By Nolan Dalla

Special to VegasInsider.com

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2005 World Series of Poker

Rio All-Suites Casino-Resort

Official Report

Event #29

No-Limit Hold’em

Buy-in: $2,000

Number of Entries:  1,072

Total Prize Money:  $1,972,480

Official Results:

Eight Mad Dogs and One Happy Englishman:

Lawrence Gosney, poker pro from Leeds, wins first WSOP gold bracelet and collects $483,195

Anyone who doubts that poker has crossed international boundaries would be advised to glance at the players who made it to the final table of the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at this year’s World Series of Poker.  Of the nine finalists, five reside outside the United States.  Four Americans, three Englishmen, one Swede, and one Dane made up the most cosmopolitan of all WSOP final tables, thus far.

The winner was Lawrence Gosney, a 41-year-old professional poker player from Leeds, England.  At the start of play, Gosney arrived second in chips to Danish player, Jarl Lindholt.  Gosney seized the chip lead midway through the eight-hour battle, and finally defeated Lindholt in heads-up play.  

The entry fee for Event #29 was $2,000 per player.  There were 1,072 entries, resulting in a total prize pool of nearly $2 million.  This was the 8^th event to attract in excess of 1,000 players (to date).  Contrast this to record-setting 2004, when only a few events broke the thousand-mark.  The final table included an interesting mix of players, many of whom were making their first-ever WSOP final table appearance:

The Final Table:

On Day Three, players were eliminated in the following order:

9^th – Bjorn Isberg was the first player to exit.  His A-K missed the board completely and Dustin Woolf’s J-J dragged a 300,000 pot.  Isberg hit an iceberg.  The Stockholm-based poker player – who holds a PhD in finance – added $39,450 to his investment portfolio.

8^th – Carlo Citrone fell low on chips and went out next.  Citrone, from Newcastle, UK is also a poker pro.  Making it through such a huge field was certainly gratifying.  But that did not hide Citrone’s obvious disappointment in not winning.  He collected $59,175 in cash for 8^th place.

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7^th – Another Englishman went out next.  Alan Purdy was dealt A-10 on his final hand.  Unfortunately, he moved ‘all in’ and was called by J.C. Tran, with A-Q.  Both players caught an ace for top pair, but the queen out-kicked the ten.  Purdy, who works as a wholesaler, got the discount prize -- $78,900 for 7^th place.

6^th – Tony Rila expected to double up when he was ‘all in’ with A-9 versus Lawrence Gosney’s A-5.  Things looked good after the flop came with three blanks.  Imagine Rila’s shock and disappointment when a five surfaced on the turn.  The injustice ripped Rila away in 6^th place.  Tony Rila, who now lives in Las Vegas, received $98,625 in prize money.

5^th – Another (pre-flop) dominated hand won when J.C. Tran got hammered holding K-J versus Jarl Lindholt’s K-8.  The Dane had two clubs in his hand and caught a perfect flop – all clubs.  J.C. Tran, who won a gold bracelet at the WSOP in No-Limit Hold’em, and also won an event at the Rio on this year’s WSOP Circuit, had to settle for 5^th place and $118,350.

4^th – Dustin ‘Neverwin’ Woolf had about 200,000 in chips remaining when he made an ‘all in’ re-raise with A-K.  Shack Ko thought for a long time and finally called with 9-9.  If Ko could have known what was coming on the flop, he would have called in an instant.  A third nine gave Ko the 430,000 pot and Woolf was left to howl.  Fourth place paid $138,075.

3^rd – Korean-born Shack Ko finally had enough of Lawrence Gosney’s short-handed bullying tactics.  He decided to make an ‘all in’ raise with A-5 suited.  He picked a very bad time to get brave, as Gosney had A-Q of hearts.  Neither player made a pair, which meant the A-Q played, and Ko locked up 3^rd place – good for $157,800.

2^nd Place – It may have been foreseeable that the last two players were the chip leaders coming into the finale.  When heads-up play began, Gosney enjoyed a 4 to 1 chip lead over Jarl Lindholt.  The end came very quickly.  Only a few hands into play, Gosney was dealt 9-8 and moved ‘all in’ on an outside straight draw after the flop came J-10-x.  The board also showed two diamonds, and Gosney had the A-Q of diamonds.  Two overcards and a flush draw made Gosney the favorite.  The Englishman didn’t need any help, but a king fell on the river crowning a new No-Limit hold’em king.

The runner up was Jarl Lindholt, a poker pro from Aarhus, Denmark.  Before turning pro, Lindholt worked as a sales manager.  His prize money amounted to $258,000.

1^st Place – Lawrence Gosney has only been playing poker for about three years.  He normally plays in private games around London and travels regularly throughout the U.K., playing in major poker tournaments.  Until now, his best finish had been fourth place at the British Poker Open (won by David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott).

Lawrence Gosney was thrilled with his first victory at the World Series of Poker.  Cheered on by a rowdy group of fellow Brits, Gosney kissed his gold bracelet and smiled for the cameras.  First place paid $483,195.