Brent Hanks and Leif Force Triumph at 2012 World Series of Poker

Brent Hanks won the second tournament of the 2012 World Series of Poker, earning $517,725. The tournament had 2,101 participants and a prize pool of $2,836,350. Brent Hanks' final opponent was Jacob Baysley, who also taught in a middle school.

The third tournament had 317 participants and a prize pool of $865,410. Leif Force won the tournament, earning $207,708. Leif Force was born into a family of hippies and became a professional poker player after winning over a million dollars in his first major tournament in 2006. Leif Force prefers Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo poker games.

Tom 'Captain' Franklin, a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Vietnam War veteran, said the sacred phrase 'Shuffle up and deal!' before the start of the tournament. 239 players advanced to the second day out of 2,101 participants. The final table was played for the first time on a new stage in the Pavilion hall. The average age of participants was 37.2 years, those who made it to the prizes were 36.2 years, and the final table participants were 28 years old. Some notable players who made it to the prizes include Phil Hellmuth, Paul Vasika, John Juanda, Hoyt Corkins, Lane Flax, and Jason Mercié. The best result among Russians was shown by Sergey Pevzner from St. Petersburg, who took 78th place ($5,261).