I was fortunate enough to travel to Las Vegas to cover the 2006 World Series of Poker from the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. It was the first time the WSOP had left downtown Las Vegas entirely and instead headed for a location that wasn’t even on the Strip. With poker exploding as a worldwide sport, the WSOP grew as well, culminating in a 2006 WSOP Main Event field of a whopping 8,773 players. There’s nothing like walking into the Amazon Room at the Rio and hearing nothing but the shuffling of cards, the rustling of people stacking chips, and the occasional cheer or expletive. In the halls, you’ll find poker’s biggest stars intermixed with the unknowns of the world. Millionaires walk behind poker players who rolled into Las Vegas with visions of WSOP bracelets dancing in their heads. 2006 featured one of the most competitive WSOP events to date and ended with a lawsuit involving the Main Event champion.
The $10,000 Main Event saw nearly 9,000 players compete. Four starting days accommodated the large crowd in one of the most massive poker rooms ever created. Spectators piled into the room by the hundreds, hoping to get a glimpse of Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, or Doyle Brunson. A healthy dose of celebrities were also in attendance, including Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire, The Simpsons star Hank Azaria, and heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. In the end, it was television producer Jamie Gold who was the center of attention. After dominating much of the final table action, Gold took home the $12 million first place Main Event prize. However, his victory was marred by controversy over whether Gold agreed to split his winnings with another party. A lawsuit resulted in a black eye for the Main Event champion.
Gold took down Paul Wasicka heads up after coaxing a call on the final hand. It wasn’t all bad for Wasicka, however, as he took home just over $6 million for his efforts. In fact, every player in the final 12 was guaranteed at least $1 million. Allen Cunningham finished fourth for $3.6 million and Michael Binger cashed in his second 2006 WSOP event, taking home third in the Main Event for $4.1 million. All in all, there was a ton of cash distributed at the final table, which made for some of the most exciting poker ever filmed.
Another head-turning tournament in the 2006 WSOP was the inaugural $50,000 HORSE event, which, as the price tag suggests, attracted some of the top poker pros on the planet. The late Chip Reese won this now marquee event, besting Andy Bloch in an epic heads up battle and winning $1.7 million. To give you an idea of the quality of this event, the top 12 finishers included Barry Greenstein (12th), Gavin Smith (11th), Robert Williamson (10th), Patrik Antonius (9th), Doyle Brunson (8th), Dewey Tomko (7th), David Singer (6th), TJ Cloutier (5th), Jim Bechtel (4th), and Phil Ivey (3rd). Good luck to everyone else. There were 143 entrants total.
The very first no limit event brought in 2,776 players, each of whom put up a $1,500 buy in. Brandon Cantu beat out this enormous field, turning his $1,500 into $757,839. In fact, events 2, 3, and 4 all had fields of over 1,000.
Even a $10,000 Pot Limit event garnered a healthy 218 player turnout. Lee Watkinson defeated Mike Guttman to pocket $655,746. A $5,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split tournament saw a star-studded battle between Sammy Farha and Phil Ivey. With nearly $180,000 separating first and second place in the event, Farha got the better of Ivey, cashing for $398,560.
Other bracelet winners in the 2006 WSOP included David Williams (whose mom, Shirley, even played in the Main Event), Mark Vos, Rafe Furst, David Pham (who is well-known for his success in World Poker Tour events), and Phil Hellmuth, who won his 10th WSOP bracelet. Hellmuth won a $1,000 no limit tournament with rebuys (Event #34), taking down Juha Helppi heads up for $631,863. I’m sure the bracelet ended up being more meaningful than the cash to Hellmuth, who is regarded as the “Poker Brat.” The field would expand once again in the 2007 World Series.