1989 World Series of Poker


The 1989 World Series of Poker was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 1989 Main Event was won by 24-year-old Phil Hellmuth, defeating defending champion Johnny Chan, and also breaking the record for being the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event. Had Chan won, he would have tied Johnny Moss's record of three Main Event wins. This year also marked the first year in which Moss did not finish any WSOP tournaments inside the payout positions.

Events

There were 13 preliminary events at the 1989 World Series of Poker. All 14 bracelet winners in the 1989 WSOP were first-time winners.
#DateEventEntriesWinnerPrizeRunner-upResults
1May 1, 1989$1,500 Limit Omaha181Lyle Berman $108,600MacDonald Kempe
2May 2, 1989$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha180Barry Blackburn $108,000T. J. Cloutier
3May 3, 1989$1,000 Limit Hold'em449George Allen Shaw $179,600Lee Southard
4May 4, 1989$2,500 Pot Limit Omaha99Frank Henderson $184,000Kevin Redican
5May 5, 1989$5,000 Seven Card Stud77Don Holt $154,000David Sklansky
6May 6, 1989$1,500 Seven Card Stud218Mel Judah $130,800Jerry Buhr
7May 7, 1989$2,000 No Limit Hold'em305Norman Keyser $244,000Tommy Grimes
8May 8, 1989$1,500 Seven Card Razz159John Laudon $95,400Said Barjesteh
9May 9, 1989$1,500 Ace to Five Draw199Harry Madoff $119,400Billy Baxter
10May 10, 1989$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud93Alma McClelland $18,600Adrienne Zoia
11May 11, 1989$1,500 Seven Card Stud Split174Mike Sexton $104,400Sid Herald
12May 12, 1989$2,000 Limit Hold'em265Thomas Chung $212,000Carl McKelvey
13May 13, 1989$5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw34Bob Stupak $139,500Billy Baxter
14May 14, 1989$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event178Phil Hellmuth $755,000Johnny Chan

Main Event

There were 178 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament, with the top 36 players finishing in the money. Johnny Chan was denied a third consecutive Main Event crown when he was defeated heads-up by Phil Hellmuth. Noel Furlong finished in sixth place. He would later go on to win the 1999 World Series of Poker Main Event.

In The Money Finishes

NB: This list is restricted to In The Money finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.
PlaceNamePrize
11thJohn Esposito$12,500
14thJay Heimowitz$12,500
16thJohn Bonetti$12,500
22ndMickey Appleman$10,000
23rdChip Reese$10,000
24thAn Tran$10,000
25thHilbert Shirey$10,000
28thYoshio Nakano$7,500
29thBerry Johnston$7,500
31stJim Bechtel$7,500
35thPuggy Pearson$7,500
36thCrandell Addington$7,500