Some say ‘three is the magic number' and/or ‘third time's the charm'. Barry Hutter probably agrees that there's something special with number 3. The pro from Florida took down his first WSOP event and gold bracelet on Saturday. It was his third final table appearance at the WSOP and also his third cash of the 2015 World Series.
I think [a bracelet] is what most people play poker for," Hutter said following the victory. "I'm speechless, really [...] I've had a lot of chances to close out some big tournaments and have failed. I finally got one. [This victory] will kind of be a landmark of my poker career."
In total, the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout event attracted 1,000 entries - of which 10% received a slice of the $1,350,000 prize pool. The final table took around 11 hours to complete. After 2008 WSOP Main Event finalist Dennis Phillips had been eliminated in third place, Hutter had about a third of the total chips in play. Over the first 50 hands, he checked and raised his way to the chip lead before turning the nut flush to send his final opponent, Benjamin Zamani, packing in second place.
Winner info:
Name: Barry Hutter
Age: 29
Residence: Hollywood, Fla.
Occupation: Professional poker player
Number of WSOP Cashes: 14
Number of WSOP final table appearances: 3
Number of WSOP gold bracelet victories: 1
Best previous WSOP finish: 5th (2010, $2,500 no-limit hold'em)
Total WSOP earnings: $643,135
Final table results:
1st: Barry Hutter - $283,546 + WSOP gold bracelet
2nd: Benjamin Zamani - $174,771
3rd: Dennis Phillips - $113,265
4th: Kitty Kuo - $82,890
5th: Elizabeth Montizanti - $61,560
6th: Orson Young - $46,332
7th: Anton Smirnov - $35,302
8th: Daniel Strelitz - $27,216
9th: Grayson Ramage - $21,208
10th: Randy Pfeifer - $16,740
EVENT FUN FACTS:
- The final table featured no gold bracelet winners
- The field was comprised of 970 males and 30 females
- The average age of participants was 36 years three months old
- The total number of countries represented by the field was 32 (812 American players, 188 international)
source: wsop.com