Daily Rewind: Esfandiari Makes History, WSOP Crowns Two New Winners

In today's Daily Rewind we bring you Antonio Esfandiari's historic $18 million victory, Ladies Championship event winner Yen Dang and $1500 NLHE event winner Neil Willerson.

The Daily Rewind is your one-stop-shop for a sharp review of the day in poker. Join us here for a mix of the latest news and a more irreverent insight into the poker world. Today we discovered the following topics for you:

Magician makes magic at One Drop

History has been made today as Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari has won poker's biggest tournament ever. Costing a whopping $1 million to buy in, the event was attended by a total field of 48 players, including some of the world's top pros and richest businessmen.

Esfandiari beat British pro Sam Trickett heads-up in order to claim a first-place prize of over $18 million. This moves him to the top of the all-time tournament earnings list.

“I swear to you, believe it or not, I never thought about the money. I just wanted to win” said Esfandiari on his victory, which was witnessed by millions thanks to a live broadcast on ESPN.

While it was all about the title and the prestige for Esfandiari, runner up Trickett had eyes on the cash. He stated that he would have preferred the extra $8 million for first place over the bracelet. Furthermore, he said that he was angry at how he played towards the end, admitting that he found the sums of money involved too significant.

Esfandiari described his victory as “better than sex”.

Notes from Nevada

Yen Dang has won the 2012 WSOP Ladies World Championship. The 29-year-old former law student discovered poker at university, and opted to change her career path:

"I just have a mindset that no matter what you do, you're going to get discouraged or bored eventually, even if you like it. But in poker, it changes, every hand changes. The way you play, it evolves so much, it keeps you interested. It never gets boring. Therefore it's something I can't say about most other occupations. Poker never gets boring."

This is the second time Dang has entered the Ladies Event - she tried in 2005 but failed to cash. This marks her first bracelet win.

“I didn't expect it, but I worked really hard to try and get here, so it's just amazing” said Dang on her victory, which earned her $105,586.

Another first-time bracelet winner appeared in the form of Neil Willerson, who defeated a field of 3,166 players to win Event #53, a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournament.

Willerson, a Texan attorney, beat Russian Vladimir Mefodichev heads-up in order to claim the gold bracelet and $737,248. 

 

Yen Dang	Neil Willerson

Daily Signoff

The player on everyone's lips today is Antonio Esfandiari. Watch him play a nail-biting hand heads-up against Phil Laak: