel Luske brings his $3.2 million career earnings and a boatload of fans to WSOP final table felt tonight in search of his first gold bracelet. This is the fourth cash in the 2007 WSOP for the popular Dutchman.

Stuart Paterson will play at his first WSOP final table alongside Luske. Paterson, known as "The Donator" in the online world, started his career playing high-stakes poker online against Full Tilt professionals and soon found himself a member of the team after making a 2006 World Poker Tour Final table.

John Juanda cashed for the fifth time in this Series, but finished one spot from the final table in this event.

Jamie Gold sighting

The 2007 WSOP had seen little of Jamie Gold this year.

But that changed Thursday when Gold held the tournament chip lead for a time in pro-laden $5,000 six-handed No Limit Hold'em Event #45.

Gold cooled off, eventually falling to the middle pack. But he's cashed for the first time since winning the 2006 Main Event and is still alive in 33rd place.

Dutch Boyd is leading this event with Phil Hellmuth breathing down his neck. Hellmuth is in fifth place, cashing for the fifth time this year (61st all-time). He will be the player to watch as he continues to hunt down bracelet No. 12.

Men "The Master" Nguyen also cashed in this event. It's the 56th in-the-money finish of his WSOP career.

Other notables still in contention are: Erik Friberg, Ram Vaswani, Roland de Wolfe, Allen Cunningham, Tony G., and Tony Hachem (Joe Hachem's brother).