Memphis, Tennessee transplant Frank Kassela defeated a star studded final table in Event #15 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the $10,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better Championship. Kassela collected $447,000 for his efforts and, more importantly, his first WSOP bracelet.
Kassela finished 22nd in last year’s $40,000 commemorative No Limit Hold’em event for $71,000 and is a 42 year-old married father of five. He told WSOP officials following his bracelet win on Tuesday, “Stud High-Low is about the slow accumulation of chips. You’re not going to get as many chips quickly as you are in Pot Limit Omaha (and other games). It’s a building process. It requires patience.” He began taking the game seriously 10 years ago.
Kassela made two pair in the final hand heads-up against acclaimed tournament pro Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, who banked $276,000 for his troubles. Event #15 marked Kessler’s third WSOP final table and first since 2006, when he finished fourth in a $5,000 Seven Card Stud tournament. Kessler and the other 169 players who registered built the largest Seven Card Stud High-Low Split prize pool in WSOP history, passing the previous record by $56,000. The event marked just the third time a prize pool for any Seven Card Stud High-Low Split event had ever reached seven-figures.
Kassela will receive his bracelet at 2:20pm PT this afternoon inside the Rio Pavilion. Third place went to Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman, who walked away with $173,000. Harman passed $1.6 million in career WSOP earnings and was eliminated after Kessler made a pair of fours on his final card. Here were the final results from the Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better Championship. Sixteen players finished in the money:
1. Frank Kassela – $447,446
2. Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler – $276,486
3. Jennifer Harman – $173,159
4. Steve Zolotow – $125,379
5. John Juanda – $97,989
6. Kirill Rabtsov – $78,142
7. Vladimir Schmelev – $63,457
8. Dario Minieri – $52,366
9. Gary Benson – $43,833
10. George “Jorj95” Lind – $43,833
11. Sergey Altbregin – $37,297
12. Alessio Isaia – $37,297
13. Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson – $32,439
14. Christopher George – $32,439
15. Blair Rodman – $28,221
16. Toto Leonidas – $28,221
The story of the 2010 WSOP has to be Russia’s Vladimir Schmelev. Yes, brothers Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Robert Mizrachi making the final table of the Player’s Championship together was memorable, but Schmelev has been a one-man wrecking crew in Stud events so far. Schmelev finished second to “The Grinder” in the Player’s Championship for $963,000 and promptly took seventh in the Seven Card Stud World Championship for $56,000. Tuesday marked his third WSOP final table in as many cashes.
David Baker knocked off Daniel Duong in 10th place to set up Wednesday’s nine-handed finale in Event #13, the second open $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament on the WSOP schedule. Baker held A-Q, which quickly fell behind Duong’s 10-8 of hearts when the flop came 10-3-4. However, Baker hit an ace on the river to save the day and end play for the evening at the Rio in Las Vegas. Here’s how the final table will stack up when play resumes this afternoon at 2:30pm PT:
1. David Baker – 2,553,000
2. Matthew Vance – 1,731,000
3. Steven Gee – 1,540,000
4. Nicholas “Salamander” Heather – 993,000
5. Kyung Han – 613,000
6. Daniel Thomas – 602,000
7. Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby – 423,000
8. Mats Gavatin – 393,000
9. Jeffrey kidwhowon Gross – 281,000
Notable names that finished in the top 100 of Event #13 included:
32. Andy Black – $10,923
34. Ylon Schwartz – $10,923
51. Chris Karagulleyan – $7,364
73. Victor Ramdin – $4,380
84. John “The Razor” Phan – $3,750
86. Shaun Deeb – $3,750
88. Vitaly Lunkin – $3,750
Two events kick off today at the 2010 WSOP:
12:00pm PT
Event #18: Limit Hold’em
$2,000 buy-in
5:00pm PT
Event #19: 2-7 Draw Lowball World Championship
$10,000 buy-in
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 WSOP.
