With Andy Bloch scratching his name off of the “Best player to never win a bracelet” list at the 2012 WSOP, and with several big names like Gus Hansen, Gavin Smith, ElkY and Phil Laak also crossing their names off last year, I figured it was time to revisit the Top 10 most surprising players without a WSOP bracelet list, and see who is still seeking their first gold bracelet.

This list takes into account not only a players skill level, but also how long they have been in the game, and how often they play at the World Series of Poker.

Here is a look at the first five players on the list:

* Bill Gazes

Another longtime tournament player who hasn’t been able to raise his hands at the WSOP is Billy Gazes (you may remember Bill as the guy who fell on the football field during a segment of ESPN’s “The Nuts” only to have a ball-girl throw the football in his face). Gazes hasn’t cashed at the WSOP since 2008, but before that he racked up an amazing 30 cashes at the WSOP, including six final tables.

* Juha Helppi

Juha Helppi is perhaps the most underrated player in the game of poker, considering he has racked up over $4.4 million in career earnings. Perhaps part of his PR problem is his lack of results at the WSOP where he has only cashed 13 times since 2003.

Helppi came close in 2006 when he finished as the runner-up in the $1,000 NLHE event, but he hasn’t even sniffed a final table since then.

* Tony G

Tony G doesn’t have a bracelet!?!?!? Amazingly, one of the games old-time players hasn’t won a WSOP bracelet. Tony has 17 career cashes at the WSOP, with his best showing a 3rd place finish at the 2007 WSOPE $5k PLO event.

Does Tony still have the “heart and Commitment” to the game to go through the rigorous grind of the WSOP to win a bracelet? Only Tony G knows the answer to that question.

* Justin Bonomo

Bonomo like Antonius and Jonathan Little can longer be considered an up-and-coming player, and with a live poker resume dating back to 2005 it’s about time “ZeeJustin” put a gold bracelet around his wrist. Bonomo has 19 career cashes at the World Series of poker, and has reached four final tables, where he has finished second twice, as well as fourth and fifth.

* Shawn Buchanan

Shawn Buchanan made his first WSOP cash back in 2004, and since then he has gone Zero for the last Nine WSOP’s when it comes to bracelets. With 26 cashes and six final tables it’s only a matter of time for Buchanan, especially when you consider he has three runner-up finishes in WSOP events over the years.

Read Part 2

Tags: Andy Bloch, Antonius, Ball Girl, Best Player, Career Earnings, Cashes, ElkY, ESPN, Football Field, Game Of Poker, gavin smith, Gold Bracelet, Gus Hansen, Jonathan Little, Juha Helppi, Justin Bonomo, Pr Problem, Time Players, Tournament Player, World Series of Poker

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 at 9:53 am and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.