2010 WSOP: Marcel Vonk Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet In Event 54

3,844 poker players competed over 4 grueling days of poker for a $3.4 million prize pool in Event 54 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a No Limit Hold'em event. 396 places grabbed a piece of the prize pool with the first place prize of $570,960 and a WSOP gold bracelet going to 36 year old theoretical physicist Marcel Vonk from Utrecht, Holland, who marked his second time to cash in the WSOP in only the fourth event he has ever played. That's a pretty impressive batting average.

“It means a lot. When I first started playing, I was an amateur player. And while the money means a lot, I play in tournaments because I want to win something. Otherwise, I would play in cash games. The $500,000 is a lot. But the bracelet is almost more important than the money," explained Marcel Vonk on winning the WSOP gold bracelet.

The runner up was 23 year old poker pro David Peters from Toledo, Ohio, who marked his second time to cash this year, which paid a very respectable $350,803 in prize money.

The third-place finisher was Paul Kerr from Bothwell, England, who now has two cashes at the WSOP with this payout totaling $255,076.

The fourth-place finisher was Nathan Jessen from Blair, New England, who marked. He marked his first time to cash at the WSOP in Las Vegas, which paid $186,818.

The fifth-place finisher was 22 year old poker pro Henrik Tollefsen from Trondheim, Norway, who got paid $138,107.

The sixth-place finisher was Matthew Lupton from Scottsdale, Arizona, who got paid $103,061.

The seventh-place finisher was Mehul Chaudhari from San Francisco, California, who won $77,633.

The eighth-place finisher was 24 year old Espen Moen from Bodo, Norway, who cashed for $59,020.

The ninth-place finisher was 24 year old poker pro Dustin Dorrance-Bowman from Austin, Texas, who marked his second time to cash at the WSOP, which paid $45,286.

Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Jesse Rockowitz (33rd), Al Krux (118th), Frank Gary (234th), James Dempsey (277th), and Toto Leonidas (358th).

2010 WSOP: Ryan Welch Wins Triple Chance No-Limit Hold'em

965 poker players joined Event #51 of the 2010 World Series of Poker to compete for a prize pool of over $2.6 million. 90 places were paid with the biggest chunk of the pie going to  27 year old poker pro Ryan Welch of Henderson, Nevada, who won his first ever WSOP gold bracelet and a first place prize of $559,371.

“It feels really amazing. It really hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I’m sure it will, in a while. But it’s the most amazing thing. It’s the goal I have always had as a poker player,” explains Ryan Welch.

Coming in second was 26 year old poker pro Jon Eaton of Las Vegas, Nevada, who is actually a good friend of Ryan Welch.

“Obviously, Jon is a great player. We know a lot about of each other. We play together all the time, even online. I could not have asked for a better final table and to play heads up against each other was really special,” explains Ryan Welch.

Jon Eaton won $344,830 for his second place finish.

The third-place finisher was Guillaume Darcourt from Suresnes, France, marking his first time to cash at the WSOP worth $223,459.

The fourth-place finisher was Will “the Thrill” Failla from Smithtown, North Carolina, who won $163,532.

The fifth-place finisher was Bradley Craig from Cleveland, Ohio, who won $121,451.

The sixth-place finisher was Sergey Lebedev from Troitsk, Russia, who marked his second time
to cash this year, which paid $91,407.

The seventh-place finisher was Tommy Vedes from Fort Mohave, Arizona, who booked his eighth WSOP cash with a $69,647 payout, making his winnings over half-a-million dollars.

The eighth-place finisher was 24 year old poker pro Noel Scruggs from Del Mar, California, who marked his second time to cash at the WSOP, which paid $53,694.

The ninth-place finisher was 36 year old poker pro Tad Jurgens from Tempe, Arizona, who cashed for the seventh time this year and got paid $41,842.
 
Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Gavin Griffin (27th), Vitaly Lunkin (31st), Peter Traply (36th), “Captain” Tom Franklin (39th), David Singer (46th), Ken Aldridge (52nd), William Haydon (55th) and Alexander Kravchenko (59th).