# 2002 World Series of Poker

The 2002 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was held at Binion's Horseshoe.
The 2002 WSOP was historically notable for two reasons. The series was the first WSOP in which pocket cams were installed to allow broadcasters (on tape delay) to show the players' hole cards, although only for the Main Event (today, the cameras are used at most WSOP events), and it was also the last WSOP before the 2003 Main Event victory of amateur Chris Moneymaker helped launch the 2000s poker boom.

## Events

There were 34 preliminary bracelet events at the 2002 World Series of Poker. Phil Ivey won three bracelets in this WSOP, giving him four for his career. He joined Doyle Brunson, Gary Berland, Bobby Baldwin, Lakewood Louie as the only players to win four bracelets in three years. Ivey was the first to accomplish the feat in the era of growing tournament fields.
| # | Date | Event | Entries | Winner | Prize | Runner-up | Results |
| 1 | April 19, 2002 | $500 Casino Employees Limit Hold'em | 272 | David Warga (1/1) | $47,300 | Leon Wheeler | Results |
| 2 | April 20, 2002 | $2,000 Limit Hold'em | 610 | Mike Majerus (1/1) | $407,120 | David Chiu (0/3) | Results |
| 3 | April 21, 2002 | $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | 339 | Perry Friedman (1/1) | $176,860 | Greg Mascio | Results |
| 4 | April 22, 2002 | $2,000 No Limit Hold'em | 449 | Layne Flack (1/2) | $303,880 | Tom Jacobs | Results |
| 5 | April 23, 2002 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud | 253 | Phil Ivey (1/2) | $132,000 | Toto Leonidas | Results |
| 6 | April 24, 2002 | $1,500 Limit Omaha | 130 | John Cernuto (1/3) | $73,320 | Randy Holland (0/2) | Results |
| 7 | April 25, 2002 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split | 240 | Paul Clark (1/3) | $125,200 | Andrew Prock | Results |
| 8 | April 26, 2002 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha | 151 | Jack Duncan (1/1) | $192,560 | Lindy Chambers | Results |
| 9 | April 26, 2002 | $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Gold Bracelet Match Play | 28 | Johnny Chan (1/7) | $34,000 | Phil Hellmuth (0/7) | Results |
| 10 | April 27, 2002 | $2,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo | 156 | John Hennigan (1/1) | $117,320 | Ben Tang | Results |
| 11 | April 28, 2002 | $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | 210 | Jay Sipelstein (1/1) | $150,240 | Barny Boatman | Results |
| 12 | April 29, 2002 | $2,500 Seven Card Stud | 123 | Dan Torla (1/1) | $115,600 | Bill Gibbs | Results |
| 13 | April 30, 2002 | $3,000 Limit Hold'em | 155 | John Hom (1/1) | $174,840 | Benny Wan | Results |
| 14 | May 1, 2002 | $1,500 Razz | 115 | Billy Baxter (1/7) | $64,860 | Chico Flynn | Results |
| 15 | May 2, 2002 | $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha | 89 | Jan Vang Sørensen (1/1) | $185,000 | Brent Carter (0/2) | Results |
| 16 | May 3, 2002 | $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo | 126 | Phil Ivey (2/3) | $118,440 | Sirous Baghchehsaraie | Results |
| 17 | May 4, 2002 | $3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | 175 | Fred Berger (1/1) | $197,400 | Chris Ferguson (0/3) | Results |
| 18 | May 5, 2002 | $1,500 Ace to Five Lowball | 111 | Thor Hansen (1/2) | $62,600 | Brian Nadell | Results |
| 19 | May 6, 2002 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 528 | Layne Flack (2/3) | $268,020 | Johnny Chan (0/7) | Results |
| 20 | May 7, 2002 | $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | 144 | Eddie Fishman (1/1) | $135,360 | Doug Saab | Results |
| 21 | May 8, 2002 | $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em | 340 | John McIntosh (1/1) | $177,380 | Mel Weiner (0/1) | Results |
| 22 | May 9, 2002 | $5,000 Seven Card Stud | 92 | Qushqar Morad (1/1) | $172,960 | Steven Banks | Results |
| 23 | May 10, 2002 | $2,000 S.H.O.E. | 143 | Phil Ivey (3/4) | $107,540 | Diego Cordovez (0/1) | Results |
| 24 | May 11, 2002 | $5,000 Limit Hold'em | 113 | Jennifer Harman (1/2) | $221,440 | Brian Green | Results |
| 25 | May 12, 2002 | $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout | 193 | Joel Chaseman (1/1) | $96,400 | Gene Timberlake | Results |
| 26 | May 12, 2002 | $1,000 Ladies' Championship | 107 | Catherine Brown (1/1) | $39,880 | Marie Sohn | Results |
| 27 | May 13, 2002 | $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha | 107 | Robert Williamson III (1/1) | $201,160 | Patrick Bruel (0/1) | Results |
| 28 | May 14, 2002 | $1,500 Limit Hold'em | 366 | Meng La (1/1) | $190,920 | Steve Kaufman | Results |
| 29 | May 15, 2002 | $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | 79 | Mike Matusow (1/2) | $148,520 | Daniel Negreanu (0/1) | Results |
| 30 | May 16, 2002 | $3,000 No Limit Hold'em | 352 | Randal Heeb (1/1) | $367,240 | Sherman Burry | Results |
| 31 | May 17, 2002 | $2,000 1/2 Hold'em, 1/2 Stud | 144 | Dan Heimiller (1/1) | $108,300 | Ram Vaswani | Results |
| 32 | May 18, 2002 | $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw No Limit | 32 | Allen Cunningham (1/2) | $160,200 | O'Neil Longson (0/1) | Results |
| 33 | May 18, 2002 | $1,000 Seniors' No Limit Championship | 396 | Bill Swan (1/1) | $134,000 | Mike Sexton (0/1) | Results |
| 34 | May 19, 2002 | $1,500 Triple Draw Lowball Ace to Five | 88 | John Juanda (1/1) | $49,620 | Paul Phillips | Results |
| 35 | May 20, 2002 | $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event | 631 | Robert Varkonyi | $2,000,000 | Julian Gardner | Results |

## Main Event

There were 631 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter, with the top 45 players finishing in the money. It was the largest poker tournament (by prize pool) ever played in a brick and mortar casino at the time. For the first time, the Main Event's top prize reached $2 million. Robert Varkonyi defeated Julian Gardner heads-up with a full house over a flush on the final hand.

### Final table

| Name | Number of chips (percentage of total) | WSOP Bracelets* | WSOP Cashes* | WSOP Earnings* |
| John Shipley | 2,033,000 (32.2%) | 0 | 5 | $37,270 |
| Russell Rosenblum | 927,000 (14.7%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Perry | 766,000 (12.1%) | 0 | 6 | $43,780 |
| Robert Varkonyi | 640,000 (10.1%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minh Ly | 614,000 (9.7%) | 0 | 2 | $62,155 |
| Scott Gray | 545,000 (8.6%) | 0 | 1 | $12,200 |
| Julian Gardner | 394,000 (6.2%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Duong | 231,000 (3.7%) | 0 | 5 | $224,000 |
| Harley Hall | 161,000 (2.6%) | 0 | 2 | $25,260 |
*Career statistics prior to the beginning of the 2002 Main Event.

### Final table results

| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Robert Varkonyi | $2,000,000 |
| 2nd | Julian Gardner | $1,100,000 |
| 3rd | Ralph Perry | $550,000 |
| 4th | Scott Gray | $281,480 |
| 5th | Harley Hall | $195,000 |
| 6th | Russell Rosenblum | $150,000 |
| 7th | John Shipley | $125,000 |
| 8th | Tony Duong | $100,000 |
| 9th | Minh Ly | $85,000 |
Note: Phil Hellmuth, as part of ESPN's broadcast team, during the first hour of their final table coverage said he would shave his head if Robert Varkonyi won the tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, Hellmuth is seen having his head shaved.

### In The Money Finishes

NB: This list is restricted to In The Money finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 13th | Martin de Knijff | $60,000 |
| 14th | Yoshio Nakano | $60,000 |
| 23rd | Phil Ivey | $40,000 |
| 24th | Minh Nguyen | $40,000 |
| 34th | Ross Boatman | $30,000 |
| 35th | Randy Holland | $30,000 |
| 36th | Tom Schneider | $30,000 |
| 42nd | David Sklansky | $20,000 |
| 43rd | Dan Heimiller | $20,000 |

## In pop culture

In "Casino Night", the 22nd episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office, it is revealed that Kevin Malone, a character on the show, won a World Series of Poker bracelet for No-Limit Deuce-Seven Draw in 2002.