Event #23
No-Limit Texas Hold’em 
Buy-In: $1,500
Number of Entries: 834
Prize Money: $1,150,920

Place    Name    Prize 
1 Ted Forrest   (Las Vegas, NV)  $300,300 
2 Susan Pritchett  (San Antonio, TX)  $157,820 
3 Bobby Slagle   (Southland, TX)  $92,080 
4 Donnie Oswald  (Waco, TX)   $80,560 
5 Spencer Mohler  (Encinitas, CA)  $69,060 
6 Robert Goldfarb  (Scottsdale, AZ)  $57,540 
7 Scotty Nguyen  (Henderson, NV)  $46,040 
8 Ken Flaton   (Las Vegas, NV)  $10,360 
9 Peter Roche   (Ireland)   $23,020 
10 Charles Glorioso  (Shreveport, LA)  $12,660 

In 1993, professional poker player Ted Forrest did something that had never been done before. He became the first player in World Series of Poker history to win three gold bracelets in a single year. The “trifecta” of poker achievement that year came in Seven-Card Stud, Omaha High-Low, and Razz.

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It’s been said, “history repeats itself.” If that’s so, then look for Ted Forrest’s name to come up at the top of the money list again very soon. In Event #23 at this year’s World Series, Forrest topped a near-record field of 834 entries and won his second bracelet within two weeks. On April 24th, Forrest defeated 257 players and won the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event, netting $111,440. This time, the field was much larger – just five players short of the all-time record of any event in World Series History (the record still stands at 839 for the championship event last year – which is expected to be shattered when the main event begins next Saturday). After plowing through the proverbial trees, Forrest added another $300,300 to his poker bankroll for the win.

With five gold bracelets to his name, Forrest joins the even more exclusive ranks of poker’s hierarchy. Five WSOP wins puts into the same class with Bones Berland, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Layne Flack, Berry Johnston, and Stu Ungar. But one could say that Ted Forrest is really in a class all his own. He’s certainly won as much money as anyone in the game over the past decade -- most of the profits concentrated in high-limit cash games out of the public eye. For years, while the biggest events in poker were being held inside one room, Ted Forrest could often be found away at a corner table playing for (and usually winning) sums of money that dwarfed the tournament prize pool.

This year, Forrest decided to enter more tournaments, in part, because the prize pools have reached the point where they are now worth his time. Certainly, this year’s World Series of Poker promises to be the biggest gathering in poker history, both in terms of prize money and attendance. Numbers are up about 60 percent over last year, and the tournament will see an explosion next week when championship week begins.

Of all Ted Forrest’s accomplishments in poker, this win might have been his most convincing. Forrest, who estimated he has won between 25 and 30 major events during his twenty-plus years as a pro (the number would be considerably higher if Forrest had not taken his long hiatus from tournaments), not only had to overcome a mammoth field, he also had to overpower a talented second day lineup that included some of poker’s best no-limit hold’em players – including Scotty Nguyen, Ken “Skyhawk” Flaton, Donn O’Dea, Chip Jett, and others. Play ended after day one at 3:15 am. Four players had more chips than Forrest when play was narrowed down to the final two tables.

When the final nine players had been decided, Ted Forrest took his seat under the bright lights of the main table on the ESPN stage. He came in second in chips with $210K to Peter Roche’s $237. Witnesses who gathered inside the second floor ballroom at the Horseshoe Casino may as well have been watching a horse race. The two chip leaders were coming down the homestretch and the favorite was about to make his move. Play began.

Scotty Nguyen took a tough early blow, losing most of his stack to Donnie Oswald – with A-K topping Nguyen’s A-Q when an ace flopped. In the proverbial horse race that was the final table, Nguyen went lame. Meanwhile, Forrest took the inside rail and seized the lead when he devastated chip leader Peter Roche on a single stride. The remaining finalists watched with delight as the two chip leaders went to war. In the end, Forrest’s 7-7 bested Roche’s A-K. That put Forrest into the lead for the first time. Forrest was now off to the races.

If Nguyen went lame, then Roche broke a leg. Roche must have had high hopes at the start of the finale with all those chips, but instead he was the first player to exit. He collapsed with A-7 against pocket 10s. Roche was out 9th.

Others would fall in rapid succession: Ken “Skyhawk” Flaton was short-stacked the entire time. He went out in 8th place. 1998 World Champion Scotty Nguyen went out next – 7th. By this time, Forrest had over half of the chips on the final table. At that point, it looked like everyone else was playing for second.

Robert Goldfarb was the next player eliminated in 6th place. Then, Spencer Mohler got hammered when his pocket kings were crushed by quads – Bobby Slagle’s four 8s. That loss demoralized Mohler, and he went out soon thereafter (with Q-Q losing to A-A) with nearly $70,000 in prize money.

Forrest could now see the finish line. He held the reigns with the vast majority of chips in play – over $700K while the other three players shared the remaining $400K, or so.

Ted Forrest put his name in the record books at Event 23 of the WSOP. (AP Images)

Donnie Oswald went out next, in 4th place when his K-Q lost to J-J. He received $80,560. That left three players. Of the final three, Bobby Slagle was easily the most animated. He ordered shots of Jack Daniels when he won key hands, and probably had a double when he broke Goldfarb with quads. On his final hand of the night, Slagle tried to move Forrest out of the pot with a bluff when an ace turned. That turned out to be a horrible decision, as Forrest had two pair. Slagle was drawing dead and hit the rail with third place prize money -- $92,080.

Only two horses were left in the race. It took exactly one hand for Ted Forrest to cross the finish line:

TED FORREST: J-J
SUSAN PRITCHETT: A-8

The final board showed 10-10-6-4-J. Forrest ended up with jacks full of tens, and his fifth World Series of Poker title.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Forrest was asked about his hunger for another gold bracelet – potentially matching the trifecta he cashed eleven years ago.

“It’s still a possibility for me to get four (this year) Forrest said,” as he was being photographed in the winner’s circle. “One can dream, right?”

Ted Forrest has exactly seven more “open” events to win another gold bracelet. He says his best chance to win will be in the Razz event held this Saturday, an event Forrest has won before. Here’s a tip: Don’t bet against him.