Congratulations to Jerrod Ankenman, Event No. 42 Champion!
Back in 2006, Ankenman placed second to Ian Johns in a $3,000 Limit Hold'em Event at the WSOP. That finish did earn him over $150,000, but the gold bracelet proved to be just out of his reach. Two years later in 2008, he placed second in another WSOP event, $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em, behind Rob Hollink. That score netted him over $300,000, but once again the gold bracelet eluded him.
This time around, Ankenman wouldn't let things get away from him. The first-place prize money of $241,637 is nice, but the gold bracelet he finally earned after working so hard is much more the prize that will be remembered from this victory. When asked about it he said, "Those finishes were a little bit bittersweet. It's nice to finally win the bracelet."
Ankenman began playing poker casually at the Commerce before taking the game more seriously alongside friend Bill Chen. The two would go on to coauthor The Mathematics of Poker. Chen was around to watch his buddy win the bracelet and even jumped in on some of the photos with him.
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Congratulations to Jerrod Ankenman on winning his first WSOP gold bracelet!