Brandon Cantu became the latest player in the 2009 World Series of Poker to improve on a runner up finish in a previous event, by going on to win a bracelet in the next. His second place finish was worth $403,951 in Event #39. Last night, the final hand of 2009 WSOP Event #48, $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, saw two former bracelet winners Lee Watkinson and Brandon Cantu each vying for their second career bracelet and the $228,867 top place prize. Cantu made trip fours to finish the deal, as he joined Angel Guillen and James Van Alstyne as players who recently earned a bracelet after finishing runner up in an earlier 2009 WSOP event.

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Event #47 ($2,500 No Limit / Fixed Limit Mixed Hold’em) of the 2009 World Series of poker featured a stacked final table including 3-time bracelet winner Barry Greenstein, bracelet winner and circuit fixture Hasan Habib, online poker prodigy Matthew Woodward, and Ylon Schwartz who finished forth in last years WSOP Main Event. At the end of the night it was 24-year-old semi-pro poker player Bahador Ahmadi, also known as Jeff Ahmadi who claimed the $278,804 top place prize money and his first career WSOP bracelet.

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Two days after graduating from Georgetown university, 24-year semi-poker pro Derek Raymond won a major poker tournament, taking down 2009 WSOP Event 46, $2,500 buy-in Omaha Hi/Lo. In the end he overcame a chip disadvantage to in the final level of the structure sheet defeat co-founder of the Poker Players Alliance Mark Tenner heads up. This was Raymond’s first year making it out to the WSOP, he’s been traveling the country the past couple years playing poker, having most recently spent time in Australia and New Zealand.

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John Kabbaj has been coming to the WSOP from England since 1996 looking for his first career bracelet. In 2004, he came close finishing runner up in a pot-limit hold’em event which has haunted him for a while. After five years the 36-year-old poker pro finally got some redemption last night by winning 2009 WSOP Event 45, $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’em.

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2009 WSOP Event #44, $2,500 buy-in Razz is now in the books and it will be an event remembered for some time as Jeffrey Lisandro was victorious picking up his third bracelet of the 2009 WSOP. In doing so he became poker’s first 7 Card Stud Trifecta winner. Lisandro’s first bracelet of 2009 came in 7 Card Stud, his second in 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo and now his third in Razz. This is undisputedly the greatest feat any stud player has ever achieved during a single series in the forty year history of the World Series of Poker.

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The 2009 WSOP Seniors World Championship (Event 43) final table played out last night, when it was said and done 58-year old amateur player Michael Davis from Dubuque, IA was the last man standing. This year’s event attracted a record setting field of 2,707 entrants, up 22% from last year’s record field of 2,218. With his victory last night Davis captured his first career WSOP bracelet and the $437,358 top place prize.

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Coming into 2009 WSOP Event #42, $2,500 mixed game, Jerrod Ankenman had two WSOP runner up finishes under his belt (2006 and 2008). Last night the 32-year old poker pro and co-author of “The Mathematics of Poker” proved he does in fact have what it takes to close the deal, as he navigated his way through a tough group of finalists, including Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Layne Flack, Blair Rodman, and Dario Alioto to claim his first career WSOP bracelet and the $241,637 top place prize.

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22-year-old Peter Traply became the first Hungarian ever to win a WSOP bracelet last night as he was victorious in the $5,000 buy-in NLHE shoot out, 2009 WSOP Event #41. To win this event he had to win three tables including a five handed table last night. Traply picked up $348,755 for his first place finish.

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2009 WSOP Event 40, $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship had a stacked final table with 5 former WSOP bracelet winners including Barry Greenstein, John Arieh, Richard Austin, Vitaly Lunkin and Matt Graham. In the end it appeared as if Lunkin was on his way to joining Brock Parker, Phil Ivey and Jeff Lisandro as multiple 2009 WSOP bracelet winners, however in the end it was Matt Graham who came from as far as 1 to 9 chip deficit to deny Lunkin his third career bracelet.

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2009 WSOP Event #39 concluded with the usual mix of live high stakes pros, internet wiz-kids, and recreational players. When this event was complete, recreational player Ray Foley, a 37-year-old employee of Chrysler Financial, stood victorious to claiming his first World Series of Poker bracelet and $657,969 top place prize money. While Foley might be an amateur he has quite a WSOP track record having cashed in four of seven events he’s entered.

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