2005 World Series of Poker

Rio All-Suites Casino-Resort

Official Report

Event #31

No-Limit Hold’em (Six-Handed)

Buy-in: $5,000

Number of Entries:  301

Total Prize Money:  $1,414,700

Official Results:

A Golden Moment:

Poker Legend Doyle Brunson Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet Number Ten

“Records are made to be broken.”

-- Doyle Brunson after winning his tenth gold bracelet

Two years ago, Doyle Brunson won his (then-record) ninth World Series of Poker gold bracelet.  His win came in the $2,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event.  Many people who were in the crowd that memorable night wondered if they might be witnessing Brunson’s last major tournament victory.  Given that Brunson had been playing poker for more than five decades and was in his 70s hinted that the odds were stacked against Brunson ever getting a tenth.

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Brunson erased some lingering doubts last year when he plowed though a massive field of 2,576 players in the main event.  Brunson finished 53^rd.  When he busted out on Day Six, something special happened for the first time in World Series history:  The entire tournament came to a standstill.  Play stopped.  Players stood up.  They applauded and cheered as ‘Texas Dolly’ made a walk that no poker player wanted to take.  Brunson was exiting the tournament room, as he busted out.  He slowly made this way through the enormous crowd.  There were handshakes.  There were hugs.  There were even some tears.  Those who witnessed the scene commented that this was poker’s golden moment – much like Arnold Palmer walking to the 18^th green at the 2001 Masters one last time.  Was this Brunson’s final conquest?      

If there’s one thing to learn from the man who was born in Longworth, Texas during the Great Depression…if there’s one thing to learn from the man who was drafted by the NBA’s Lakers just before shattering his leg in a life-changing accident...if there’s one thing to learn from the man who quit the only “real” job he ever had after working for just three weeks because he discovered he could make far more money playing poker...if there’s one thing to learn from the man who won poker’s world championship back-to-back in 1976 and 1977...if there’s one thing to learn from the man who wrote poker’s most revered master work, Super/System...if there’s one thing to learn from the man who has quite simply contributed more to the game of poker than any man in history -- it most certainly is this:  Don’t ever count Doyle Brunson out.

Four remarkable days after Johnny Chan won his tenth WSOP title, Doyle Brunson returned to poker’s center stage.  In front of a standing-room only, crowds packed into the Rio Pavilion and there was a barrage of ESPN television cameras as Brunson re-wrote the record books one more time.  He won his tenth gold bracelet.  His win ties him (once again) with Johnny Chan.  Phil Hellmuth, who approached Brunson moments before the final table started and wished his rival good luck, has won nine titles.

Doyle Brunson’s victory was not easy.  First, he had to maneuver through a highly-competitive field of 301 entries. But Brunson held the chip lead much of the way.  In fact, as play continued late into Day One, the poker room began to buzz with breaking news that Brunson was the chip leader.  By the time play was down to the final two tables, there were more spectators watching the poker legend in his seat than another final table championship taking place a few feet away.

Once Brunson made it down to the final six (the final table was comprised of six players), he still had major obstacles.  Their names were Jason Lester, Ayaz Mahmood, Layne Flack, Scotty Nguyen, and Minh Ly.  Players were eliminated in the following order:

6^th – Jason Lester finished 4^th in the main event in 2003 (the year Chris Moneymaker won).  Lester was low on chips and went out with A-K against Scotty Nguyen’s 7-7.  Lester picked up a nice draw when the flop came Q-J-8.  But two blanks sealed Lester’s fate.  The Miami-based investor collected $67,905.  This was his seventh final table and 15^th time to cash at the WSOP (lifetime).

5^th – Pakistan-born Ayaz Mahmood works as a furniture wholesaler in Houston.  But he is a regular on the tournament circuit and plays in high-limit cash games.  This was Mahmood’s third time to cash at the WSOP.  On his final hand, Mahmood’s Q-Q was crushed by Layne Flack’s A-A.  Mahmood received $82,055 for 5^th place.

4^th – Layne Flack has been poker’s more enigmatic player for the last five years.  Blessed with obvious talent, Flack has gone through flashes of ups and downs.  Flack’s WSOP final table record is as impressive as anyone in poker history, with the exception of the late Stu Ungar.  Flack has appeared at ten final tables.  He has won five of them.  Flack arrived as the chip leader, and many suspected that he would pose the biggest threat to Brunson in his quest for the tenth bracelet.  But things went bad for Flack and he played a short stack during much of the final table.  Much of Flack’s stack disappeared when Brunson won a big pot with trip 8s.  Then, Flack (with K-10) went out when Brunson (with K-9) called Flack’s last ‘all in’ bet.  Poker is a cruel game.  Wham!  A nine fell from the deck and toppled onto the felt – a gift from the poker Gods and a reminder that even legends can use a lucky break every now and then.  Layne ‘Heart Attack’ Flack shrugged off the beat and collected $99,030 for 4^th place.

3^rd – Scotty Nguyen is not accustomed to playing as an underdog.  The dynamic 1998 world champion was out-chipped by both opponents.  Brunson and Ly each had Nguyen covered by more than 2 to 1, with Brunson holding the chip lead.  Nguyen battled gallantly for over an hour before finally going out with Q-J against Ly’s 5-5.  Nguyen was paid $106,105 for 3^rd place.

2^nd Place – When heads-up play began, Doyle Brunson had nearly a 3 to 1 chip lead over Minh Ly -- $1,100,000 to $375,000.  After Brunson won a few hands, extending his advantage, Minh Ly moved ‘all in’ with K-Q.  He was delighted to see Brunson call with what, only for him, was a bizarre hand.  Faced with a nearly $200,000 raise, Brunson looked down and saw 10-3 offsuit.  It might have been too surreal had Brunson actually been dealt his favorite hand 10-2 (Note:  Brunson won his consecutive world championships with the identical hand, 10-2).  Brunson made the call.  A three flopped.  In a flick of the dealer’s wrist, Brunson had gone from a small dog to a big favorite.  Minh Ly couldn’t catch a king or queen on the turn or river, which meant $203,715 in cash as the runner up.  Ly played marvelously, but he was soon lost in the swarm of media and fans who rushed to the table to congratulate Brunson.  This was Ly’s best tournament finish ever.

1^st Place – Poker history was made at 3:57 am.  First place paid $367,800.  But no one was talking about the bundles of $100 bills piled on the table.  All eyes, including Brunson’s, were focused on the gold bracelet newly snapped to the 73 year-old’s wrist.  When asked about what was like to still compete at poker’s highest level and play marathon sessions for days at a time, particularly against younger more energetic opponents, Brunson once again exhibited his irresistible charm and displayed what has made him such a beloved figure.  “It’s hard to substitute for experience,” Brunson said.  “No one has more poker experience than I do.  Then again, no one here is as old as I am.”

Doyle Brunson has the most extensive poker resume of any player in history.  This was but the latest feat in a long legacy of highlights, triumphs, and memories.  Based on his recent victories, we have come to expect that this is not the final epitaph of Brunson’s biography.  Rather, it is a yet another glorious chapter in the long, illustrious life of a poker icon.