Boutin wins second bracelet

Two more bracelets

Boutin slays the Devil Fish…again

It seems the only thing Burt Boutin needs to win a World Series of Poker bracelet is a large helping of Devil Fish.

The 39-year old from Henderson, Nevada captured his second bracelet Wednesday in the star-studded $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys Event #7. His first bracelet came in 2001, when he defeated David "Devil Fish" Ulliot heads-up for a $1,500 Omaha title.

Amazingly, the Devil Fish was also playing strong at Boutin's second victory table, finishing third in Event #7. Ulliot put Boutin all-in with three players left, but Boutin escaped with a well-timed nine, crippling the Devil Fish en route to his second title.

Boutin said after the event that this bracelet meant more to him because this event featured "one of the toughest poker lineups in history."

"They are both special in their own way," he said. "But to win this one versus such a tough field, well that is something that really will stay with me for a long time. I do not think I will be able to sleep tonight."

The event was the richest Omaha tournament in history with a prize pool nearing $3 million. Boutin's share was $825,956, enough to place him on the WSOP Millionaires list. He is the 77th person to reach the milestone.

Boutin had to maneuver through a tough field, outlasting Ulliot (3rd), John Juanda (7th), Humberto Brenes (8th), Robert Williamson III (10th), and Chip Reese (12th).

His heads-up competitor was no slouch either. Young-gun Erik Cajelais has five World Poker Tour cashes and top-20 at last year's series (unclear … five of each? Or a total of five between WPT cashes and WSOP top-20s). He was prominently featured on ESPN's broadcast of the 2006 U.S. Poker Championship, where he finished 17th.

Cajelais earned $483,755 for his second-place finish, pushing his career tournament winnings over the $1 million mark.

No-name tournament gives poker a new famous face

A tournament that lacked the same star-power gave the community a new poker champion - Gary Styczynski of Pearl River, N.Y. The 42-year old part-time poker player arrived at the final table for Event # 5, a $1,500 Limit Hold'em tournament, as the chip leader and did nothing but add to his stack.

It took him four hours to secure the gold bracelet on his wrist and put $280,000 in his pocket. This was his first WSOP cash.

Other notables at the final table included 2006 WSOP bracelet winner James Gorham. He finished fifth for a $53K score. The seventh-place finisher, Michael Banks, once won the Canadian lottery for $14 million. David Sklansky, a noted poker author and co-creator or the popular poker forum 2+2, finished 13th, his highest cash since 2001.

Event #6 marked a new era for the WSOP as Harrah's as provided a near-live simulcast of the final table over the Internet. The event's final players were sequestered behind a tent, allowing WSOP officials to broadcast their hole cards to the world.

WSOP officials did not say which events will also carry this feature, but when it's available, it can be seen at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

Two more final tables

Event #8 - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys

The most popular of the rebuy events lived up to its billing, drawing 1,800+ players and creating a prize pool topping $2.5 million.

Amir Vahedi, a high-stakes poker professional with $2.8 million in tournament winning, is the runaway chip leader heading into the final table. He has $1.3 million in chips, nearly twice as much as second-place Michael Gracz.

Vahedi is looking to secure his second bracelet, but so it Gracz. The Raleigh, N.C. resident is one of those rare poker talents with both a WSOP bracelet and a World Poker Tour title.

Down in chips but not out is Shane "Shaniac" Schleger, a famous name among the Internet savvy. He has never won a major live event, but does have plenty of online wins and final table experience from the 2005 WSOP.

Event #9 - $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low

Jordan Morgan highlights this final table. The 23-year old from Muldrow, Okla.started his poker career on the Internet with great success, but seems destined to do bigger things in the live game.

After four cashes in last year's WSOP, Morgan survived a minefield of bad beats at the U.S. Poker Championship to finish second to good friend Alex Jacob. In a little over two years, Morgan has $700,000 in tournament winnings.

Morgan is in second chip position (325,000), trailing table-leader John Varner (589,000). Varner is relative newcomer to the tournament poker scene, but has already cashed at this year's WSOP in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event (55th place).

John Reiss is in third place with 260,000 chips. He has five WSOP cashes including two final tables. Yueqi Zhu is in fourth place with 248,000 chips. He has a ton of WSOP experience boasting 12 cashes and a second place finish in 2006.

Every player at this table is looking for their first bracelet.