Steve Sung wins WSOP Event #4 Stimulus Special
Friday, 5 June 2009
A big field for a small buy-in was what organisers of the $1,000 No Limit Hold Em Event #3 hoped for and boy did they deliver. A whopping field of 6,012 players sat down for the so-called Stimulus Special, a record for any event other than the WSOP Main Event.
In the end it was won by an established pro, Steve Sung, who claimed the first prize of $771,106. The win marked a sharp turnaround for Sung who fell just short of the money in the $40,000 No Limit Hold Em event earlier this week.
"I was really bummed out after busting out of the $40K," Sung said. "I told myself I have to start playing better. I was able to bounce back.”
Sung has career earnings into the millions but he’s never enjoyed much success at the WSOP. A best finish of seventh in the 2007 Seven-Card Stud was scant reward for the 24-year-old’s abilities. “I feel that this big monkey is off my back. It feels amazing to win. … I am speechless right now. Maybe in a week it will hit me that I really won. But right now, I am not believing this.”
Jack Powell led the British challenge finishing 30th for a cash of $22,671.
The final table positions and payouts were as follows:
1. Steve Sung - $771,338
2. Pete Valdos - $473,282
3. James Adam Matz III - $313,826
4. Larry Sidebotham - $227,253
5. Nathan Mullen - $175,851
6. Dan Heilmiller - $145,851
7. Jeff Oakes - $126,612
8. Phong Huynh - $117,414
9. Daniel Fuhs - $114,167