World Poker Tour Gus Hansen
The World Poker Tour ignited the global poker boom with the creation of this unique television show based on a series of high-stakes tournaments, and has broadcast globally in over 150 countries and territories. Televised WPT events turned Gus Hansen into the Great Dane and Daniel Negreanu into Kid Poker, and created dozens of poker-made millionaires.
By Sean Chaffin
Vegas is calling and the WPT rolls into Sin City December 16-21 for the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, regularly attracting a Who’s Who of some of the game’s best. That should be no different this season.
Bellagio is one of the most elegant properties in Las Vegas and features excellent restaurants, a luxurious stay, and a great poker scene. WPT Five Diamond features a $10,400 buy-in and has produced some big numbers and big name winners through the years. Here’s a look at the event since it debuted on the tour in 2002 for Season I.
18 Big Events with Big Prize Pools
The 2019 edition marks the 18th edition at Bellagio and has a shot at being the biggest yet. Some of those big winners have included Gus Hansen (Season I), Daniel Negreanu (Season III), Joe Hachem (Season V), Eugene Katchalov (Season VI), Chino Rheem (Season VII), Antonio Esfandiari (Season IX), Dan Smith (Season XII), Ryan Tosoc, (Season XVI), and Dylan Linde (Season XVII).
Gus Hansen claimed the first WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic title in Season I.
During almost two decades, the event has awarded prize pools totaling $105.7 million. The 2019 event should add even more to that as prize pools have trended upward each year from $4.4 million in 2013 to $9.7 million last season.
20 Poker Millionaires
With massive prize pools and numbers of entries, quite a few players have cracked the seven-figure mark since the tournament’s inception. That even includes a few who topped the $2 million mark during the poker boom when the event featured a $15,000 buy-in. Here’s a look at those champions who’ve notched million-dollar cashes:
Paul Phillips (2003) – $1.1 million
Daniel Negreanu (2004) – $1.8 million
Rehne Pedersen (2005) – $2.1 million
Patrik Antonius (2005) – $1.04 million
Joe Hachem (2006) – $2.2 million
Jim Hanna (2006) – $1.09 million
Eugene Katchalov (2007) – $2.5 million
Ted Kearly (2007) – $1.25 million
Chino Rheem (2008) – $1.5 million
Daniel Alaei (2009) – $1.4 million
Ravi Raghavan (2012 ) – $1.3 million
Dan Smith (2013) – $1.2 million
Mohsin Charania (2014) – $1.5 million
Kevin Eyster (2015) – $1.6 million
James Romero (2016) – $1.9 million
Ryan Tosoc (2016) – $1.12 million
Ryan Tosoc (2017) – $1.95 million
Alex Foxen (2017) – $1.13 million
Dylan Linde (2018) – $1.63 million
Milos Skrbic (2018) – $1.08 million
Three-time WPT Champions Club member Chino Rheem won Five Diamond in Season VII.
$25.1 Million Paid Out to Winners
When it comes to massive payouts, not many events match up to the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. It has a long history of top payouts for winners with every event except three (2002, 2010, and 2011) paying out more than $1 million for the champion.
That totals a hefty $25.1 million in first-place payouts through the years. It’s a good bet another millionaire will be made at Bellagio in December.
1,001 Entries Set Record
Poker may have experienced a bit of a decline after Black Friday, but in recent years the game has been back on a growth pattern. Last season’s Five Diamond can serve as an example and produced a record number of entries.
The Season XVII number of 1,001 entries for Season XVII smashed the previous season’s record of 812, which broke the previous season’s record of 791. Could another record be set in Season XVIII? It will be interesting to see how things develop at Bellagio.
5 Bullets to 5 Diamond Glory
The Season XVII Five Diamond championship certainly wasn’t easy for Dylan Linde. The longtime pro needed a few extra bullets to earn the title. Poker has plenty of Old West references for poker hands and situations including “bullets” for re-entries.
For Linde, the Five Diamond became quite a shootout. In an event that paid 126 players, he needed to finish 24th or higher to have a shot at a profit.
“I’m stunned,” he said after the win. “I was in for five bullets and all I wanted to do is get even. I was like, ‘Okay, I just want to get 24th place and make $8K, that’s great.’ And then I got there and it just felt like freerolling. And I was confident, played my game, and I’m still in shock.”
3 Final Tables, 7 Cashes for Antonio Esfandiari
One of the WPT’s early stars, Esfandiari won the Five Diamond in Season IX (2010). The win was his second tour title and brought him a score of $870,124. It was also a nice birthday present as he turned 32 the same day.
“My win was monumental for me because I hadn’t won anything in seven years,” he told WPT.com. “And so to come back and win a tournament on my birthday obviously gave me a bit of a boost in confidence, to say the least. It felt great.”
Beyond that win, Esfandiari has had a knack for running deep at the event. That includes three finishes at the Five Diamond final table. Along with his win, in Season X he took sixth for $119,418 and finished Season XII for $329,339 in 2012. His others scores include: 59th for $23,420 (2008); 23rd for $28,569 (2009); 43rd for $32,225 (2016); and 66th for $25,886 (2018).
With so much success on the felt at Bellagio, look for The Magician to be among the field again this year.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.
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Below are the results of season two of the World Poker Tour television series (2003–2004).
- 1Results
Results[edit]
Grand Prix de Paris[edit]
- Casino: Aviation Club de France, Paris[1]
- Buy-in: €10,000
- 4-Day Event: July 10, 2003 to July 13, 2003
- Number of Entries: 96
- Total Prize Pool: €894,400 (US$1,028,826)
- Number of Payouts: 9
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | David Benyamine | €357,200 ($410,886) |
| 2nd | Jan Boubli | €178,000 ($205,443) |
| 3rd | George Paravoliasakis | €134,000 ($154,140) |
| 4th | Jamie Posner | €80,500 ($92,599) |
| 5th | Erick Lindgren | €53,600 ($61,656) |
| 6th | Lee Salem | €35,700 ($41,066) |
Legends of Poker[edit]
- Casino:Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles[1]
- Buy-in: $5,000
- 3-Day Event: September 1, 2003 to September 3, 2003
- Number of Entries: 309
- Total Prize Pool: $1,545,000
- Number of Payouts: 27
- Winning Hand: 9-7
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mel Judah | $579,375 |
| 2nd | Paul Phillips | $293,550 |
| 3rd | T. J. Cloutier | $146,775 |
| 4th | Chip Jett | $100,425 |
| 5th | Farzad Bonyadi | $69,525 |
| 6th | Phil Laak | $54,075 |
Borgata Poker Open[edit]
- Casino:Borgata, Atlantic City[1]
- Buy-in: $5,000
- 3-Day Event: September 20, 2003 to September 22, 2003
- Number of Entries: 235
- Total Prize Pool: $1,175,000
- Number of Payouts: 18
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Noli Francisco | $470,000 |
| 2nd | Charlie Shoten | $235,000 |
| 3rd | David Oppenheim | $117,500 |
| 4th | Carlos Mortensen | $70,500 |
| 5th | Mickey Seagle | $52,875 |
| 6th | Randy Burger | $41,125 |
Ultimate Poker Classic[edit]
- Casino: Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino, Palm Beach, Aruba[1]
- Buy-in: $4,000
- 1-Day Event: October 18, 2003
- Number of Entries: 436
- Total Prize Pool: $1,697,460
- Number of Payouts: 20
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Erick Lindgren | $500,000 |
| 2nd | Daniel Larsson | $300,745 |
| 3rd | Anthony Fagan | $194,230 |
| 4th | Barry Shulman | $112,780 |
| 5th | Ted Harrington | $68,920 |
| 6th | Rick Casper | $43,860 |
World Poker Finals[edit]
- Casino:Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut[1]
- Buy-in: $10,000
- 3-Day Event: November 14, 2003 to November 17, 2003
- Number of Entries: 313
- Total Prize Pool: $3,155,000
- Number of Payouts: 27
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hoyt Corkins | $1,089,200 |
| 2nd | Mohamed Ibrahim | $563,400 |
| 3rd | Phil Hellmuth | $281,700 |
| 4th | Chris Ackerman | $226,925 |
| 5th | Vellaisamy Senthilkumar | $164,325 |
| 6th | Brian Haveson | $117,375 |
Five Diamond World Poker Classic[edit]
- Casino:Bellagio, Paradise, Nevada[1]
- Buy-in: $10,000
- 4-Day Event: December 15, 2003 to December 18, 2003
- Number of Entries: 314
- Total Prize Pool: $3,044,750
- Number of Payouts: 36
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paul Phillips | $1,101,908 |
| 2nd | Dewey Tomko | $552,853 |
| 3rd | Gus Hansen | $276,426 |
| 4th | Abe Mosseri | $174,585 |
| 5th | Tino Lechich | $130,940 |
| 6th | Mel Judah | $101,842 |
PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure[edit]
- Buy-in: $7,500 [1]
- 1-Day Event: January 25, 2004
- Number of Entries: 221
- Total Prize Pool: $1,657,501
- Number of Payouts: 27
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Gus Hansen | $455,780 |
| 2nd | Hoyt Corkins | $290,065 |
| 3rd | Daniel Negreanu | $192,270 |
| 4th | Michael Benedetto | $132,600 |
| 5th | John D'Agostino | $99,450 |
| 6th | Remco Schrijvers | $74,590 |
World Poker Open[edit]
- Casino: Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, Tunica[1]
- Buy-in: $10,000
- 4-Day Event: January 26, 2004 to January 29, 2004
- Number of Entries: 367
- Total Prize Pool: $3,455,050
- Number of Payouts: 27
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Barry Greenstein | $1,278,370 |
| 2nd | Randy Jensen | $656,460 |
| 3rd | James Tippin | $328,230 |
| 4th | Chip Reese | $207,304 |
| 5th | Can Kim Hua | $155,477 |
| 6th | Tony Hartmann | $120,927 |
L.A. Poker Classic[edit]
- Casino:Commerce Casino, Los Angeles [1]
- Buy-in: $10,000
- 4-Day Event: February 21, 2004 to February 24, 2004
- Number of Entries: 382
- Total Prize Pool: $3,781,500
- Number of Payouts: 27
- Winning Hand: A-A
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Antonio Esfandiari | $1,399,135 |
| 2nd | Vinnie Vinh | $718,485 |
| 3rd | Mike Keohan | $359,245 |
| 4th | Bill Gazes | $226,890 |
| 5th | Adam Schoenfeld | $170,170 |
| 6th | David Benyamine | $132,355 |
Where Is Gus Hansen Now
Bay 101 Shooting Star[edit]
- Casino:Bay 101, San José[1]
- Buy-in: $5,000
- 3-Day Event: March 3, 2004 to March 5, 2004
- Number of Entries: 243
- Total Prize Pool: $1,125,000
- Number of Payouts: 27
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Phil Gordon | $360,000 |
| 2nd | Chris Moneymaker | $200,000 |
| 3rd | Masoud Shojaei | $103,300 |
| 4th | Scott Wilson | $79,800 |
| 5th | Susan Kim | $68,400 |
| 6th | Mark Mache | $57,000 |
World Poker Challenge[edit]
- Casino: Reno Hilton, Reno[1]
- Buy-in: $5,000
- 3-Day Event: March 30, 2004 to April 1, 2004
- Number of Entries: 342
- Total Prize Pool: $1,658,700
- Number of Payouts: 27
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mike Kinney | $629,469 |
| 2nd | Paul Clark | $310,403 |
| 3rd | Harry Knopp | $155,202 |
| 4th | Peter Muller | $98,022 |
| 5th | Tony Bloom | $73,517 |
| 6th | Young Phan | $57,180 |
WPT Championship[edit]
- Casino: Bellagio, Las Vegas [1]
- Buy-in: $25,000
- 5-Day Event: April 19, 2004 to April 23, 2004
- Number of Entries: 343
- Total Prize Pool: $8,342,000
- Number of Payouts: 50
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Martin De Knijff | $2,728,356 |
| 2nd | Hasan Habib | $1,372,223 |
| 3rd | Matt Matros | $706,903 |
| 4th | Richard Grijalva | $457,408 |
| 5th | Russell Rosenblum | $332,660 |
| 6th | Steve Brecher | $232,862 |
Other Events[edit]
During season 2 of the WPT there was one special event that did not apply to the Player of the Year standings:
Gus Hansen Book
- The WPT Invitational - February 25-26, 2004 - Commerce Casino - postscript to Event #9: L.A. Poker Classic
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefghijkl'World Poker Tour Season 2 results'. theHendonMob.com. Retrieved 2008-10-14.