The Rio’s Amazon Room was overflowing with energy on Wednesday evening as three final tables played out at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Dozens of railbirds flocked to see champions crowned in Events #47, #49, and #50 and three first-time winners collected bracelets.
Wisconsin native Adam White entered the final day of Event #47 ($1,000 No Limit Hold’em) with the chip lead, but had an afternoon he’d like to forget after losing nearly every pot he played to finish ninth. White was crippled in a hand against Canadian pro Owen Crowe to leave him clinging to a short stack and then met his demise against Crowe minutes later. Crowe put in a pre-flop raise and White moved all-in over the top. A pot-committed Crowe made the call with 9c-5c and managed to come from behind against White’s Kd-Jc when the 9h fell on the river. White earned $36,287.
Hours later, Crowe found himself heads-up against another online star, Shawn “jordankickz” Busse, who began play down 2:1 in chips. But, it didn’t take long for the 21-year-old to gain control and eventually dispose of the veteran Crowe, who was playing his third WSOP final table. Busse doubled with pocket sevens against Crowe’s Ad-4s to take the lead and then on the final hand of the tournament, a short-stacked Crowe moved all-in dark with 5h-3h and Busse called with Ah-4s. The board double-paired and Busse’s ace kicker landed him a $485,791 prize and his first gold bracelet:
1. Shawn Busse – $485,791
2. Owen Crowe – $300,494
3. Pekka Ikonen – $212,660
4. Chuan Shi – $153,935
5. Wenlong Jin – $112,720
6. Ilya Andreev – $83,498
7. Jason Mann – $62,553
8. Allan Bække – $47,379
9. Adam White – $36,287
The state of Colorado was represented well in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event #49 on Wednesday, as Denver’s Chance “ChancesCards” Kornuth and Colorado Springs’ Kevin “Phwap” Boudreau battled for the title and $508,090 payday. The final table began with several big names, including Robert Mizrachi, Eric Liu, and Julian Gardner, but the two online pros were the last ones standing after Boudreau sent Danny Smith home in third place. The heads-up match didn’t last long; Kornuth won a big pot with a higher straight and then sealed the match when he got his chips in with Qc-9d-8h-6h on a Jd-8c-2h flop against Boudreau’s overpair. Kornuth took the lead when the 8s came on the turn and his trips help up to give him first win at the WSOP:
1. Chance Kornuth – $508,090
2. Kevin Boudreau – $313,792
3. Danny Smith – $226,923
4. Edward Martin – $165,825
5. Scott Mandel – $122,455
6. Julian Gardner – $91,387
7. Eric Liu – $68,902
8. Robert Mizrachi – $52,471
9. Jose Nacho Barbero – $40,364
San Diego student Michael Linn collected his first bracelet and more than $600,000 by winning Event $50, $1,500 No Limit Hold ’em. Linn outlasted a massive field of 2,543 and defeated Taylor Larking heads-up to claim victory, his first in a major live event. He received support from his uncle and poker legend Barry Greenstein, who checked in on his nephew throughout the day while playing the $25,000 Six-Handed Event. Linn’s biggest cash prior to Wednesday came in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where he took 191st place for $36,626:
1. Michael Linn – $609,493
2. Taylor Larkin – $378,905
3. Mihai Manole – $268,189
4. Benjamin Smith – $193,418
5. Chadwick Grimes – $141,235
6. Alexander Kuzmin – $104,364
7. Justin Zaki – $78,067
8. Erle Mankin – $59,082
9. Tyler Cornell – $45,247
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2010 WSOP.
