This year’s World Series of Poker was very good for Southern California players.
Luis Velador, a two-time WSOP bracelet-winner, was the final-table bubble of the main event. Velador of Lake Elsinore has cashed 16 times at the WSOP and has more than $1.5 million in winnings.
Velador went into the final 10 as the short stack with 9.35 million. He played a couple of hands with no help and then on Hand 24 with a raise from Bruce Politano in middle position, Velador went all-in for 6.15 million in the small blind. Politano folded. Mark Newhouse called with 5-5 to Velador’s 4-4, and he never improved. Velador took 10th place and a payday of $565,193.
Maria Ho of Arcadia repeated as the Last Woman Standing at the main event, going out in 77th place for $85,812. Ho’s first time as Last Woman Standing was in 2007, making it to 38th. She cashed this year in eight events, bringing her total cashes to 30 at the WSOP for $1.14 million. Several SoCal players cracked the top 100 at the main event: Chase Frendensburg of Laguna Beach was 82nd for $72,369; William Cole of Murrieta came in 58th ($124,447), and Peter Placey of San Clemente was 35th ($230,487).
John Monnette of Palmdale cashed in five events, including 272nd in the main, for a total of $135,370. Monnette is a two-time bracelet-winner. In 2011, he won his first bracelet in the eight-game mix and earned his second bracelet the next year in stud. Monnette has 36 WSOP cashes for $1.48 million, all since 2005.
There were two first-time bracelet-winners this year from SoCal. Jeffrey Smith of Encinitas outplayed 1,939 players to take down Event 9 ($1K NLHE). His reward was $323,125, his second cash.
David Miscikowski of San Diego also won his first bracelet, Event 49 ($5K NLHE). He made it through a field of 695 players to claim $719,707. Miscikowski has 12 WSOP cashes and six circuit cashes since 2010 for $823,588.
Jeffrey Coburn of Chino Hills got his first cash in Event 8, the Millionaire Maker. Coburn outlasted 7,976 players to take second for $815,963.
Kazuhito Oshima from Temecula came in second in Event 12 ($1,500 pot-limit hold’em). Oshima earned $104,513. This was his seventh WSOP cash ($131,158).
San Diego’s Evan McNiff took second in Event 44 ($1,500 NLHE) for $295,727. He also cashed in Event 60 ($17,577). He has 11 WSOP cashes in his career for $498,707.
— Email Kittie Aleman at anteupkittie@gmail.com.
