November 24, 2005 – Las Vegas, NV – Team Bodog player Thang “Kido” Pham has won the WSOP Circuit Championship Las Vegas at the Bally’s Paris Las Vegas Casino, winning $453,456 and a gold-and-diamond championship ring.
One of the most well respected up-and-coming players, Kido joined Team Bodog for this event through his friend, fellow Dallas-based and Bodog-sponsored pro David Williams.
Of Kido, Daniel Negreanu had this to say recently: “Kido Pham didn’t read any books. Kido Pham had raw talent and honed his skills playing in private games in Dallas . . . he was very tricky.”
As Card Player’s BJ Nemeth reported, “The final table for the WSOP Circuit Championship Las Vegas would start with only eight players, but two of them World Series Champions – reigning title holder Joe Hachem, and 1998 champion Scotty Nguyen. Hachem entered the day with the chip lead, and was the likely favorite to win this event and dispel any lingering notions that his $7.5 million victory might have been a fluke.
When it was all over, Pham had busted nearly the entire final table on his way to victory. He took out Doug Lee, John Smith, Scotty Nguyen, Lee Watkinson and J.C. Tran. And while he didn’t deliver the final blow to Joe Hachem, he did cripple him by cracking his pocket kings.
In his post-tournament interview, Pham pointed out that this was his third final table in a championship event. The first time, he was too nervous to play well. The second time, he was too cocky, already planning how to spend the million-dollar first prize the night before the final table. But for Pham, the third time was a charm.
Pham’s victory delighted Calvin Ayre, Founder and CEO of Bodog Sports Casino Poker.
“We are thrilled that Kido won, as he faced off against some of the greatest in the game today, and we are proud he represented bodoglife.com so well,” Ayre said. “Kido represents the high-quality players we have on bodoglife.com.”
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