WSOP Top 10 Tuesday - from the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian

Doesn’t Tony Cousineau have the most cashes without a bracelet? I know Mark Gregorich has quite a few too.

Until recently, I think it was Roland Israelashvili.

WSOP only:

Roland 202 (includes WSOPE, ‘only’ nine final tables)
Tony 112
Mark 95

Biggest cash:

Tony $67,400 5th in 2005 $5K PLHE (won by Brian Wilson, who obviously played in between recording sessions)

Roland $317,882 5th in 2012 $50K PPC; he also has at least three 3rds

Mark $139,159 3rd in 2009 $10K 8-Game; he also has a 2nd (2003 $5K LHE, won by Carlos Mortensen with David Chiu third; now that was a tough lineup) three additional 3rds & two 4ths

Israelashvili was ridiculously far ahead of anyone else. He's second in all-time WSOP bracelet event cashes (behind only Daniel Negreanu).

The new Top 10 (bonus list), according to https://www.wsop.com/players/, which is missing Cousineau and still doesn't have Israelashvili's bracelet:

• 10. Dylan Wilkerson: 100
  
• 9. J.J. Liu: 102 (women's leader)
  
• 8. Vinny Pahuja: 105
  
• 7. Joe Kuether: 110
  
• 6. Felipe Ramos: 113
  
• 5. Raymond Henson: 115
  
• 4. Allen Kessler: 117
  
• 3. Tony Cousineau: 118
  
• 2. Daniel Buzgon: 123
  
• 1. Matt Stout: 136
  

Hellmuth having like 7x more final tables than Roland is insane, as is me never having heard of Roland until today.

Roland Israelashvili is one of the most unheralded players of all time:

• Set then-record with 16 cashes in 2016 WSOP.
  
• Became first 100-100 player (100 WSOP cashes and 100 WSOP Circuit cashes) in 2019.
  
• Became first 200-200 player in 2022 (he was the first to 200 Circuit cashes in March and got his 200th bracelet event cash in June).
  
• Cashed in his 8th Main Event in 2022 (tied for 8th all-time).
  
• Became the first player with 500 combined WSOP+Circuit cashes in June 2024.
  
• Had the most cashes without a bracelet (253) until breaking through in October 2024.
  
• Has the 2nd most cashes in the 2020s (133, 2 behind Daniel Negreanu, but that's within the margin of error for WSOP.com [I don't track Circuit cashes, so I'm at their mercy here]).
  
• Has the 2nd most cashes in bracelet events, also trailing only Negreanu.
  

'Tis the season for year-end donations, so here's a look at some of the biggest charitable players and events at the WSOP. [Note: I'm sure I'm missing quite a few players who've generously donated their WSOP winnings, so please chime in.]

Charity at the WSOP (sorted by amount raised)

• 10. 2022: $1,111 Every 1 for War Relief raised $81,030 that was given to the National Bank of Ukraine.
  
  
• 9. 2021: $1,111 Caesars Cares Charity Event raised $175,824.
  
  
• 8. 1983+: Sig Sakowicz won the first Media tournament, defeating a field of 57 players for $750. At some point, but certainly by 1999, all prizes have been donated to charity.
  
  
• 7. 2020: Online $1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief event raised $177,378 for COVID-19 relief, which was doubled by GGPoker after server glitches delayed the completion of the tournament. The 2021 $1,000 Covid-19 Relief No-Limit Hold 'Em Charity Event raised another $26,000.
  
  
• 6. 2019+: Gershon Distenfeld has
  https://www.pokernews.com/news/2021/10/gershon-distenfeld-wsop-poker-40131.htm

  pokernews

  Gershon Distenfeld to Donate Winnings from Upcoming WSOP $1,500 Shootout Final Table
  , including $204,063 for winning the 2021 $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold 'Em.
  
  
• 5. 2007-10: The non-bracelet $5,000 Ante Up for Africa Charity Event debuted and was chopped by Dan Shak and Brandon Moran, who donated their entire $386,738 in prizes while the remaining 16 cashing players were required to give away at least half of their winnings. The precedent continued in 2008 when winner John Hennigan and runner-up Michael DeGusta donated their entire prizes.
  
  
• 4. Bill Klein finished second in the 2015 High Roller for One Drop and donated his entire $2,465,522 prize to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Shea Therapeutic Riding Center.
  
  
• 3. 2003+: Barry Greenstein began donating his poker winnings (including the WSOP) to charities including Children Incorporated. Since then the Robin Hood of Poker has won over three million dollars in WSOP bracelet events.
  
  
• 2. 2012 & 2016: David Einhorn donated his $4,352,000 third prize in the 2012 Big One for One Drop to City Year. He donated his $659,730 18th prize in the 2016 Main Event to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease.
  
  
• 1. 2012+: Working with Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberte, the WSOP debuted the million-dollar buyin Big One for One Drop. With $111,111 of each entry going toward helping bring water to those in need, the event raised $5,333,328. It brought in another $4,666,662 in 2014 and $2,999,997 in 2018 but was held outside of the WSOP in 2016 and did not return after 2018. The $111,111 High Roller for One Drop and the $1,111 Little One for One Drop continue to raise money during the Las Vegas festival.
  

Honorable Mention (chronological):

• 1978: Gabe Kaplan promised to donate his 1978 Main Event winnings to charity, but he busted in just four hours. [He would be the bubble boy two years later before finally min-cashing in 1986.]
  
  
• 1980: Vera Richmond made the same promise in 1980 but did not cash.
  
  
• 1980: Bob Stupak challenged other casino owners to a $10,000 last-longer bet in the 1980 WSOP Main Event with some of the proceeds going to charity.
  
  
• 1984: Harry Thomas Jr., a 39-year-old realtor from Fairfield, Ohio finished second in the $5,000 Seven Card High and donated his $55,000 prize to a home for orphans and abused children.
  
  
• 1984: Las Vegan Rick Hamil finished fifth in the Main Event and donated 10 percent of his $66,000 prize to local drug abuse programs.
  
  
• 1988: Marv Fleming, former Green Bay Packer and Miami Dolphin and Dewey Tomko won the Pro-Sports Invitational Poker Tournament. The top three teams donated their $10,000 in prizes to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (M.A.D.D.), Polio Plus of the Rotary Clubs of America, the Free Arts Clinic For Abused Children, and Opportunity Village of Las Vegas.
  
  
• 2017: Max Pescatori put his 2015 $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo bracelet up for sale on eBay to raise money for earthquake relief in Italy. [I don't believe it sold.]
  
  
• 2019: Jeopardy! champion James Holzhaur promised to donate half of his WSOP winning to charity but unfortunately was unable to cash.
  
  
• 2022: Maria Konnikova promised to donate a portion of her winnings to Ukraine and abortion rights while selling part of her WSOP action on StakeKings.
  
  
• 2024: Stanislav Zegal put his 2023 WSOP Paradise Island Main Event bracelet up for sale on eBay to raise money for charity (GiveDirectly) but got no bids. Sincere apologies on this one as I actually tried to bid but eBay wouldn't let me (technical issues that I couldn't resolve in time).
  

Groups of Players Hanging Out by the Christmas Tree

• 10. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh:
  
  • Jamie Gold won the 2006 Main Event for a then-record $12,000,000.
    
  • Nine Franks have collectively won a dozen bracelets: Frank Brannan (2023), Cardone (1981), Crivello (2020), Funaro (2022 & 2024), Gary (2008), Henderson (1989 plus 1987 Main Event Runner-Up), Kassela (2010, 2010, & 2017), Maggio (2017), and Thompson (1996). No incense but plenty of Vincents, led by Vincent van der Fluit, who won the 2012 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha for $265,211.
    
  • Fabio Muhr has cashed 11 times.
    
  
  
  
• 9. 12 Days of Christmas:
  
  • Kristan Lord has made four final tables, including leaping to a runner-up finish in the 2021 Nine Game Mix 6-Max for $104.210. Sunny Lord finished 8th in the 1983 $1,000 Limit Hold 'Em for $11,700.
    
  • Bill Swan won the 2002 Seniors and was swimming in $134,000 cash.
    
  • Five Gold Rings: Mark Smith became the first WSOP Circuit player to own five gold rings in 2011, capturing the Horseshoe Southern Indiana $345 No-Limit Hold 'Em for $19,441 to break a tie with Men Nguyen and Chris Reslock. Loni Harwood became the first female to reach the milestone in 2018, collecting number four and five in a two-week span in February.
    
  • Donald "Turtle" Dove won a Circuit ring and $17,551 at Harrah's New Orleans in 2018 in the $365 No-Limit Hold 'Em Re-Entry. [Not his real nickname]
    
  • Thomas Partridge finished 69th in the 2008 $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'Em for $6,604, enough to buy an orchard full of pear trees.
    
  
  
  
• 8. More On and Under the Christmas Tree:
  
  • Sam Angel has won two bracelets ($1,000 Limit Razz in 1973 for $32,000 & in 1975 for $17,000), David Angel one (1983 $2,500 No-Limit A-to-5 Lowball Draw with Joker, $46,250), and Angel Guillen one (2009 $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em for $530,548).
    
  • Candy Kolfage has two cashes for $5,606, Candy Huang has one for $1,557, and Michael Cane has one for $2,666.
    
  • Randolph Present has four cashes, including a 609th place finish in the 20022 Main Event for $23,000, and Gift Kuwusan has two for $2,801 but also earned $10,988 for a Circuit runner-up finish.
    
  
  
  
• 7. Jesus Christ:
  
  • Chris "Jesus" Ferguson won the 2000 WSOP Main Event and has five other bracelets and three Circuit rings (he was the Circuit's career money leader for many years).
    
  • Pete Christ, born as Panagiotis Christodoulou, won the 1980 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud for $90,000. Michael Christ won the 2024 $1,500 Big O for $306,884 for his only cash.
    
  
  
  
• 6. Santa's Reindeer:
  
  • Christian Rudolph won the 2020 GGPoker Online $25,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em Poker Players Championship for $1,800,290 and finished 2nd in the 2018 WSOP Europe €25,500 Super Highroller Series 25K for €524,532. Rudolph Sawa finished 2nd in the 2017 $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max for $223,812.
    
  • Of Santa's eight other famous reindeer whom Rudolph lit the way for, only Allan Dancer has made the money, although he's done it once for each of them.
    
  
  
  
• 5. Santa Claus:
  
  • Santa Zawaideh has three cashes for $10,341. "Santa Dave" Smith has two Circuit cashes.
    
  • Claus Vallo has five cashes, including three in the Main Event.
    
  
  
  
• 4. Christmas Carols:
  
  • Carol Fuchs won the 2015 $1,500 Dealers Choice for $127,735 and has over half a million dollars in career earnings (not even including Circuit where she won a ring in 2019).
    
  • James Carroll has cashed for over a million dollars in bracelet events and owns one Circuit ring. Cory Carroll and Casey Carroll also have rings.
    
  
  
  
• 3. Christmas Eve:
  
  • Tom Schneider, born on Christmas Eve in 1959, has won four bracelets.
    
  • Dutch Boyd, born on Christmas Eve in 1980, has won three.
    
  
  
  
• 2. Merry...
  
  • Thomas Merry has one Super Seniors cash for $1,600.
    
  • Mary Jones Meyer won the 2006 Ladies Championship for $236,094 for her only WSOP cash.
    
  
  
  
• 1. ... Christmas:
  
  • John James "Noel" Furlong, born on Christmas in 1937, won the 1999 Main Event for $1,000,000 a decade after he had finished 6th for $52,850.
    
  • John Cynn, born on Christmas in 1984, won the 2018 Main Event for $8,800,000 two years after he had finished 11th for $650,000.
    
  
  

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. Happy Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus/etc. to the rest.

Dan Bilzerian not close enough, eh? 😆

Too bad actor Dash Mihok isnÂ’t a poker player.

That was an impressive title defense. Two more that I enjoyed:

Peter Eastgate - Won the Main Event in 2008 (6,844 entries) and then finished 78th in 2009 (6,494 entries). If you combine the runs together, he effectively played about 13-14 days of Main Event and survived 13,259 eliminations before he was finally knocked out.

Koray Aldemir - Won the Main Event in 2021 (6,650 entries) and then finished 75th in 2022 (8,663 entries). Altogether, he survived 15,237 eliminations across two Main Events before he was finally knocked out.

Bracelet winner George Danzer deserves some reindeer love too.

Good one! My German language skills are lacking.

Michael Donner had a minicash in 2009.

Bracelet winner Jared Bleznick is a stretch and the Foxen’s definitely are let alone K Vixaythong, though foxes can be vixens, and Cupid has definitely struck at the WSOP with the Foxens Sterns Jetts Shulmans etc.

Has there ever been a rounder nicknamed The Comet?

2024 WSOP Olympics-Style Standings

Note: each player is categorized by their WSOP.com tournament page flag, which may not reflect their current residence or preference. Numerous corrections for CH (Switzerland) -> CN (China), GM (Gambia) -> DE (Germany), IS (Iceland) -> IL (Israel), and RS (Serbia)-> RU (Russia) have been made using the Hendon Mob Database and GPI as sources.

As expected, the rankings have been rearranged quite a bit. Fair or not, Canada easily moved into second place because of the Online Ontario festival, while Germany also hopped over Great Britain. China moved up from 8th to 5th and Russia from off the list to 6th.

Country Leaders by Total Medals

• 9. Bulgaria 10 (2 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze).
  
  
• 9. France 10 (6 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 8. Italy 14 (8 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze).
  
  
• 7. Brazil 15 (7 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze).
  
  
• 6. Russia 19 (5 gold, 5 silver, 9 bronze).
  
  
• 5. China 21 (6 gold, 7 silver, 8 bronze).
  
  
• 4. Great Britain 23 (9 gold, 9 silver, 5 bronze).
  
  
• 3. Germany 28 (10 gold, 12 silver, 6 bronze).
  
  
• 2. Canada 40 (15 gold, 11 silver, 14 bronze).
  
  
• 1. U.S.A. 388 (125 gold, 130 silver, 133 bronze).
  

Notes:

* Honorable Mention: Israel 9 (3 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze), Japan 9 (1 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze), Spain 7 (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze), Australia 7 (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze), and Austria 6 (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).

* One of the German silver medalists and one of the U.S. bronze medalists has been deleted from the WSOP tournament results. Fifteen other results (five tournaments) have yet to be posted.

Individual Leaders

• 10. Daniel Maor 3 (1 gold, 2 bronze).
  
  
• 10. Michael Rocco 3 (1 gold, 2 bronze).
  
  
• 9. Calvin Anderson 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 8. Ren "Tony" Lin 3 (2 silver, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 6. Tony Dunst 3 (2 gold, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 6. Xixiang Luo 3 (2 gold, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 5. David Prociak 3 (2 gold, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 4. Simone Andrian 3 (2 gold, 1 bronze).
  
  
• 3. David Funkhouser 4 (1 gold, 3 silver).
  
  
• 2. Chris Hunichen 4 (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).
  
  
• 1. Scott Seiver 4 (3 gold, 1 bronze).
  

Notes:

* Although the U.S. took the top three spots and 7 of the top 10, an Italian placed fourth, and Chinese players were 6th and 8th.

* Josh Arieh captured 12th place as the only other player with three medals (all silver).

* Five players tied for 13th-17th with two gold bracelets: Alex Foxen, Jeffrey Hakim, Joshua Remitio, Kyle Lorenz, and Nick Schulman.

* 44 other players took home two medals: six players won a gold and a silver, 16 a gold and a bronze, 5 two silvers, 13 a silver and a bronze, and 4 two bronzes.

* Only one female won two medals: Alina Paliahoshka finished second in the Paradise Island $2,500 WSOP Mini-Main Event ($445,400) and third in the GGPoker Online $500 Ladies No-Limit Hold 'Em Championship ($9,818).