Daniel Alaei wins third WSOP bracelet, $780,599

Daniel Alaei won the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship at the World Series of Poker on Sunday to claim his third WSOP gold bracelet and $780,599 in prize money.

Alaei is a 25-year-old professional poker player from Los Angeles, Calif. His first WSOP win came in the $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball event in 2006. He won gold bracelet number two last year in the $10,000 Omaha High-Low Split championship.

"(The third bracelet) is really important to me," said Alaei. "But they are all important. The first one, of course was special. The second one, too, because it solidifies the first one. And then the third one solidifies the first two. They all feel good. I want to keep on winning more."

Alaei is perhaps best well known for his many appearances on popular television shows which feature cash game action, including the first three seasons of "High Stakes Poker." Alaei is a big believer in mind over matter. He is an avid reader, enjoys mentally-stimulating games, and likes to pursue new challenges.

"I do not know how many (WSOP bracelets) I can win," said Alaei. "I think I can win several."

Alaei says his parents are his heroes. He credits his mother for inspiring him to do better and admired his father for overcoming obstacles. Alaei's father was with him when he won his second and third gold bracelets

The runner up was Miguel Proulx, from Saint Charles, Que., who won a bracelet in a $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event earlier this summer. Proulx cashed in for $482,265.

Ville Mattila, from Orimattila, Finland, was third for $255,076. Ludovic Lacay, from Paris, France, was fourth for $186,818, while Trevor Uyesugi, from Lethbridge, Alta., was fifth for $138,107. Stephen Pierson from Brooklyn, N.Y., was sixth for $103,061.

Dmitry Stelmak, from Moscow, Russia, was seventh, former gold bracelet winner Alexander Kravchenko, also from Moscow, was eighth, and Matthew Wheat, from Dallas, Texas, was ninth.

The top 36 finishers in the 346-player tournament collected prize money. Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event other than those at the final table included Jason Mercier (10th), Phil Hellmuth (15th), Jason Lester (16th), Blair Rodman (18th), David "Devilfish" Ulliott (20th), Jordan Smith (25th), Nenad Medic (31st), and Fabrice Soulier (32nd). Hellmuth now has 79 career cashes and is the all-time in-the-money finishes leader in WSOP history.

Tony Cousineau, from Daytona Beach, Fla., finished 14th to increase his career cash total to 46, the most of any non-gold bracelet winner in history.

Modified from notes provided by Nolan Dalla for www.wsop.com.