Historically the United States is the dominant force at the WSOP, having won 877 of the 1,075 gold bracelets ever awarded.
2013 is no different; the Americans are still dominating. But this year Canada is out-performing every other country and has set a new standard for countries competing against the United States.
"I think on a per-capita basis, Canadian players have always done well,” Toronto poker pro Mike Watson told PokerListings.com.
“Obviously winning this many bracelets this year has been a bit of a fluke but I think if you look at the numbers you'd find that Canadian players are out-performing other countries."
Watson, a WPT champion who has won more than $6.6 million playing live poker tournaments, knows a thing or two about flukes. Before this summer he hadn't cashed in over 50 consecutive WSOP events spanning 2011 and 2012.
Sylvestre Kicked Off Rush in Event #3
Canada scored its first win of WSOP 2013 early when French-Canadian real estate investor Charles Sylvestre won almost half a million dollars in the summer's first $1,000 No-Limit event.
It continued when PEI restaurant owner Benny Chen won the WSOP's first-ever Millionaire Maker, turning $1,500 into $1.2 million.
Since then it hasn't stopped with Canadians racking up a total of 10 wins. It's the first time a country that isn't the US has posted a double-digit score in a single summer.
The hot streak comes on the heels of Daniel Negreanu's victory at the first-ever WSOP Asia Pacific Main Event in Melbourne in April.
“I think that temperatures in the Rio have been so unbearably cold that Canadians are more likely to be acclimated to these conditions,” joked Negreanu.
Frigid playing conditions aside, it's hard to account specifically for Canada's success.
Exploding Popularity and Tax Laws May Explain Canadian Success
According to Montreal's Jonathan Duhamel, the cold might actually have something to do with it.
Duhamel was the first and only Canadian to win the WSOP Main Event. Three years ago he overcame 7,318 players to win almost $9 million at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Having cut his teeth in Montreal's exploding poker scene, Duhamel is indicative of talented young poker pros popping up in communities across Canada.
“During the winter there’s not much to do in Canada so we play hockey or poker,” laughed Duhamel. “That’s pretty much all we do.”
Two French-Canadians have won bracelets this summer and, like a joke making fun of Canada's small-town reputation, Duhamel is good friends with both of them.
“It’s a good trend and I’m pretty sure it’s going to continue for the next few years,” said Duhamel. “We’re going to see a lot more Canadians making big scores.”
Success Runs Coast-to-Coast
Poker is already established on Canada's West Coast but the game's been gaining serious ground across the East over the last few years.
Recent World Poker Tour stops in Montreal have attracted huge fields and French-Canadians continue to post big results all over the world.
But one surprising aspect of Canada's surging success at the WSOP is the tax treaty between Canada and the US.
Canadian players who win money in the US have roughly 30 per cent of their winnings withheld by the IRS. That money can be recovered, provided you can prove enough gambling losses, but for amateur players who only make one or two trips per year to Vegas, that's often not an option.
Daniel Negreanu hypothesizes that the tax treaty could mean that only the best and most successful Canadian players are traveling to the WSOP, which could help account for the strong per-capita performance.
“Of course Canadians are good,” said Negreanu. “But they also have to deal with the tax issue too so you generally only get the best of the best at the WSOP.”
Canadian Bracelet Winners at the 2013 World Series of Poker
Player Hometown Event Prize Money Charles Sylvestre St. Bruno, Quebec $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry $491,360 Benny Chen Stratford, PEI $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em $1,199,104 Michael Malm Mississauga, Ont. $2,500 Eight-Game Mix $255,104 Levi Berger Ottawa, Ont. $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max $473,019 Mark Radoja Guelph, Ont. $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em $336,190 Calen McNeil Victoria, BC $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-Better $277,274 Jason Duval St-Georges Est, Quebec $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em $521,202 Justin Oliver Toronto, Ont. $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Four-Handed $309,071 Daniel Idema Vancouver, BC $1,500 7-Card Stud Split 8-or-Better $184,590 Kristen Bicknell Nepean, Ont. $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em $173,922With files from Arthur Crowson.
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