This inaugural World Poker Tour event introduced many players to the game we know and love today – No Limit Texas Hold’em Poker. The event was held at the Bellagio in late May 2002 with the final table taking place June 1st.
The $10,000 buy-in event attracted 146 entrants, creating a prize pool of over $1,4 million dollars. The winner would walk away with over $500,000 – not too shabby for the World Poker Tour’s first title.
The six participants would help cement tournament poker and its budding popularity by creating a memorable final table. The players included former World Champion Scotty Nguyen, long term pro John Junada, Kassem “Freddy” Deeb, John “Johnny World” Hennigan, Chris Bigler, and the then unknown Gus Hanson.
This memorable event was marked by the unrelenting aggression of Gus Hanson and his ability to take down pots with any two cards. This aggressive style earned him the first WPT title ever rewarded, as well as the $556,000 first prize.
| Five Diamond World Poker Classic | |
| Casino: | Bellagio |
| Location: | Las Vegas, NV |
| Buy-in: | $ 10,000 |
| Entry Fee: | $200 |
| # of Players: | 146 |
| Prize Pool: | $1,416,200 |
| Final Table date: | Jun 01, 2002 |
| Results | ||
| 1 | Gus Hanson |
$556,460.00 |
| 2 | John Juanda |
$278,240.00 |
| 3 | Kassem "Freddy" Deeb |
$139,120.00 |
| 4 | John Hennigan |
$83,472.00 |
| 5 | Chris Bigler |
$62,604.00 |
| 6 | Scotty Nguyen |
$48,692.00 |
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