The Poker Ten -- The Toughest World Poker Tour Final Tables in Bellagio History

Through nine seasons on the World Poker Tour, the Bellagio has hosted 28 final tables, with as many as four events appearing on the schedule each season.

In honor of the upcoming Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, this week’s edition of The Ten will focus on the toughest Bellagio final tables in WPT history.

10. Tuan Le Picks Up Second Title of the Season

The WPT Championship in 2005 featured the biggest prize pool in WPT history up until that point. The stacked final table only included one true amateur, as well as a pro who was gunning for his second title of the season.

Phil Ivey, Rob Hollink, John Phan and Hasan Habib fell short, but Tuan Le managed to top Paul Maxfield for his second win and a prize of over $2.85 million. Le is third all-time on the WPT earnings list with over $4.5 million, behind Carlos Mortensen and Daniel Negreanu

1. Tuan Le — $2,856,150
2. Paul Maxfield — $1,698,390
3. Hasan Habib — $896,375
4. John Phan — $518,920
5. Rob Hollink — $377,420
6. Phil Ivey — $264,195

9. Carlos Mortensen’s First of Three WPT Titles

Carlos Mortensen has three World Poker Tour titles, including the biggest win in tour history when he pocketed over $3.9 million in 2007, but his most impressive victory came in 2004 during the Festa al Lago main event.

Mortensen topped 312 entrants including Kido Pham, David Pham, Erik Seidel, Hung La and John Juanda en route to his first WPT title.

1. Carlos Mortensen — $1,000,000
2. Kido Pham — $496,400
3. David Pham — $255,000
4. Erik Seidel — $165,000
5. Hung La — $120,000
6. John Juanda — $84,000

8. Chino Rheem Earns His First WPT Title

In 2008 at the Doyle Brunson Classic, Chino Rheem was coming off seventh-place finish at the WSOP main event for $1.7 million. In a span of just a few months, Rheem picked up another $1.5 million for his first WPT win. In total, Rheem career earnings of over $5.6 million. Hard to imagine that this guy is broke.

To earn that WPT title, Rheem beat a stellar cast of pros that included Justin Young, Evan McNiff, Steve Sung, Amnon Fillipi and six-time final tablist and two-time winner Hoyt Corkins.

1. Chino Rheem — $1,538,730
2. Justin Young — $936,760
3. Evan McNiff — $540,440
4. Steve Sung — $396,205
5. Amnon Filippi — $288,235
6. Hoyt Corkins — $216,175

7. Unknown Rehne Pedersen Beats Top Poker Pros

The 2005 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic featured a great mix of poker legends and up-and-coming poker superstars, but it was unknown Rehne Pedersen who walked away with a win of over $2 million.

The Danish pro should be congratulated for winning the title despite being a huge underdog against the likes of Phil Laak, Darrell Dicken, J.J. Liu, Doyle Brunson and Patrik Antonius.

1. Rehne Pedersen — $2,078,185
2. Patrik Antonius — $1,046,470
3. Doyle Brunson — $563,485
4. J.J. Liu — $362,140
5. Darrell Dicken — $241,495
6. Phil Laak — $160,995

6. David Williams Tops Five-Star World Poker Classic

Anyone who saw David Williams finish runner-up in the WSOP main event to Greg Raymer, back in 2004 would be forgiven if they thought the kid from Texas would be a one-hit wonder, but Williams has gone on to rack up $8 million in earnings, a WSOP bracelet and this WPT title in 2010.

Williams defeated a final table that included a former Card Player Player of the Year winner, two of the best high-stakes mixed games players on the planet and one of the best tournament players around.

1. David Williams — $1,530,537
2. Eric Baldwin — $1,034,715
3. Shawn Buchanan — $587,906
4. David Benyamine — $329,228
5. Billy Baxter — $246,921
6. John O’Shea — $199,888

5. Yevgeniy Timoshenko Shines In WPT Championship

The 2009 WPT Championship featured an incredibly tough line-up and would have been higher on this list if it weren’t for a second-place finish by amateur player Ran Azor.

The rest of the final table, Bertrand Grospellier, Christian Harder, Shannon Shorr, Scotty Nguyen and eventual champion Yevgeniy Timoshenko, make up some of the best players in the world. Incredibly, this win only makes up a little more than a quarter of Timoshenko’s lifetime earnings.

1. Yevgeniy Timoshenko — $2,149,960
2. Ran Azor — $1,446,265
3. Bertrand Grospellier — $776,245
4. Christian Harder — $571,965
5. Shannon Shorr — $408,550
6. Scotty Nguyen — $285,985

4. Alan Goehring Wins First WPT Championship

In April of 2003, 111 players put up the $25,000 buy-in to enter the first ever WPT Championship, generating a total prize pool of $2,671,750. With such as small field, it’s no surprise how good the final table was, but it might be a surprise to some who came out on top.

Facing the likes of Ted Forrest, Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson, it was former Wall Street trader Alan Goehring who took down the title, his first of two WPT victories. The 1999 WSOP main event runner up has just shy of $4 million in career WPT earnings.

1. Alan Goehring — $1,011,886
2. Kirill Gerasimov — $506,625
3. Phil Ivey — $253,313
4. Doyle Brunson — $159,987
5. Ted Forrest — $119,990
6. James Hoeppner — $93,326

3. Daniel Alaei Defeats Stacked Final Table

There’s not a single weak spot in this 2009 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic event, which drew 329 entrants and created a total prize pool of $4,761,450.

The incredibly consistent Daniel Alaei came out on top to take home the $1.4 million first-place prize, defeating Josh Arieh, who is still seeking his first WPT title.

1. Daniel Alaei — $1,428,430
2. Josh Arieh — $952,290
3. Faraz Jaka — $571,374
4. Shawn Buchanan — $333,302
5. Scotty Nguyen — $249,976
6. Steve O’Dwyer — $202,362

2. First WPT Event Makes Gus Hansen A Star

It’s hard to argue with the strength of the first ever WPT event in 2002, which featured a modest $1.4 million prize pool and a field of only 146 entrants. But the players at the final table more than made up for the lack of cash on the line.

Even the final table’s weakest link, Chris Bigler, has over $1.35 million in career earnings. The other five make up some of the best players in poker. The eventual winner, Gus Hansen, went on to make seven WPT final tables, win three tables and cash for over $4 million.

1. Gus Hansen — $556,460
2. John Juanda — $278,240
3. Freddy Deeb — $139,120
4. John Hennigan — $83,472
5. Chris Bigler — $62,604
6. Scotty Nguyen — $48,692

1. Antonio Esfandiari Wins On His Birthday

The 2010 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic didn’t boast the biggest of prize pools, but the talent displayed at the final table was unmatched by any other event in Bellagio history. Not only was there some impressive poker skills on display, but the final table also featured some of the most popular players in the game as well.

Kirk Morrison emerged from his hiding place, as he does every other year, to secure his second WPT final table. John Racener was just coming off a runner-up finish in the WSOP main event and one of the most popular female poker players around, Vanessa Rousso, was making her first official WPT final table appearance. Even the short stack, Ted Lawson, was making his tenth career cash.

It all came down to good friends Antonio Esfandiari and Andrew Robl, and the Magician would not be denied on his 31st birthday. It was his second WPT title, but ended a six-year drought after his first win in 2004.

1. Antonio Esfandiari — $870,124
2. Andrew Robl — $549,003
3. Vanessa Rousso — $358,964
4. John Racener — $232,271
5. Kirk Morrison — $168,924
6. Ted Lawson — $126,693

Honorable Mentions

2007 Festa al Lago — 1. Eugene Katchalov, 2. Ted Kearly, 3. David Ulliott, 4. Ken Rosen, 5. Jordan Rich, 6. Ryan Daut

2008 Bellagio Cup — 1. Mike Watson, 2. David Benyamine, 3. Luke Staudenmaier, 4. Ralph Perry, 5. John Phan, 6. Gabriel Thaler

2007 WPT Championship — 1. Carlos Mortensen, 2. Kirk Morrison, 3. Paul Lee, 4. Guy Laliberte, 5. Tim Phan, 6. Mike Wattel

2006 Five-Diamond — 1. Joe Hachem, 2. Jim Hanna, 3. Daniel Negreanu, 4. Mads Andersen, 5. David Redlin, 6. Ed Jordan

2007 Bellagio Cup — 1. Kevin Saul, 2. Mike Matusow, 3. Danny Wong, 4. Shane Schleger, 5. Eric Panayioyou, 6. Konstantin Puchkov

2003 Five-Diamond — 1. Paul Phillips, 2. Dewey Tomko, 3. Gus Hansen, 4. Abe Mosseri, 5. Tino Lelichl, 6. Mel Judah

2004 Five-Diamond — 1. Daniel Negreanu, 2. Humberto Brenes, 3. Vinny Landrum, 4. Jennifer Harman, 5. Steve Rassi, 6. Nam Le

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