Two more gold bracelet stories to catch up on including Pablo Mariz winning the MILLIONAIRE MAKER and Shawn Buchwald writing an incredible story in the Limit Hold’em event.
There is no secret sauce when it comes to hosting a large live poker tournament. You don’t spray the thing with a particular addictive fragrance. All you need to do is give someone the opportunity to make their dreams come true.
1. Offer them the chance to win a WSOP bracelet
2. Offer them the chance to become a millionaire
3. Improve their chances of winning some money
In 2013, when the WSOP created the MILLIONAIRE MAKER they ticked all three of these boxes. The 6,343 field exceeded expectations. It became the largest event outside of the Main Event in history. It was the single biggest payout in a single day in history. It was the largest payout ever for a $1,500 event. And it paid out the largest number of players outside of the Main Event (648).
Four years later, and the formula continues to work. WSOP attendances are down in almost every event, except the one offering the dream at the lowest possible price point, and the latest millionaire is Pablo Mariz.
Mariz hails from Montreal, and his victory registers as the first for Canada at the 48th annual event. It also extends Canada’s dominance in the bracelet wins category, outside of the US, with 54 bracelets compared to 44 of the teapot loving Brits.
The event attracted 7,761 players, and 1,165 made some money, representing growth of 22% and 78% respectively on those 2013 record numbers. As you can see from the table below, it was the second largest MILLIONAIRE MAKER in history.
2013: 6,343 entrants, Benny Chen $1,199,104
2014: 7,977 entrants, Jonathan Dimmig $1,319,587
2015: 7,275 entrants, Adrian Buckley $1,277,193
2016: 7,190 entrants, Jason DeWitt $1,065,403
The final table took close to eight hours to complete. The heads-up fisticuffs between Mariz and Dejuante Alexander lasted just 23-hands. If the name sounds familiar, then it should. Mariz teamed up with David Guay to compete in the $1,000 Tag Team event and finished second. The poker fairies seem to have sprinkled the right kind of dust onto the head of the Canadian.
Other notable names that went deeper than a dentist’s drill were Kenney Hallaert (17th), Joe Cada (42nd) and Bryan Piccioli (43rd).
Final Table Results
1. Pablo Mariz – $1,221,407
2. Dejuante Alexander – $754,499
3. Alexander Farahi – $561,350
4. Marc MacDonnell – $420,805
5. Bryce Yockey – $317,544
6. Yuriy Boyko – $241,303
7. Jonathan Gray – $184,663
8. Thiago Grigoletti – $142,323
9. Hector Martin – $110,476
Shane Buchwald Wins Event: #24: $1,500 Limit Hold’em
Who wrote this script?
Shane Buchwald, 33, arrives in Las Vegas after a 25-hour flight from his home in Brazil. He does not intend to play poker, but his buddy wants to take a shot at the $1,500 Limit Hold’em game.
I know, he must be crazy.
Rather than hanging around with his dick in his hand, Buchwald decides to enter, despite never competing in a full ring Limit Hold’em game in his life. It is also the first WSOP event Buchwald has ever played on American soil.
Buchwald is so tired he is falling asleep with four levels of the first day remaining.
And then.
He wins the lot.
It was his first WSOP event, playing this type of game live for the first time, and he wins.
And that’s why everyone complains that life’s just not fair.
615 other players entered the game, some presumably mis-clicking as I nearly did when writing this, slightly less than the 665 that began last term, and Buchwald captured $177,985 for his troubles.
I forgot to mention.
Buchwald is preparing to take a break from poker and has already signed up for culinary school.
Final Table Results
1. Shane Buchwald – $177,985
2. Venkata “Sandy” Tayi – $109,968
3. Ray Henson – $75,780
4. Shane Fumerton – $53,102
5. Nancy Nguyen – $37,850
6. Hod Berman – $27,449
7. Kein Lizak – $20,261
8. Mark Bassaly – $15,225
9. Tung Tran – $11,652
