Greg “FBT” Mueller’s name can now be scratched from the best player without a WSOP bracelet debate. Last night he completed a run through a very tough 2009 WSOP Event #30, $10,000 buy-in Fixed Limit Hold’em field to win his first career bracelet and $460,841 top place prize money. Now 37-year-old Greg Mueller retired from hockey in 1999, after 9 seasons with Germany and has been a fixture on the high stakes poker circuit since. Coming into this event he had 17 WSOP cashes, 6 final tables, two runner up finishes, but no WSOP bracelet. With his victory last night his career major tournament winnings now exceed $1.5 million.

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2009 WSOP Event 32 is in the books, and it’s Mexico’s Angel Guillen who claimed the $530,548 top place prize money and his first career WSOP bracelet. Perhaps most remarkable about his victory is he became the second player in two nights to improve on a 2009 WSOP runner up finish. Guillen cashed second place for $312,800 in WSOP Event #13. His story is similar to James Van Alstyne who cashed runner up in Event #21 and also won his first career WSOP bracelet the night prior.

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42-year-old Las Vegas poker pro James Van Alstyne came into 2009 WSOP Event 31, with quite and impressive poker resume. To his credit he had 9 career victories in major poker tournaments, a plethora of tournament-cashes, and over $3 million in career winnings, however he had yet to win a WSOP bracelet. Well after coming close in 2009 WSOP Event 21, $3,000 HORSE where he finished runner up, just a week later he got himself redemption by winning 2009 WSOP Event 31 $1,500 HORSE.

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J.C Tran added a second career WSOP bracelet to his poker resume last night as he took down 2009 WSOP Event #30, $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha. With a bracelet in the 2008 WSOP, 7 WSOP final tables, 5 WPT final tables, a WCCOP Main Event win, and a WPT Player of The Year victory under his belt, one might assume Tran was favored at the start of this final table. However, he found himself middle of the pack to start the night and was at a final table with poker superstar John Juanda, Hendon Mob’s Ross Boatman and accomplished poker professionals Lief Force, Theo Jorgensen, and Rami Boukai.

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The 2009 WSOP $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Heads Up No Limit Texas Hold’em is in the books, and it’s former poker pro Leo Wolpert who came out victorious. Considering in last year’s WSOP, Wolpert cashed five times including a 3rd place finish, it might seem odd to call him a “former” poker pro. However, this is how he describes himself; at just age 26 he has put poker on hold to pursue law school.

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2009 WSOP Event 28 – $1,500 NLHE is now in the books. Standing on top with his first career WSOP bracelet is Mike Eise, a 30-year-old pipefitter from Missouri. This was Eise first trip to Las Vegas, he and four others came to play this event. What’s impressive and admirable is there will be no second 2009 WSOP bracelet for Eise as he plans on investing much of his $639,331 prize money and while the rest of the series is going on he’ll be vacationing with his family in Disneyland.

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Roland de Wolfe finally got the best player without a WSOP bracelet monkey off his back last night when he won 2009 WSOP Event 27, $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. With his victory he now joins Gavin Griffin as the only players in history to have won WPT, EPT and WSOP titles. This is an accomplishment many poker media sites are calling the triple crown of poker.

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Tomas Alenius, despite a a 3-1 heads-up chip deficit, went on last night to win 2009 WSOP Event 26 ($1,500 buy-in NLHE) capturing his first career WSOP bracelet and $197,509 top place prize money. Alenius is a 33 year-old former blackjack dealer from Stockholm, Sweden who started playing poker seven years ago. In the end he defeated a Canadian orthodontist Jason Tam who received $121,999 for his runner up finish. Alenius became just the second Swedish born player to win a WSOP bracelet. The other Swedish bracelet winner Chris Bjorin won two (1997 and 200).

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Apparently, Phil Ivey’s motivation to win WSOP bracelets is back! Days after winning Event 8, he followed his performance up last night winning 2009 WSOP Event 25 ($2,500 buy-in Omaha / Stud – Hi/Lo Split) to both capture his seventh career WSOP bracelet and to join Brock Parker as the only 2009 World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners.

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Pete Vilandos came into the 2009 World Series of Poker with 15 cashes, 6 final tables and one bracelet (1995) under his belt, however only had $400K in career WSOP winnings. He’s nearly tripled that number this year, with a victory last night in the 2009 WSOP Event 24 where he earned his second career WSOP bracelet, and a runner up finish in the 2009 WSOP $1K NLHE Stimulus Event which had 6012 entrants.

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