Who says 13 is an unlucky number?

Not Duncan “Pumper” Bell.

Bell, a 32-year-old former amateur hockey player from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has won Event #13 of the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.

And two-thirds of a million dollars!

The event, a $2,500 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament, had 1,395 entrants and a total prize pool of about $3.2 million.

The top 99 finishers earned cash prizes.

For his big win, Bell rings up a staggering $666,697, or approximately two-thirds of a million bucks.

He’ll also receive a WSOP championship gold bracelet, the first one of his career.

Second was Steve Merrifield of Fairmont, West Virginia, USA, earning $428,949.

Third was Nathan Doudney of Dallas, Texas, USA, earning $260,261.

Fourth was Shawn Buchanan of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, earning $218,491.

Fifth was Brent Hanks of Fillmore, New York, USA, earning $178,327.

Sixth was Jason Sanders of Simi Valley, California, USA, earning $139,770.

Seventh was Ariel Soffer of Hollywood, Florida, USA, earning $107,639.

Eighth was Brent Ditzik of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, earning $83,541.

Ninth was Nicolas Levi of London, England, earning $59,442.

Tenth was Adam Katz of Delray Beach, Florida, USA, earning $38,235.

Bell, who said his nickname is “Pumper” because when playing poker he likes to “pump up the pots,” told reporters after the victory: “Winning this gold bracelet means a lot to me. Every poker player’s dream is to win a bracelet. Some people have 11 of them. I will happy with just one.”

Poker pro and online poker room flack Liz Lieu ended up in 24th place.

Also playing in the event, but failing to place in the Top 99, were actress Jen Tilly, TV talk show host Montel Williams and three former WSOP Main Event winners, Jerry Yang, Jamie Gold and Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth Jr.

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