The 2009 WSOP $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Tony Veckey
Source: WSOP
Jul 2, 2009 - 8:26:44 AM
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2009 World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Official Report
Event #54
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $1,500
Number of Entries: 2,818
Total Net Prize Pool: $3,846,570
Number of Places Paid: 297
First Place Prize: $673,276
June 29-July 1, 2009
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The 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Tony Veckey, from Lake In the Hills, IL |
Tournament Highlights
The Champion
• The 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Tony Veckey, from Lake In the Hills, IL,
• Veckey is a 30-year-old software engineer. He works for Motorola. He has worked there ever since graduating from college.
• Veckey is a graduate of Devry University.
• Veckey has been playing poker recreationally, but seriously, for about two years.
• This was the first WSOP tournament Veckey had ever entered. He intended to play in the previous No-Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #51). But it was sold out. He decided to play in this event instead.
• Veckey collected $673,276 for first place. He was also awarded his first WSOP gold bracelet.
• According to official records, Veckey now has 1 win, 1 final table appearance, and 1 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP. His career WSOP earnings now total $673,276.
• Veckey stated he does not intend to play in this year’s WSOP Main Event. He plans to return to work and may play in next year’s Main Event.
• Veckey’s most memorable hand at the final table was actually one he folded. Veckey folded after being dealt pocket kings pre-flop, when he was convinced his opponent, who made an all-in re-raise, held pocket aces. Veckey tabled his kings face up, much ot the astonishment of the other players and the crowd. Although the other player’s cards were not shown, the rare fold (pocket kings is almost never folded pre-flop) was discussed throughout play at the final table. Veckey certainly enjoyed getting the last laugh as he ended up as the winner.
Winner Quotes (Tony Veckey)
• On making the rare fold of kings pre-flop: “He (the opponent) was playing very tight. He re-raised my re-raise. So, I thought he had aces and just folded. That is the first time I have ever folded kings pre-flop.”
• On what motivated him to come to the WSOP: “I like seeing the pictures of all the money. I said – ‘Oh, I have to go and enter that!”
• On his goals coming into this tournament: “I said to myself – I want to cash. That’s it. Just make it past the first day. I am going to make it to Day Two, so I can cash. But then I saw I had a chance to win the gold bracelet.”
• On his future plans: “I am going to go back to work. That is what I am going to do. But if I win the Main Event next year, that will be a tougher decision.”
The Final Table
• The final table included no former WSOP gold bracelet winners. This was the 16th final table at this year’s WSOP which guaranteed a first-time winner.
• This was arguably the least experienced lineup of any final table held at this year’s WSOP. The combined previous WSOP prize money winnings of the top nine finishers combined coming into the final table was $59,113 – which is about the sum received by the 10th-place finisher alone in this tournament. Just by making the final table, every player was guaranteed to earn their biggest career payout, to date.
• The final table included players from four different nations – including France, Russia, Slovenia, and the United States.
• The final table was played nine-handed. Five of the nine players had never cashed previously in a WSOP event before.
• The runner up was Jason Wheeler, from San Diego, CA. He is a poker pro. Wheeler cashed for the fourth time at this year’s WSOP. Second place paid $418,122.
• The third-place finisher was Joseph Chaplin, from New York, NY. He made a stunning comeback in this tournament, being down to only 315 chips at one point on Day One (starting stack was 4,500). Chaplin has enjoyed some success in big online tournaments. Note: Joseph Chaplin is actually related to movie legend Charlie Chaplin.
• The fourth-place finisher was Sergey Konkin, from Moscow, Russia. This was his first WSOP entry.
• The fifth-place finisher was Andrew Malott, from Chandler, AZ. This was his first time to cash in a WSOP event.
• The sixth-place finisher was Christopher Bonita, from Winthrop, MA. He has previous cashes on the WSOP Circuit, Heartland Poker Tour, and in various online tournaments.
• The seventh-place finisher was Christopher Demaci, from Stanton, CA. He cashed in this year’s Latin American Poker Tour championship in Argentina. Demaci has also cashed in other WSOP events, as well as some online tournaments.
• The eighth-place finisher was David Jaoui, from Paris, France. He is a former actor, turned poker pro.
• The ninth-place finisher was Miha Remic, from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
In-the-Money Finishers
• Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Alexandre Gomes, Alex Borteh, David Woo, John Hom, Michael “Little Man” Sica, Men “the Master” Nguyen, and Anthony Harb.
• Men “the Master” Nguyen’s 230th-place showing in this event gives him 65 cashes at the WSOP. This currently ranks second on the all-time list.
• The defending champion in the event from 2008 was Dan Daneshgar, from Westlake Village, CA. He entered this year’s tournament, but did not cash.
Odds and Ends
• This event was a complete sell out. This was the tenth tournament to reach maximum capacity at this year’s WSOP. This is the most gold bracelet events ever to sell out within a single year. A complete “sell out” means every seat at every available table is sold and additional players are/were turned away at registration. A complete sell out occurs are various numbers, based on the total tables and seats available for tournament use. Events which have sold out this year include: 4, 7, 22, 24, 28, 29, 39, 43, 51, and 54.
• This was the second-largest tournament (in attendance) of the 2009 WSOP. Only the $1,000 buy-in “Stimulus Special” with 6,012 entries was larger.
• This was the seventh and final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament on the 2009 WSOP schedule. This game and buy-in level has consistently proven to be the most popular draw on the schedule in recent years, aside from the Main Event.
• An alternative lower buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament (less than $10,000) has been included as part of the WSOP schedule every year since 1973. Over the years, these buy-in amounts have ranged from $1,000 up to $5,000. However, more $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments have now taken place at the WSOP over the past 39-years than any other event.
• The seven $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em events held this year attracted 2,791 -- 2,506 -- 2,638 – 2,506 -- 2,095 – 2,781, and 2,818 players respectively.
• The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory. The ceremony takes place on at center stage of the main tournament room and begins during the break of the noon tournament. The ceremony usually starts around 2:20 pm. The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played. The entire presentation is open to public and media. Video and photography is permitted by both media and the public.
• Tony Veckey’s gold bracelet ceremony will take place on July 3rd, which is Day 1-A of the WSOP Main Event.
The Event
• The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship attracted 2,818 entries. The total prize pool amounted to $3,846,570. The top 297 finishers collected prize money.
• The tournament was played over three consecutive days.
• The tournament officially began on Monday, June 29th, at 12 noon. The tournament officially ended on Wednesday, July 1st, at 11:55 pm.
All WSOP Photos Credit: IMPDI 2009
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