Home / Poker News January 2011 / Looking back at 2010 – Hansen’s and Laak’s bracelet capers
Looking back at 2010 – Hansen’s and Laak’s bracelet capers
Posted by: James Carter. - Sun, 2011-01-02 08:50
Every year, before the WSOP gets underway, poker experts release all sorts of lists and statistics about how many bracelets different players have, what the odds are for each of these guys to secure yet another piece of jewelry, and of course there is a list of shame as well, which consists of “name” players who are yet to strike
WSOP gold. Players whose names grace the shame list are no pushovers by any measure. Guys like Gus Hansen, Phil Laak and Gavin Smith had still not so long ago had their names on this list. The 2010 WSOP marked a turning point for all three of these guys though. They all managed to break the curse of the WSOP bracelet and they finally got their hands on the coveted piece of gold, which means so much more than just its face value in the poker world.
The first of the three to finally strike gold was Gavin Smith. Smith took down his bracelet in the WSOP’s $2,500 Mixed Holdem event. The win also earned him more than $268,000, but it's likely that he will not remember the event for the money he booked, but rather for having finally earned the right to have his name removed from the above-mentioned list of shame.
Phil Laak was in a much more delicate position than either of the other two players, as pretty much everyone in his circle of friends - including girlfriend Jennifer Tilly - had already earned their WSOP gold, and nobody ever missed a single opportunity to tease him about it.
Laak finally struck gold last year in the WSOPE’s £2,650
NL Holdem Six-max event.
Gus Hansen had won pretty much everything in his poker and online poker career, except for a WSOP bracelet. By winning the WSOPE's £10,350 heads-up event, he finally got the monkey off his back too.
