There are very few certainties in poker. Bad beats will happen. Amateurs will win tournaments. At every poker event, Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth will arrive late. In the case of the World Poker Tour’s Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Hellmuth arrived nearly six hours tardy to the Bellagio. However, good things come to those who wait, as Hellmuth found himself perched atop the leader board when play concluded on Saturday.
Starting chip stacks in the $15,000 buy-in tournament were 45,000. Hellmuth ended play on Day 1A with 188,150, over four times the original amount. “The Poker Brat” is perhaps the most recognizable face in the game and owns the record for the most number of bracelets won with 11. He finished third in a $1,500 buy-in HORSE tournament during the 2008 WSOP, ultimately cashing for $93,000 and narrowly capturing his 12th piece of hardware. That event attracted 803 players and was won by James Schaaf. Hellmuth took down the 1989 Main Event, becoming the youngest player ever to do so at the time at age 24, a record that was recently broken by Peter Eastgate, who was 22 years-old.
In third place at the Bellagio is former Full Tilt Poker pro Clonie Gowen, who is now suing the online poker room alleging non-payment. Gowen has nine career WSOP cashes for $96,000 as well as five WPT cashes for $110,000. In 2003, she became a household poker name by winning a WPT Ladies Night event, defeating Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, and Kathy Liebert in the process.
Kido Pham held the fourth largest chip stack at the Bellagio after Day 1A with 153,000. Pham owns a grand total of four WSOP and Circuit Event cashes; three of them are for six-figures. He finished 41st in the 2008 Main Event for $154,000 and finished sixth in the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha for $170,000. Boyle Poker pro Marty Smyth won his first WSOP bracelet in that tournament. Pham won a Las Vegas Circuit Event stop in 2005 for over $450,000.
The Top 10 on the leader board at the Bellagio is packed with highly successful players, including WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Young, who holds the fifth largest chip stack at 152,650. Young’s bracelet came in 2007 by virtue of winning a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $615,000. He led the way in the 2,541 player tournament which featured a final table that included Nam Le and John Esposito.
Full Tilt Poker pro Nenad Medic, who won the very first event of this year’s WSOP, sits with 138,000 chips, the seventh largest . Medic’s bracelet win was worth $794,000. He became one of just a handful of players to win events on both WPT and WSOP felts, also taking home victory in the World Poker Finals during Season V of the World Poker Tour. The $1.7 million payday was contested by a final six-handed table which saw Kathy Liebert, Mimi Tran, and Mike Perry duel it out with the Serbian.
The ninth place chip stack at the Bellagio belongs to a familiar name: Greg Raymer, kindly nicknamed “Fossilman” in the poker world. The 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, Raymer sits with 136,200 chips. The Team PokerStars Pro member nearly won the 2005 Main Event, which was ultimately taken down by Joe Hachem. Raymer finished 25th in that tournament for $304,000. In 2007, he proved that his skills extended well beyond Texas Hold’em, placing 14th in the $50,000 HORSE Championship for $103,000. Raymer has been one of the top ambassadors for the world of poker, partnering with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) in the lobbying organization’s efforts to legalize online poker in the United States.
Here were the Top 10 players on the leader board after Day 1A in the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic:
1st Place: Phil Hellmuth – 188,150
2nd Place: Gary Gibbs – 169,075
3rd Place: Clonie Gowen – 162,550
4th Place: Kido Pham – 153,000
5th Place: Ryan Young – 152,650
6th Place: Luke Staudenmaier – 147,000
7th Place: Nenad Medic – 138,000
8th Place: Devin Porter – 137,675
9th Place: Greg Raymer – 136,200
10th Place: Amnon Filippi – 135,425
Day 1B kicks off today at 12:00 Noon local time. The tournament will crown a champion on Friday, December 12th.