World Series of Poker Event #36, No-Limit Hold'em, 19-21 June 2008

Entrants: 2,447
Buy in: $1,500
Prize pool: $3,340,155

Final results:
1. Jesper Hougaard, $610,304
2. Cody Slaubaugh, $389,128
3. Aaron Kanter, $258,862
4. Danny Wong, $217,110
5. Doug Middleton, $177,028
6. Justin Wald, $140,286
7. Rick Solis, $106,884
8. Owen Crowe, $81,833
9. John Shipley, $56,782

The $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship (Event #36) attracted 2,447 entries, creating a prize pool totaling $3,340,155. The top 198 finishers collected prize money. This is the fourth of seven $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournaments on the 2008 WSOP schedule. This game and buy-in level has consistently proven to be the most popular draw on the schedule in recent years, aside from the Main Event.

The 2008 $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion Jesper Hougaard, from Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a 24-year-old professional poker player.

Hougaard was a player, and later a coach for the Danish National Table Tennis Team. A few years ago, he left his position on the team to play in cash games and poker tournaments throughout Europe.

Hougaard stated that his poker success had its roots in table tennis. He cited the ability to lose a point or a game in table tennis and being forced to immediately re-focus on the next shot as a key quality for winning poker players. “You have to regroup,” he said. “That is something we do (in table tennis). You have to always get ready for the next match.”

Immediately after his victory, Hougaard was interviewed by Howard David from ESPN360. Hougaard was asked about a key hand at the final table where he managed to catch a lucky card on the river which knocked out a dangerous opponent, Aaron Kanter. “When I hit that card, I jumped up higher than Kobe Bryant,” Hougaard said. Sportscaster Howard David could not let the comment go without retorting, “Wait a minute – no one in Denmark jumps higher than Kobe Bryant!” Hougaard responded, “Yeah, but I did!”

Hougaard dominated play during most of the final day. However, there was one point during heads-up play when he lost this chip lead. He then went on a much needed break. Hougaard stated that he called his father and brother, living in Denmark. He also put on headphones and listened to a popular song called “Eye of the Tiger.” Fifteen minutes after the break, Hougaard was the victor.

Denmark becomes the seventh nation to produce a gold bracelet winner at this year’s WSOP. This list now includes Canada, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Russia, and the United States.

John Shipley from Solihull, England finished ninth in this tournament. He was the seventh-place finisher in the 2002 WSOP Main Event.

Praz Banzi, from the UK, and winner of a WSOP gold bracelet in 2006, finished 46th.

All WSOP images are supplied by "IMPDI for the 2008 WSOP"