Bodog Poker Open Main Event Goes to Shawn "phatcat" Luman

Main Event of the inaugural Bodog Poker Open awards $305,120 in cash prizes, becoming the richest poker tournament in Bodog history

March 10, 2008 - The inaugural Bodog Poker Open drew to a close last night with 596 online poker players gunning for a share of a whopping $305,120 prize pool in the series' championship, the Bodog Poker Open Main Event.

The total cash purse, which included $25,000 in additional money added by Bodog, makes the Bodog Poker Open Main Event the richest poker tournament ever held in Bodog history, and walking away the richest last night was Shawn "phatcat" Luman. His first-place finish not only earned him a $76,280 payday, but also the distinction of becoming the first-ever Bodog Poker Champion and the owner of an engraved Omega Speedmaster watch, valued at $4,400.

The path to victory was not an easy one for Luman as the talent-rich field contained many of the biggest names from the Bodog Poker room and across the online poker world. Indeed, making it down to the final three at the final table was none other than Jared "TheWacoKidd" Hamby, one of the hottest players on the poker circuit today with three big live tournament wins in 2007 and a second place finish at the 2007 WPT Mandalay Bay Poker Championship. But last night, Luman proved the better as Hamby exited in third place, winning $29,138.96, and finishing in second was Michael "_TheFinisher_" Berra, who earned $45,768.

The remaining players at the final table of the Bodog Poker Open Main Event, in order of finish, were as follows: Stuart "zpaceman" Taylor (4th - 21,358.40), "CK3" (5th - 16,781.60), "Anbessa" (6th - $13,730.40), Brian "PSP_addict" Bauer (8th - $7,933.12) and Eric "Eeman2004" Revak (9th - $5,187.04).

Among the 54 players who cashed in the $470 + $30 buy-in online poker tournament last night were quite a few who enjoyed tremendous success in the five preliminary events of the Bodog Poker Open. Bodog regular "rusostreet," who won Event No. 1 on Monday, finished in 41st place, and Event No. 5 winner, "bigcatfish," finished in 47th. Joe "Dyzalot" Morneau, who final tabled Event No. 1, ended up in 40th. The three players each added $1,067.92 to their Bodog Poker Open winnings last night.

The biggest online poker tournament in Bodog history, the Bodog Poker Open got off to a phenomenal start last Monday, March 3, with Event No. 1. The $270 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament set the pace for the week by drawing many of the biggest names in online poker, including Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad, Kevin "beLOWaBOVe" Saul, Marco "CrazyMarco" Johnson, Jon "PearlJammer" Turner, Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Thayer "Thay3r" Rasmussen, and it saw Team Bodog pros Evelyn Ng and Josh Arieh outlasting all but one to finish second and third, respectively.

All together, the six-event Bodog Poker Open drew more than 1800 players over the week and generated more than $675,000 in prize money, a generous $75,000 of which was added by Bodog to give players extraordinary value for their buy-ins.

With the first Bodog Poker Open now in the books, online poker players are now turning their attention to Bodog's 2008 World Series of Poker qualifiers. A guaranteed four WSOP seats are up for grabs every week at the BodogLife.com poker tables this March and April, with that number jumping to five per week in May and June. Each Main Event prize package includes the $10,000 buy-in to the tournament, $2,000 for travel expenses, loads of Team Bodog gear and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Las Vegas in total Bodog style, including meeting the Bodog Girls and much, much more.

For more details on Bodog’s online qualifiers for the 2008 WSOP Main Event, visit http://www.bodoglife.com/welcome/184...ies-vegas.html