The story of the tortoise and the hare teaches us that, oftentimes, slow and steady wins the race. That is the case today as Brett Shaffer, a 30 year old from Beloit, Kansas, defeated a field of more than 2,800 players to win his first bracelet as well as $665,397.
Shaffer made the final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event 53 along with a number of more experienced pros like David Vamplew, Loni Harwood, and Mike Watson. Rather than immediately make a rash decision or shove all in and hope for the best, Shaffer took his time, worked his way through his decisions, and ended up coming out of the event with a gold bracelet.
Shaffer defeated Scottish pro David Vamplew heads-up for the title at what was his second career WSOP final table. He previously finished sixth in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout event in 2010.
This $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event drew 2,816 players and generated a prize pool of $3,801,600. The top 297 players each earned a payday worth at least $2,775. Some of the notables who cashed were Faraz Jaka (279th), Steve Gee (222nd), Chris Moorman (196th), Chance Kornuth (134th), Thor Hansen (62nd), Brent Hanks (38th), Humberto Brenes (23rd), and Tyron Krost (12th).
The final table featured four players making repeat final table appearances this summer at the WSOP; Mike Watson, Darren Rabinowitz, David Vamplew, and Loni Harwood. That brings the total of repeat final tablists this summer to 34. Harwood’s second final table appearance also marks the seventh final table showing for women this summer and the first time a woman has made more than one final table this year. Her fourth place finish awarded $210,456, the largest cash by any female at the 2013 WSOP thus far.
This was one of the few final tables this summer that was unable to wrap in the three days scheduled for tournament play. As a result, the final three needed to come back for an unscheduled fourth day to play down to a bracelet winner.
The final table featured players from a wide array of countries. Great Britain, Canada, Finland, Argentina, and Switzerland were all represented.
Here are the final table results from the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event 53:
David Vamplew
Brett Shaffer
1st: Brett Shaffer – $665,397
2nd: David Vamplew – $413,157
3rd: Arttu Raekorpi – $291,392
4th: Loni Harwood – $210,456
5th: Michael Watson – $153,850
6th: Diego Zeiter – $113,819
7th: Jonathan Cohen – $85,193
8th: Darren Rabinowitz – $64,513
9th: Matias Ruzzi – $49,420
