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Are the Shulmans the First Family of Poker?
At the recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, three members of the Shulman family each made the final table of a WSOP tournament--in the same week!
That's never been done before in the history of the WSOP.
In the same week, Barry Shulman, his wife Allyn and their son Jeff all made final tables, with Allyn the only one in the family to go on to win a tournament.
In her case it was the WSOP seniors tournament, which was open to men and women aged 50 or older.
Previously, Barry and Jeff had made poker history when each made the final table of a WSOP Main Event in the same year.
In early 2009, Barry made the final table of the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event in London, England, and several months later, Jeff made the final table of the WSOP Main Event in Vegas.
Barry went on to win his Main Event, while Jeff finished in fifth place in his.
Barry also won a WSOP study tourney in 2001, giving him two WSOP/WSOPE championship gold bracelets for his career.
In an exclusive interview with Barry earlier this week, the Card Player Magazine founder told Gambling911.com that this year's WSOP was the best ever.
He also said his only complaint was that there were too many "rookie" dealers, and expressed approval that Jamie Gold is no longer the all-time WSOP money-earner.
"Every year the WSOP gets better," Barry said. "They added many tables so that hundreds more people could play at the same time. They added some tournaments that attracted more people, as well as moving around starting days. Tournaments were started on time. Breaks were staggered well between various tournaments and they used the various rooms wisely. Unfortunately, so many dealers are required that many were outright rookies. It was tough.
"The $1 million tourney by all measures was a success," he continued. "After all, it sold out. Because there are so few players, it generates big name players at the top, which is newsworthy. It almost seems like the winner ought to have an asterisk, because the payouts put a few guys towards the top of biggest lifetime winners.
"Antonio (Esfandiari, who won this year's inaugural $1 million tourney) is a very good guy and very good player. I much prefer he is on top of the all-time WSOP money list rather than Jamie Gold (who won the 2006 WSOP Main Event but little else)."
Barry also had kudos for other aspects of this year's WSOP.
"The WSOP, and every other tournament, ought to have all-in buttons on every table and use them every time somebody goes all-in," he said. "They are one of the great poker inventions in the last several years.
"Also, the streaming video at most final tables was fantastic. There was good commentary, even though hole cards were not seen. The WSOP and World Poker Tour TV only show a few hands and really are just fun TV, but no good for learning. Watching every hand for a few hours with commentary is amazing for instruction."
And what did Barry think about his family's success at this year's WSOP?
"On a personal basis, we had a great series," he said. "Allyn, Jeff and I all did very well. We all made final tables in one week. The highlight was Allyn, of course. Her bracelet for winning the seniors tournament was amazing. She was the first women to win a mixed-gender event in the last 249 WSOP tourneys.
"She won $603,000. That is the second most ever won at the WSOP or WSOPE by a woman, after Annette Obrestad, who won $2 million at the 2008 WSOPE Main Event. And it is the highest bricks and mortar payout ever for a $1,000 or less buy-in event. The payout was 603 for 1. Amazing! Even the person who came in 10th in the WSOP Main Event won less than Allyn did."
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
