WSOP 1994: Russ Hamilton Wins (Yes, That Russ Hamilton)

Start of the Series

The play started on April 18 with the large-scale tournament Event #1: $1,500 Limit Hold’em. This tournament became the first in WSOP history to gather 506 players. From the first day of the series, the previous record was broken. The final table of this tournament included: former champion Tom McEvoy; Doyle Brunson’s son – Todd Brunson; two-time Main Event final table participant – Dave Crunkleton; and Brenda Jacobus – a bridge player for whom this tournament was her WSOP debut, however, she continued to play poker and even placed in the WSOP Circuit prizes in 2024. In this tournament, Howard Lederer’s younger sister – Annie Duke made her WSOP debut. She finished 14th in this tournament and received $7,230 in prize money. Later, Duke became one of the faces of the UltimateBet poker room, where Russ Hamilton worked as a consultant.

The winner of the largest tournament in WSOP history was Steve Sim from California. For his victory, he received $289,200 in prize money, and this prize became his only WSOP win in history.

The next day, Erik Seidel won Event #2: $5,000 Limit Hold’em with 105 players. At the final table against Erik was Poker Hall of Fame member Berry Johnston, who at that time had 3 WSOP bracelets. By defeating Berry, Erik matched the number of bracelets and added another $210,000 to his impressive list of prizes.

On April 18, Event #3: $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha took place, where the winner was Huck Seed – a future Main Event champion. At the final table against him played Russ Hamilton, who took 4th place, marking Russ’s debut in WSOP prizes. By this time, Huck Seed had already played at the WSOP final tables five times and was known as a major backer for Main Event participants.

Event #4: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em with 330 participants took place on April 19 and could have been the basis for a good poker show. The final table included Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, and 1991 champion Brad Daugherty. The tournament was won by George Rodis from Nevada, who managed to defeat Phil Hellmuth in the decisive heads-up.

On April 20, J.C. Pearson won Event #5: $2,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, defeating Matthias Rohnacher from Germany in heads-up. At that time, German players were rare at the WSOP, and Rich Korbin from Canada also played at the final table. Additionally, Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton were at the final table.

Event #6: $2,500 Limit Seven Card Stud was won by Rod Pardey Jr. Men Nguyen again played at the final table.

The next day, April 22, Nguyen played at the final table for the third consecutive time. This was Event #7: $5,000 Limit Seven Card Stud, where the winner was Roger Moore. For Nguyen, the 1994 series looked like this: 7th place in Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, 4th and 3rd places in Seven-Card Stud, 4th place in NL Hold’em, and another 3rd place in Limit Omaha.

O’Neil Longson won Event #8: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha with 168 players. In heads-up against him was J.C. Pearson, who had already won his bracelet, and the final table also included Surindar Sunar (3rd place) from the UK, T.J. Cloutier (6th place), and Russ Hamilton (7th place).

Event #9: $2,500 Limit Hold’em became the second tournament in the history of Annie Duke’s prizes, where she placed fifth. The tournament was won by Mike Laing, who took home $212,000 in prize money.

Event #10: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em was won by Jay Heimowitz from New York, where he played alongside Erik Seidel. Seidel finished 6th in this tournament. The final table also included Johnny Chan (9th place).

Already mentioned Men Nguyen took 4th place in Event #11: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em, which took place on April 26. In this tournament, two players from Costa Rica also placed: Jose Rosenkrantz (13th place) and Humberto Brenes (5th place). It is worth noting that Brenes made a double wins in the previous year’s series and, despite numerous prize placements, was unable to win a third bracelet in the following years. The tournament was won by John Heaney from New Jersey.

Event #12: $1,500 Limit Razz gathered 148 players, and the winner was Mike Hart, for whom this victory was the largest of his career.

Barbara Enright Enters History

On April 28, Event #13: $1,000 Ladies Limit Seven Card Stud took place with 96 participants. The tournament was won by Barbara Enright, for whom this bracelet became the second of her career. Barbara’s previous bracelet was won in a similar tournament in 1986. Thanks to this victory, Barbara became the first woman with two WSOP bracelets, and it was just the beginning of the records she would set. The main record she would set in 1995 – becoming the first woman to reach the final table of the WSOP Main Event.

A Double for T.J. Cloutier

Event #14: $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo brought the second bracelet to one of the most successful players of the decade – T.J. Cloutier. T.J.’s WSOP career began in 1985, where he took second place ($280,000) in the Main Event, losing to Bill Smith in an incredible final table. Then, in 1987, he won his first bracelet in a Limit Omaha tournament. In 1988, T.J. again played at the Main Event final table but took fifth place. And seven final tables later, T.J. won his second bracelet in the Limit Omaha Hi-Lo tournament, receiving $135,000. Cloutier is a member of a small club of professional players who have cashed in the WSOP over 100 times (101 as of early 2025).

The next day, T.J. Cloutier won Event #15: $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em, adding $163,000 to his résumé and his third WSOP bracelet. This tournament was the debut for Humberto Brenes’s younger brother – Alex Brenes, who took 6th place in his first tournament.

The Final Part

Event #16: $1,500 Limit A-5 Draw Lowball was contested by two players from California – J.J. Chun and Steve Flicker. Chun emerged as the winner of the duel, which became his only career victory. Flicker never won his bracelet, although he played at WSOP final tables two more times.

Event #17: $1,500 Limit Seven Card Stud with 226 players took place with an impressive heads-up. Twice Main Event champion (1987, 1988) Johnny Chan played against 1990 WSOP champion Mansour Matloubi. If in 1989 Chan was fighting for a third consecutive championship and lost heads-up to Phil Hellmuth, Mansour had a second chance in 1993 and took fourth place. By this time, Chan was a strong tournament player, and Matloubi almost did not play tournaments, preferring expensive cash games. Johnny Chan won this duel, which became his fourth WSOP bracelet.

Event #18: $1,500 Limit Omaha was won by Brent Carter from Illinois. Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen once again played at the final table.

The penultimate tournament, Event #19: $1,500 Limit Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, was won by Vince Burgio. In this event, Howard Lederer (3rd place), who at that time had not yet won a bracelet, played again at the final table. This final table was already the seventh for Howard, in which he could not achieve a victory. Jay Heimowitz, who has been playing at WSOP since 1975 and by that time was one of the most decorated players – 4 WSOP bracelets, including the one won in this series. 1994 was a successful year for Jay; besides the bracelet, he played in two more final tables. In the following years, Jay would win two more bracelets and be recognized in the WSOP Circuit prizes until 2018. It is worth noting that both Lederer and Heimowitz were members of the New York Mayfair Club. By the way, the club also included the next year’s 1995 champion Dan Harrington.

The last tournament before the start of the Main Event took place on May 5. It was a high-stakes Event #20: $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, with 57 participants registered. In this tournament of high rollers, the winner was successful businessman and future head of the World Poker Tour – Lyle Berman. In the decisive heads-up, he defeated the future champion – Huck Seed, and Mansour Matloubi, whom you already know, finished fourth.

WSOP 1994 Results

In the Money

The first player to cash was the Irishman Donnacha O’Dea – a regular Main Event WSOP participant, who entered history along with his son as the first father and son to reach the Main Event final table.

Annie Duke left the tournament in 26th place, which was a magnificent result for the series debutant and also one of the best results for women.

24th place – former champion and significant figure in Las Vegas casino management – Bobby ‘The Owl’ Baldwin.

Howard Goldfarb from Canada took 22nd place, which was one of the rare Canadian players cashing in the Main Event in those years.

The best foreigner was Mansour Matloubi (UK), having one of the best series in his career.

Special mention deserves Barbara Samuelson, who took tenth place. For the first time in WSOP history, a woman managed to enter the TOP10 of the main tournament. This event showed the overall trend – the number of participants in the Main Event was increasing, and along with it, the results were improving. The peak of this trend would be reached in 1995. For now, congratulations to Barbara for cashing in this historic tournament!

Final Table Players

• Vince Burgio from California, 550,000 chips – a member of the Senior Poker Hall of Fame, author of the book “Pizza, Pasta and Poker and Inside Poker: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. Before starting his poker career in 1987, Vince owned a construction business, which he sold to play poker. His wife Debbie Burgio (with whom Vince raised four daughters) supported her husband in his decision. In 1994, Vince won his first (and so far only) bracelet.
• Russ Hamilton from Nevada, 231,000 chips – a professional player who first cashed in Nevada tournaments in 1988. The WSOP 1994 series was Russ’s debut and his greatest success. He reached three final tables, including the Main Event, which we will now discuss in more detail.
• Al Krux from New York, 91,000 chips – before turning to poker, Krux was a diamond merchant. Al had impressive experience playing at the Main Event final tables, where he first cashed in 1990, taking 6th place. 1994 was his second attempt at the final table, and in 2004 Al would do so for the third time. During his career, he would win one bracelet, but up until 2024, he would continue to fight for prizes in major tournaments.
• Robert ‘Chip Burner’ Turner from California, 107,000 chips – a professional player whom we thank for the emergence of the now-popular Pot-Limit Omaha poker version. It was Robert Turner who saw the Omaha game and told Bill Boyd, who was in charge of the poker room at the Golden Nugget casino. There, this type of poker first appeared in Las Vegas under the name “Nugget Hold’em” and was later known as Omaha. By this time, Turner had one WSOP bracelet, which he won in 1993. Robert was not new to the Main Event, previously taking 10th place in 1991, 36th in 1992, 13th in 1993, and now he played at the final table. It is worth noting that by 2025, Robert added a WSOPC ring to his trophy collection, and he appeared in the prize halls of Las Vegas and Los Angeles tournaments until the end of 2024.
• John Spadavecchia from Florida, 219,000 chips – a professional player who won his first bracelet in 1991. He was a successful player in the WSOP series, although in his career he won only two WSOPC rings besides his bracelet. John first cashed in the Main Event in 1988, and 1994 became his best result. John passed away on June 10, 2023, residing in Lighthouse Point, Florida. However, due to an error in WSOP official data, he is listed as a participant in WSOP 2024 Event #46, which took place on June 18, 2024.
• Hugh Vincent from Florida, 1,482,000 chips – despite living in the poker world’s capital, Hugh was not an active tournament player. He first cashed in the Queens Poker Classic in 1991, and he ended his tournament career in 1997 with two prizes in the 1997 Four Queens Poker Classic. This WSOP final table became his only cash in the series and his greatest success throughout his career.

The Final Game

Watch the video of this final table:

When only six participants remained at the table, the tournament organizers crossed their fingers hoping for the victory of the thinnest of them.

A table sign at the start of the game deserves special attention, which informs ESPN viewers that “Texas Hold’em is a Variation on 7 Card Stud”. The game began!

The Winner – Russ Hamilton

Russ Hamilton was born in 1948 or 1949 in the USA. Russ always tried to keep his private life secret from journalists. We know that Hamilton attended college in Michigan, where he pursued a degree in electrical engineering. It was in Michigan that one of the professors convinced Russ to try playing poker. Russ quickly achieved success in underground games in Detroit and then moved to Las Vegas at the age of 36 (1984). In Las Vegas, he became part of a team of professionals who played blackjack and then switched to poker.

His first successes in poker tournaments came in 1988. He was noted for final tables in local tournaments in Reno, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, but before his WSOP Main Event victory, he had not officially won tournaments.

Russ first cashed in the WSOP 1994 series, where he first took 4th place in the PLO tournament for $2,500, then 7th place in the PLO for $1,500. The next cash was key for Hamilton’s entire poker career – winning the WSOP 1994 Main Event and $1,000,000 in prize money.

In connection with the series’ 25th anniversary, the organizers offered an additional prize for the champion. Along with the million dollars, he received as much silver as he weighed. The organizers were pleased that there were several thin players at the final table, and Hamilton was preparing for victory by eating steaks and “Banana Split” desserts. Right during the final table game, Hamilton ate hamburgers, pancakes, and eggs. Ultimately, his weight at the time of victory was 149.7 kg (330 pounds), and he received silver worth $30,000.

Russ Hamilton on his victory:

“When we got down to three players, and then two players, it was never about the money. There was only one thing that mattered — having my picture up on that wall and winning the bracelet. They can take the money, they can take the silver, but they can never take that picture off the wall.”

After this success, Russ did not officially win any tournaments until 2002, meaning his next success had to wait eight years. During this time, he played in final tables 15 times, including 3 WSOP tournaments, as well as other local tournaments in Las Vegas.

In his poker career, Russ Hamilton won $1,526,243, of which one million came from a single tournament.

In addition, Russ left a mark in history with the UltimateBet online poker room.

Hamilton was a consultant for the room, where co-founder was former WSOP champion Mansour Matloubi, and the main advertising face was another WSOP champion – Phil Hellmuth.

Russ and Mansour were directly involved in managing the room. For example, in 2004, they both invited Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott as the advertising face for the European market, offering him 1% of the company.

Dave Ulliott on Russ Hamilton in 2004:

“I’ve known Russ for seven years, and in all that time, I’ve never seen him lose a bet – whether it’s golf or bungee jumping!”

Despite this, Ulliott declined the offer.

In 2005, Hamilton organized the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, which included professional blackjack players and game enthusiasts who were selected online. Among the show’s participants were Johnny Chan and Phil Laak.

On September 29, 2008, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission announced that it had obtained evidence that from May 2004 to January 2008, the UltimateBet team had been cheating its clients. During the investigation, Russ Hamilton was named as the main culprit, and the room had to return $22,100,000 to defrauded players.

In October 2008, the 60 Minutes, in collaboration with the Washington Post, showed their investigation. Russ’s career in the poker industry ended there.

In May 2013, an audio recording of the UltimateBet management meeting surfaced, in which Hamilton discussed plans to hide the co-conspirators of the fraud and conceal the total amount of damage. In this recording, Hamilton confessed to fraud:

“I did take this money and I’m not trying to make it right, so we’ve got to get that out of the way real quick.”

Ultimately, Hamilton did not face punishment, did not pay a fine, and refused all charges.

After that, he hardly played poker publicly, but in 2011, forum participants from TwoPlusTwo met Russ while playing poker at Gulfstream Park Poker Room in Florida. Their conversation with the former champion quickly escalated into insults, and a recording of this conflict appeared on YouTube. Currently, the video is unavailable.

WSOP 1994 Main Event Results