Gregory Kolo Wins Event #12: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em ($169,225)
On Friday, Gregory Kolo came into the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em final table as the chip leader, partly thanks to him knocking out former November Niner Phil Collins close to the end of play on Day 2.
Kolo didn't get a very good start to his first ever final table at the WSOP, but somehow the 37-year old from Ohio managed to keep a cool head and turn things around for the better. Believe it or not but only after 2 hours of play, he and Kazy Oshima played heads-up for the title. About 20 minutes later, Gregory Kolo had defeated his opponent to lay hands on the $169,225 first-place prize and his first gold bracelet! Not only was it his first gold bracelet but also his first cash in a WSOP event!
Final table results:
1st: Gregory Kolo - $169,225
2nd: Kazu Oshima - $104,513
3rd: Dean Bui - $74,314
4th: David Martirosyan - $53,328
5th: Tom McCormick - $38,898
6th: Dan Goldman - $28,769
7th: Ahmed Amin - $21,565
8th: Ryan Schoonbaert - $16,384
9th: Phil Collins - $12,610
Nicholas Kost Wins Event #14: Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
All eyes were on defending champion Calen McNeil and the 2004 World Champion Greg Raymer when the third and final day of play kicked off last Friday. Raymer was eventually knocked out in 7th place and McNeil's dream of back-to-back titles was then crushed by Nick Kost, who eliminated him in 4th place ($79,608) and later on ended up winning the tournament.
Kost had a healthy 1.4 million stack after eliminating McNiel and eventually he ended up playing heads-up against Kal Raichura, who held a 2-1 chip advantage. Although Raichura had a big chip lead and played very well, Kost was the better player and won the tournament fair a square.
"It was a lot of fun having Calen (the defending champion) on the final table," Kost said afterward to WSOP. "There was a lot of banter at the table and that made it pretty loose as far as a WSOP event goes. I was really glad to come out on top."
Nicholas Kost on winning his first WSOP gold bracet...
"I've played in about four or five events in the past," Kost said of his WSOP experience. "To come here and then win this is amazing. I really can't believe this happened to me."
Final table results:
1st: Nicholas Kost - $283,275
2nd: Kal Raichura - $175,300
3rd: Jim Bucci - $109,678
4th: Calen McNeil - $79,608
5th: Alexandre Luneau - $58,769
6th: Steve Chanthabouasy - $44,055
7th: Greg Raymer - $33,510
8th: Adam Coats - $25,832
9th: Konstantin Puchkov - $20,181
Davidi Kitai Wins Event #15: $3,000 Six-Handed NLHE
Davidi Kitai earned his third WSOP gold bracelet on Sunday afternoon! Kitai bested a field of 810 players, who generated a $2,211,300 prize pool, over four days of play. He's now one of three non-American players in World Series of Poker history to win 3 or more bracelets! The other two players are Jeffrey Lisandro, with duel with duel citizenship in both Australia and Italy, and Canadian Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu.
"It's very good for me to win not just for Belgium, but for France, too," Kitai said. "I have hundreds of followers and everyone was texting me and posting nice things. It is nice when you know the people back home are watching."
Besides Kitai, poker stars such as Jesse Sylvia (63rd), Matt Jarvis (37th), Brandon Cantu (32nd), Olivier Busquet (20th), Jackie Glazier (19th) cashed in this event.
Final table results:
1st: David Kitai - $508,640
2nd: Gordon Vayo - $314,535
3rd: Anthony Ruberto - $200,476
4th: Mark Darner - $132,169
5th: John Andress - $89,734
6th: Zachary Korik - $62,690
Todd Bui Wins Event #16: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw
A total of 348 players entered the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw tournament to build a $469,800 prize pool. When the final table kicked off on Day 3, Todd Bui had the second shortest stack (only 5 big blinds). After approximately 6 hours of play, he had overcome that deficit and emerged victorious! In addition to winning his first gold bracelet, he collected the sum of $124,510 in prize money.
"In this format, I wasn't too worried. You have to produce a hand. I wasn't trying to move up spots. I came in trying to win and had one goal. I achieved it," Bui said about the deficit he had to overcome to become the champion.
Final table results:
1 Todd Bui $124,510
2 Tom Franklin $76,943
3 David Bell $49,944
4 Vladimir Shchemelev $33,388
5 Aaron Steury $22,935
6 David Gee $16,170
