Congratulations to Abe Mosseri, 2009 WSOP Event 55 Champion

Poker News - July 2, 2009 - Written by Bruce

Event 55 at the 2009 World Series of Poker was a $2,500 buy in Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Event. The 2 day event drew 257 players with top 24 finisher placing in the money. The players were all vying for the $165,521 first prize. There were familiar faces scattered throughout the field with the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, John Juanda, Barry Greenstein, and actress Shannon Elizabeth. After the first day of play there were 73 players remaining. The lovely Shannon Elizabeth and poker pros Erick Lindgren, Greg Raymer, and Barry Greenstein were some of the unfortunate ones to not make it to Day 2 action. There were multiple players near the chip lead at days end but that honor was held by Adam Ewenstein who had 71,800 chips.

At the start of Day 2 play there were still some of poker's biggest names left in the field. Daniel Negreanu, Greg "FBT" Mueller, John Juanda, and Victor Ramdin all were looking to make a push towards the bracelet. Day 2 was fast and furious with the field being widdled down to the money bubble. With a very short stack Tom McCormick got his last 400 chips in only to be eliminated on the bubble by Joseph Morrow. The remaining 24 players were all in the money and guaranteed a payout of $5,148 with their sites now set on winning the bracelet. One of poker's most recognizable faces went out in 16th place when Daniel Negreanu was eliminated earning him $7,223 for his efforts. Day 2 came to a close when Jacobo Fernandez was eliminated in 10th place earning him $13,424. The remaining players called it a night and regrouped for the start of Day 3 action.

With this event not reaching the official final table until 6 players were left, Abe Mosseri eliminating Kris Lords in 7th place set the stage for the start of the final table. The final six featured two well known names in the poker world with John Juanda and Blair Rodman remaining in the field. Rodman was the first of the two to be eliminated when he bowed out in 5th place earning him $31,818. After being crippled by Mosseri the hand before, Juanda was sent packing when Mosseri eliminated him in 4th place for a payday of $44,941. The only lady to make the money in this event went out next when Julie Schneider busted out in 3rd earning her $66,285 for her great performance. Heads up play began with Masayoshi Tanaka and Abe Mosseri starting out about even in chips. After a few hands Mosseri began pulling away and ultimately eliminated Masayoshi Tanaka in 2nd place. Tanaka earned $102,313 for a fine performance. After outlasting 257 players over 3 days of action Abe Mosseri became the champion and won the gold bracelet to along with $165,521 for the victory. Congratulations to Abe Mosseri on winning event 55 at the 2009 World Series of Poker.