Poker : "Keys to the City" Awards for the best WSOP performances

Aaron Todd and Ryan McLane the Casino City journalists are geared up to give their inaugural "Keys to the City" Awards, this round for the best of the best in first-half WSOP performances.

Casino City is the principal supplier of international poker news and has been following the WSOP at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. We have closely pursued the action and are certain our selections correspond to the best of the best in the 2006 WSOP, including The Male and Female Most Outstanding Players as well as the Most Consistent Players. The awards take into consideration all of the action up to and including WSOP Event # 24.

Look for Casino City's "Key to the City" awards again in August, right away the grand finale of the 2006 WSOP Main Event.

Our WSOP first-half Most Outstanding Player "Key to the City" Award goes to - William "Bling Bling" Chen - (2 bracelets, $786,129, 2 FT, 5 Cashes); Bling Bling surprized the 2006 WSOP, winning two gold bracelets and cashing in three more events. Chen looks like he may be a force to reckon with in events and years to come. Chen is known as a mathematical wizard and he will have quite a few more chances to tie Phil Ivey and Ted Forrest for most bracelets in a single WSOP (3).

We also voted William "Bling Bling" Chen the Most Consistent Player. He's two for two at WSOP final tables and has cashed in five tournaments, including 61st in Event # 2, which at the time (June 27th) was the second largest land-based poker tournament ever played.

Our vote for Female Most Outstanding Player is Claire Miller who won: (1 Bracelet, $247,814, 1 FT, 1Cash). She is a 61-year old grandmother and she defeated 1,184 of the world's top senior poker players. Mrs. Miller won the $1,000 Event #19 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Event, regardless of the fact she was facing a final table that included Ron Rose and Jon "JV" Vorhaus, both poker authors and redoubtable players.

We also would like to mention some honorable players:

Chip Reese – (1 Bracelet, $1,784,640, 1 FT, 1Cash) Chip Reese is perhaps the best all-around-cash-game player in the world. He won the biggest mixed-game tournament in WSOP history the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event.

Jeff Madsen the 21-year old player is making his appearances reckoning in his first WSOP, as he is the youngest player in WSOP history to win a gold bracelet. Jeff Madsen – (1 Bracelet, $758,500, 2 FT, 2 Cashes)

Allen Cunningham was the WSOP player of the year 2005 and this year he won his 4th bracelet. Is one of the four players who won the bracelet before their 30’s. This year he won – (1 Bracelet, $635,352, 1 FT, 3 Cashes)

Mary Jones Meyer – (1 Bracelet, $236,094, 1 FT, 1Cash) Mrs. Meyer won the Ladies World Championship (Event # 15).

Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier – (0 Bracelets, $177,678, 1 FT, 2 Cashes). She finished the 5th in the $5,000 WSOP Event # 9 No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

Andy Bloch – (0 Bracelets, $1,112,707, 2 FT, 4 Cashes). Mr. Bloch hardly missed winning the most exciting and exhausting WSOP tournament in history ($50,000 H.O.R.S.E Event #20). He earned style points for taking a penalty to ensure WSOP officials used unmarked cards during the opening rounds of the H.O.R.S.E event.

Carlos Juan Mortensen – (0 Bracelets, $191,426, 2 FT, 4 Cashes) He's so focused in the 2006 WSOP, he told tournament officials that he would enter the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E tournament, even if he was playing the final table of Event #17, which started after the H.O.R.S.E event began.

Phil Hellmuth Jr. – (0 Bracelets, $490,356, 2 FT, 4 Cashes). Hellmuth seems focused in 2006, trying to claim his record-tying 10th gold bracelet. Among all the big names challenging in this year's series, he played the best.