Howard Mash Wins First Bracelet and $662,594 in WSOP Seniors Championship
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Howard Mash topped a 5,916-entry field to win the 2019 World Series of Poker Event #32: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship, winning his first career bracelet and the $662,594 first prize after a hard-fought heads up battle with Jean-Ren�� Fontaine. They started the final day as the top two players in the counts, and incredibly, finished the same way they started the event.
Mash, a financial advisor from Florida, had taken the chip lead all the way back in Day 2, and kept a vice-like grip on it that only slipped briefly during the mid-stages of play on Day 4 of the event.
"I stayed in and stayed in, then got lucky."
��At one point I was just staying alive barely,�� Mash said after his victory. ��I stayed in and stayed in, then got lucky. Any tournament with 5,900 people, you have to get lucky to win.��
Mash is more than a keen amateur, with over $319,000 in prior winnings, who makes time to study. Having only just qualified for the Seniors Event (he turned 50 last month), he says that poker is ��like a hobby �C but a pretty serious hobby.��
Day 3 had whittled an in-the-money field of 252 down to 19 competitors over ten one-hour levels. Before the live streaming on PokerGO began, more than two thirds of them had busted to collect prizes ranging from $28,772 for nineteenth (Dane Nielsen, prompting the first redraw of the day) to $76,165 for eight place (Mike Lisanti just missing out on having his hole cards broadcast to the world).
Event #32: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship Final Table Payouts
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Howard Mash | United States | $662,594 |
| 2 | Jean-Ren�� Fontaine | France | $409,249 |
| 3 | James McNurlan | United States | $303,705 |
| 4 | Adam Richardson | United States | $226,996 |
| 5 | Donald Matusow | United States | $170,887 |
| 6 | Farhad Jamasi | United States | $129,582 |
| 7 | Samir Husaynue | United States | $98,981 |
| 8 | Mike Lisanti | Canada | $76,165 |
| 9 | Mansour Alipourfard | United States | $59,044 |
Event #32: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship Final Table Action
The start of the final table saw the chips distributed very unevenly, with Jim McNurlan almost hidden stack totalling over 33 million. Nothing in no-limit hold��em is predictable, however, and as the blinds rose ever higher, other stacks rose to match McNurlan's and finally surpass it.
The money jumps grew serious as the final table played down, but the lively, warm spirit of the tournament as a whole never faltered. There were hugs shared as opponents hit the rail and copious banter led by short stack Samir Husaynue, who maneuvered his way past the elimination of Mansour Alipourfard in ninth ($49,044), and Lisanti to end up busting in seventh ($98,981).
After a cagey start six-handed, Farhad Jamasi ran out of wiggle room stack-wise and Adam Richardson took him on preflop with jack-eight suited versus king-queen suited, hitting quads to bust him in 6th ($129,582).
"I had a bad year last year personally, and this totally makes up for it. I��m in shock. It��s like a dream come true for me."
Jamasi was followed to the rail by Donald Matusow in fifth ($170,887) and play continued four-handed for a good portion of the day overall. McNurlan and Richardson traded time spent as the short-handed chip leader, with pots flying back and forth between them. Mash dwindled at this point, but as he later said, ��didn��t go on tilt, played solid and it worked out.��
Bustouts often come like buses: not at all for hours and then in a flurry. Richardson was eliminated in fourth place ($226,996) just minutes before McNurlan lost a final flip to take third ($303,705).
In a day of several chapters, the heads up section was the most intense. Mash rediscovered his form and kept his cool when Fontaine doubled repeatedly, fighting hard throughout. The two of them were also evenly matched in terms of supporters; cries of ��one time�� from Mash��s friends (some of them also handsomely rewarded backers) mingled with ��allez-la!�� from the French-speaking quarter.
Fontaine, from the French territory of R��union, is no stranger to large-field tournament success, having won the 4,348-runner EPT National in Barcelona last year for over $620,000. He was to be denied a bracelet this time, however, as the final low board favored Mash in a queens versus ace-jack all in pre flop situation. Fontaine took home $409,249 for his runner up finish.
Of his win, Mash said, ��I had a bad year last year personally, and this totally makes up for it. I��m in shock. It��s like a dream come true for me.��
The next event on PokerGO, is Event #36: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout with Justin Bonomo, Andrew Lichtenberger, Martin Zamani, and more. Sign up via PokerGO.com!
In this Series
- 1 Aria Dealer Nicholas Haynes Wins WSOP $500 Casino Employees Event
- 2 Brian Green Cracks Kings, Beats Imsirovic, Wins First WSOP Bracelet
- 3 Derek McMaster Wins 2019 WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $228,228
- 4 Yong 'LuckySpewy1' Kwon Wins WSOP Online Bracelet, Hellmuth Fifth for First Summer Cash
- 5 Dan Zack Claims First Bracelet After Fantastic Comeback in WSOP $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw
- 6 Ben Heath Wins His First Bracelet - Conquers WSOP $50,000 High Roller for $1.48 Million
- 7 Yuval Bronshtein Wins First Bracelet After 10 WSOP Final Table Apperances
- 8 Daniel Strelitz Claims First WSOP Bracelet and $442,385 in Event #11: $5,000 NLHE
- 9 Scott Clements Wins Event #10: $1,500 Dealers Choice ($144,957)
- 10 Jeremy Pekarek Wins Event #9: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack for First Gold Bracelet
- 11 Daniel Park Wins Event #12: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty for $226,243
- 12 Alex Epstein Wins Event #8: $10,000 Short Deck for $296,277
- 13 Femi Fashakin Wins Largest-Ever Poker Tournament; BIG 50 Triumph Earns Him $1,147,449
- 14 Isaac Baron Captures Long-Awaited WSOP Bracelet in Event #16: $1,500 NLH 6-Handed
- 15 Backed by Insane Rail, Murilo Souza Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($207,003)
- 16 Sean Swingruber Defeats Ben Yu, Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 Heads-Up
- 17 Brett Apter Wins First Bracelet in Event #17: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout
- 18 Frankie O'Dell Wins His Third WSOP Omaha Hi-Lo in $10K Championship Event
- 19 Galfond, Bleznick, Zamani Fall Short as Josh "loofa" Pollock Wins Second Bracelet in $600 Online PLO Event
- 20 Eli Elezra Wins Fourth WSOP Bracelet and $93,766 in Event #20: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
- 21 Expecting Father Jorden Fox Conquers Event #22: $1,000 Double Stack to Win $420,693
- 22 Former Main Event Champ Jim Bechtel Wins $10K 2-7 Single-Draw for $253,817
- 23 Rami Boukai Wins 2019 WSOP Event #23: $1,500 8-Game Mix for $177,294
- 24 John Gorsuch Rebounds from 2 Bigs to Win 2019 WSOP Millionaire Maker for $1,344,930
- 25 Andrew Donabedian Turns $600 Into $205,605 Payday at 2019 WSOP
- 26 Michael Mizrachi Wins His Fifth Bracelet!
- 27 Stephen Song Battles To Capture First Bracelet and $341,854 in Event #28: $1,000 No-Limit Hold��em
- 28 "Silent Assassin" Thomas Cazayous Wins the WSOP $3K Six-Max for $414,766
- 29 Greg Mueller Wins His Third Bracelet, Takes Down WSOP $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.
- 30 Luis Zedan Wins 2019 WSOP Event #30: $1K PLO for $236,673; Will Donate 35% to Charity
- 31 Roman Korenev Wins 2019 WSOP Event #26 for $477,401 After "Marathon" Battle
- 32 Australian Robert Campbell Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 Limit 2-7
- 33 Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva Wins His Third Bracelet in WSOP Online Event
- 34 Howard Mash Wins First Bracelet and $662,594 in WSOP Seniors Championship
- 35 Adam Friedman Goes Back-to-Back in WSOP $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
- 36 David Lambard Claims First WSOP Bracelet in Event #36: $3,000 NLH Shootout
- 37 Salt Lake's Robert Mitchell Wins Event #37: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack ($297,537)
- 38 Joseph Cheong Breaks Through, Wins $1K Double Stack for $687,782
- 39 Ismael Bojang Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet and $298,507 in 10th 2019 WSOP Cash
- 40 Hennigan Wins Sixth Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud, Negreanu Second
- 41 Dan 'centrfieldr' Lupo Wins $500 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack for $145,274
- 42 Aristeidis Moschonas Turns Chip-and-a-Chair into Event #42: $600 Mixed NLH/PLO Deepstack Win
- 43 Michael Blake Wins Event #39: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em, Shulman Second
- 44 Loren Klein Wins 4th Bracelet in 4 Years; Claims $127,808 in Event #43: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet
- 45 Asi Moshe Captures Third WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 No-Limit Hold��em Bounty
- 46 Stephen Chidwick Captures First WSOP Bracelet in Event #45: $25K PLO High Roller for $1,618,417
- 47 Ari Engel Wins His First WSOP Bracelet and $427,399 in Event #48: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
- 48 Luke Schwartz Latest To Win First Bracelet, Triumphs in $10K 2-7 Championship
- 49 South Korea's Jiyoung Kim Wins 2019 WSOP Ladies Championship for $167,308
- 50 Jason "TheBigGift" Gooch Does It; Wins $1,000 WSOP.com Online Event!
- 51 Brazil's Yuri Martins Dzivielevski Captures First Bracelet and $213,750!
- 52 WCOOP Winner Jonas Lauck Secures First WSOP Bracelet and $260,335 in $1,500 Turbo Bounty
- 53 Santiago Soriano Wins $371,203 and First Bracelet in the WSOP $800 Deepstack
- 54 Dash Dudley Wins Event #52: $10,000 PLO Championship ($1,086,967)
- 55 Kevin Gerhart Dominates $1,500 Razz Final Table to Win First WSOP Bracelet and $119,054
- 56 Another Day, Another Millionaire; Kainalu McCue-Unciano Wins the WSOP Monster Stack
- 57 Israel's Team Geiger Wins WSOP $1,000 Tag Team Event
- 58 Joe Foresman Wins 2019 WSOP $600 Deepstack Championship for Nearly $400K
- 59 Anthony Zinno Wins 2019 WSOP $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo for 2nd Career Bracelet; Aims for POY
- 60 Phil Hui's Dream Comes True as He Conquers $50K Poker Players Championship for $1,099,311
- 61 Scott Seiver Wins $10,000 Razz Championship for Third WSOP Bracelet
- 62 Anatolii Zyrin Denies Yueqi Zhu Title Defense to Win WSOP $1,500 Omaha Mix Title
- 63 Sejin Park Claims First-Ever Open Event Bracelet for South Korea; Wins 2019 WSOP Colossus for $451,272
- 64 Nicholas "Illari" Baris Wins $303,739 in Massive WSOP.com ONLINE Championship
- 65 Nick Schulman Wins Third Bracelet in Event #65: $10,000 PLO8 or Better Championship
- 66 David ��ODB�� Baker Steamrolls $1,500 Limit Hold��em to Capture 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 67 Robert Campbell Wins His Second Bracelet of the Summer in $10K Stud Hi-Lo, Grabs POY Lead
- 68 French Pro Jeremy Saderne Wins 2019 WSOP Mini Main Event ($628,654)
- 69 From Working at In-N-Out Burger to Crushing Poker; Rick Alvarado Triumphs in WSOP Crazy Eights for $888,888
- 70 Brandon "DrOctagon" Adams Wins WSOP.com ONLINE High Roller for $411,560
- 71 High Roller Joao Vieira Wins First Bracelet and $758,011 in $5,000 6-Max
- 72 Juha Helppi Finally Does It: Finnish Poker Hero Claims First Bracelet in $10K Limit!
- 73 Susan Faber Wins First Bracelet in Event #71: $500 Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em
- 74 Shawn "bucky21" Buchanan Wins His First Bracelets, Takes Down $800 WSOP.com ONLINE 6-Max ($223,119)
- 75 Danny Tang Wins $50,000 Final Fifty for $1,608,406: "I Want to go Down in the History Books"
- 76 Tu Dao Wins WSOP $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max for $133,189
- 77 James Anderson Wins 2019 WSOP Little One for One Drop for $690,686
- 78 Denmark's Maximilian Klostermeier Wins First Bracelet in Event #78: $1,500 PLO Bounty
- 79 Shankar Pillai Takes Down 2019 WSOP $1,500 Bracelet Winners Only Event
- 80 Ivan Deyra's Dream Comes True; Wins Event #79: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($380,090)
- 81 Boyhood Dream Achieved: Jerry Odeen Wins WSOP Bracelet for $304,793
- 82 Keith Tilston Wins 2019 WSOP $100K High Roller; Negreanu Finishes as Runner-Up
- 83 Tom Koral Wins Second Bracelet in Event #82: $1,500 NLH Double Stack ($530,164)
- 84 Taylor "Galactar" Paur Wins his Second Bracelet in $500 WSOP.com ONLINE Summer Saver
- 85 Abhinav Iyer Takes Down The Closer to Win His First Bracelet and $565,346
- 86 Alan Sternberg Wins $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed for First WSOP Bracelet
- 87 Carl Shaw Defeats Tony Dunst to Claim First Bracelet & $606,562, Hellmuth Sixth
- 88 Anuj Agarwal Wins $10K 6-Max on Last Day of 2019 WSOP ($630,747)
- 89 Denis Strebkov Wins His First Bracelet and $206,173 Top-Prize in $3k H.O.R.S.E.
- 90 Hossein Ensan Wins the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000
