1997 World Series of Poker


The 1997 World Series of Poker was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. Most notably, it was the only WSOP where the Main Event final table took place outdoors, at the Fremont Street Experience, just outside Binions.

Preliminary events

EventWinnerPrizeRunner-up
$2,000 Limit Hold'emKevin Song$397,120Yuan Lanvin
$1,500 RazzLinda Johnson$96,000Peter Brownstein
$1,500 Limit OmahaClaude Cohen$110,400Frankie Havard
$1,500 Seven Card StudMaria Stern$140,708Adam Roberts
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/RebuysChris Bjorin$169,200Michael Davis
$1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo SplitDoug Saab$130,305Bernie Rosenthal
$2,000 No Limit Hold'emJohn Cernuto$259,150Thomas Sparks
$2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo SplitScotty Nguyen$156,950Mike Matusow
$2,000 Pot Limit Hold'emDave Ulliott$180,310Chris Truby
$2,500 Seven Card StudVasilis Lazarou$169,000Caesar Como
$2,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/RebuysMatthias Rohnacher$183,000Surinder Sunar
$2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo SplitMax Stern$117,000Artie Cobb
$3,000 Limit Hold'emLouis Asmo$231,600Jim Meehan
$3,000 Omaha Hi-Lo SplitDean Stonier$145,200John Hom
$3,000 Pot Limit Hold'emPhil Hellmuth$204,000Tom McEvoy
$5,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw w/RebuysJohnny Chan$164,250Lyle Berman
$3,000 No Limit Hold'emMax Stern$237,615Kathy Liebert
$5,000 Seven Card StudMel Judah$176,000Vasilis Lazarou
$5,000 Limit Hold'emBob Veltri$224,000Ed Stevens
$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card StudSusie Isaacs$38,000Karen Wolfson

Main Event

There were 312 entrants to the main event. Each entrant paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. Stu Ungar won the Main Event for a record-tying third time.

Final table

PlaceNamePrize
1stStu Ungar$1,000,000
2ndJohn Strzemp$583,000
3rdMel Judah$371,000
4thRon Stanley$212,000
5thBob Walker$161,120
6thPeter Bao$127,200

Other High Finishes

NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.
PlaceNamePrize
9thChris Bjorin$48,760
12thMarsha Waggoner$33,920
13thJay Heimowitz$29,680
14thAndrew Black$29,680
15thRod Peate$29,680
16thDoyle Brunson$25,440
18thKen Flaton$25,440
19thPaul Clark$21,200
21stPhil Hellmuth$21,200
22ndBilly Baxter$21,200