Gambling.co.uk: Gambling News Archive

WSOP Event #51, $1,500 H.O.R.S.E: Schaaf the Champion as Hellmuth Finishes Third

Californian Schaaf wins his first bracelet, frustrating Hellmuth as he fails to bag number twelve

Wednesday 2nd July 2008



By day, James Schaaf works with databases and coding to build navigations software. Last night he managed to steer his way around seven others all after their place on the 2008 winner’s roster. The quest for bracelet number twelve eluded the mighty Phil Hellmuth though, who eventually had to settle for third place.

Phil Hellmuth is the current leader in the most bracelets won charts, with eleven to his name already, but with all of them won in one variant or other of hold’em, the Poker Brat would certainly have liked to pick up his maiden non-hold’em bracelet here. At the start of the night, he stood in good shape, coming to the final table second in chips. With the press ready should be pounce on his twelfth bracelet, it was Tommy Hang who instead grabbed control of the table. Hang eliminated Matt Grapenthein in eighth, as well as knocking out Jason Dollinger and Hellmuth in fifth and third respectively.

Heads-up play between the aggressive Hang and James Schaaf ended after 59 hands, with the winner admitting he had gotten his fair slice of luck during proceedings.

“I got lucky,” reflected Schaaf. “I was definitely the aggressor and he trapped me in some pretty big hands and I just drew out on him.”

His win will see James Schaaf clear $256,412 into his bank account tomorrow, as well as being the man who stopped Hellmuth making it a dozen bracelets at the Series.

 


Source: OnlineCasinoNews