Event #45
Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $5,000
Number of Entries: 728
Total Prize Money: $3,421,600
Date of Tournament: June 28-30, 2007

WSOP GOLD BRACELET WINNER
EVENT # 45 – BILL EDLER

  • The $5,000 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship was won by Bill Edler, from Las Vegas, NV. Edler is a 42-year-old poker pro who has cashed in many previous tournaments. This was his first victory at the World Series of Poker.
  • Prior this win, Edler had only two previous cashes at the WSOP. Both took place in 2005. Edler’s victory was impressive for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact he started play at the final table dead last in chips. Edler had 535,000 at the start to Erik Friberg’s 2.800,000. He conquered the six-handed finale in about four hours.
  • Edler was cheered on at tableside by his close friends Erick Lindgren, Gavin Smith, and Chris Bell. Despite the overpowering poker talent in the trio, Edler was the first among them to win a WSOP gold bracelet. “To a professional poker player, this is the Holy Grail,” he said.
  • Edler is one of the WSOP’s most unorthodox champions. He earned a law degree from the University of California-Berkley. Yet, he never took the bar exam nor practiced law. He drives a 12-year-old Ford Mustang (by choice) and plays golf for high stakes with a set of 20-year-old golf clubs.
  • Edler was formally the manager of Casino San Pablo, located in San Francisco’s East Bay. He started out working at the club as a prop, and is one of the few persons to rise through the ranks and eventually run the casino and cardroom.
  • The final hand of the tournament pitted Edler’s A-10 against Alex Bolotin’s A-Q. Edler spiked a ten on the flop and won the biggest hand of the night. First place paid $904,672. This was the third-highest payout of this year’s World Series.
  • Edler is married and has a seven-year-old daughter. In fact, he celebrated his wedding anniversary this past week. On what turned out to be the final hand of the tournament, Edler was forced to make a very tough call for most of his chips. At one point during his two-minute deliberation he rubbed his wedding ring, and then announced “call.” After the tournament concluded, Bluff Media play-by-play announcer Howard David asked Edler if he was thinking about his wife during the decision. “Oh yes, I was thinking of her,” Edler responded. “Great answer,” retorted David.