BY TOM SOMACH

A European is the winner of the first-ever World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) event.

Tom “Pokermeister” Bihl, of Frankfurt, Germany, has won Event #1 of the inaugural WSOPE in London, England, a H.O.R.S.E. tournament that had 105 participants who have won a collective 35 WSOP championship gold bracelets.

The H.O.R.S.E. tourney, featuring five different forms of poker (hold ‘em, Omaha, razz, stud and eight-or-better stud), had a buy-in of 2,500 British pounds (about $5,000 U.S.) and a total prize pool of 262,500 British pounds (about $525,000 U.S.).

The event was held at the Casino of the Empire, also known as the Empire Casino, in the Leicester Square section of London.

For his historic win, Bihl earns 70,875 British pounds, about $141,750 U.S.

Finishing second in the tournament was Jennifer Harman of Las Vegas, Nev., USA, who takes home 40,688 British pounds, about $81,376 U.S.

Coming in third and earning 26,250 British pounds (about $52,500 U.S.) was Kirk Morrison of Wichita, Kan., USA.

Finishing fourth and earning 21,700 British pounds (about $42,400 U.S.) was Chris “Jesus” Ferguson of Pacific Palisades, Calif., USA.

Finishing fifth and earning 17,850 British pounds (about $35,700 U.S.) was Alex “The Mad Russian” Kravchenko of Moscow, Russia.

Finishing sixth and earning 14,438 British pounds (about $28,876 U.S.) was Yuval Bronshtein of Dunwoody, Ga., USA.

Finishing seventh and earning 11,812 British pounds (about $23,624 U.S.) was Joe “Leave It To” Beevers of London, England.

Finishing eighth and earning 9,188 British pounds (about $18,376 U.S.) was Gary Jones of Stafford, England.

The top 16 finishers ended up in the money, with 16th-place taking home 5,250 British pounds, about $10,500 U.S.

After the tourney ended, WSOP Commissioner Jeff Pollack presented “The Pokermeister” with the historic first WSOP gold bracelet ever awarded outside the USA.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)