Shades of World War II!

An American has beaten a German at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, to win WSOP Event #15.

The event was a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament with a $5,000 buy-in, a prize pool of about $3 million, 655 entrants and 63 payouts.

The winner was Brian “Bubbleman” Lemke of Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA, earning $692,690 and his first WSOP championship gold bracelet.

He beat out Fabian Quoss of Nuremberg, Germany, who escaped with a not too shabby $427,911.

Taking third was Tom Keller of Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, picking up $280,851.

Top poker names finishing in the money in the event include David Pham in 10th place, Kathy Liebert in 20th and Erik Seidel in 22nd.

Immediately after winning the tournament, new half-millionaire Lemke announced to reporters that he is moving to Las Vegas as soon as possible, so he can easily play poker professionally full-time.

He then discussed the competition he faced in the tourney.

“It was a much tougher field than I am used to playing in,” Lemke said. “I still can’t believe this happened. I envisioned this happening, but right now I feel like I am still dreaming. I’m sure it is going to settle in when I walk out of here.”

And what about his defeated German foe?

“Fabian Quoss is a great player,” Lemke admitted. “I kind of feel bad for sucking out on him. But that’s poker. I’ll take it.” ? (E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)