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The 2010 Championship

In 2010, the $50,000 World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E Championship was renamed to The Poker Player’s Championship, maintaining its large buy-in. This change aimed to add prestige and prominence to the tournament. It was moved up to the second event of the series, right after the traditional kickoff, the $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em championship.

Casino Employees Championship

This smaller tournament, open to any casino employee willing to pay the $500 entry fee, was won by Hoai Pham, a poker dealer from California. Despite working in a live poker site, Pham primarily plays online poker. His online skills helped him secure the bracelet and the $71,424 first place prize.

A New Champion in the Player’s Championship

The Poker Player’s Championship remained the largest buy-in event on the schedule. It was won by 2006 Card Player Magazine player of the year, Michael Mizrachi. Both he and his brother Robert finished in the top 5, an impressive feat. For Michael, 2010 was a standout year. He not only won the bracelet and the over $1.5 million first prize in this championship but also made it to the famed November Nine in the main event.

The Mizrachi Family Success

Beating the world’s best professionals in the Player’s Championship and advancing through over 7000 players in the main event proved Mizrachi’s skill. Poker clearly ran in the Mizrachi family, as Michael, Robert, and their brothers Eric and Donny all finished in the money in the main event. This was the first time such an achievement had been accomplished at the World Series.

The Ladies Championship Controversy

A separate Ladies Championship was held early in the WSOP. Despite being a ladies-only event, it was determined that men could not be banned from competing. In 2010, a dozen men entered, prompting WSOP officials to call these men “scumbags.” None of these men achieved notable results. The event was won by Vanessa Hellebuyck, who took home $192,132.

Reaching a Milestone

By 2010, the WSOP had exceeded one billion dollars in total prize money paid out over the years. This year’s total prize pool topped $1.25 billion. The main event lasted two months, with 7319 players participating in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship. The first day was broken up into four segments, with Day Two run in two segments over two days, making it six days to run the first two days of play.

Celebrity Participation

Several celebrities participated in the main event. Gabe Kaplan, a regular since 1978, returned, with UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer finishing 478th, the best celebrity finish. Among past champions, Johnny Chan performed best, finishing in 156th place.

Setting the November Nine

The November Nine of 2010 was set, with the nine finalists competing for over $29 million in prize money. The field included seven pros and two amateurs, with none of the pros being major names except for Mizrachi.

• Jonathan Duhamel: 67 million chips (Canada)
• John Dolan: 46 million chips
• Joseph Cheong: 23.5 million chips
• John Racener: 19 million chips
• Matthew Jarvis: 16.7 million chips (Canada)
• Filippo Candio: 16.4 million chips (Italy)
• Michael Mizrachi: 14.4 million chips
• Soi Nguyen: 9.6 million chips
• Jason Senti: 7.6 million chips

Final Table Action

The final table action began at the Penn and Teller theater at the Rio, with Bruce Buffer announcing “shuffle up and deal.” Soi Nguyen and Jason Senti were the first to clash, with Nguyen’s AK losing to Senti’s pocket queens. Nguyen was eliminated but left with $811,823 and a memorable experience.

Michael Mizrachi faced Matthew Jarvis next, with Mizrachi’s Ace of Any ColorQueen of Any Color against Jarvis’ pocket nines. Mizrachi hit trip queens on the flop, but Jarvis made a full house on the turn. Mizrachi then hit an ace on the river, eliminating Jarvis in eighth place.

Jason Senti went all-in with Ace of Any ColorKing of Any Color against Joseph Cheong’s pocket tens. Despite hitting trip kings, Senti lost to Cheong’s straight on the river and was eliminated in seventh place.

John Dolan, who started the day in second place, bluffed with a short stack and was called by Jonathan Duhamel with pocket fours, finishing Dolan in sixth place.

The Final Five

Ten hours into the final table, play continued until only two players remained. Mizrachi, once the chip leader, lost a crucial hand to Duhamel and was eliminated after Duhamel’s pocket aces beat Mizrachi’s top pair. Filippo Candio was next, eliminated by Cheong’s straight.

The Final Showdown

After 14 hours, Jonathan Duhamel and John Racener were the last two standing. Duhamel held a massive lead with 188.9 million chips to Racener’s 30.7 million. Racener needed several double-ups to stay in contention but ultimately fell short. He took home $5,545,955 as the runner-up.

Jonathan Duhamel became the first Canadian to win the world championship, earning the diamond-studded gold bracelet and nearly nine million dollars.