Bodog Beat

David Benyamine may be on track to win 2008 WSOP Player of the Year, but his girlfriend, Erica Schoenberg, is still way hotter. (Bodog Beat Image)

Yet another well-known poker player has won a bracelet here at the 2008 WSOP, cementing this Series more and more as the "Year of the Pro." On top of that, it was another pro who finally captured their first bracelet after coming so close so many times.

Before last night, David Benyamine had been to three WSOP final tables and notched another two top 15 finishes without being able to seal the deal, until now. In the wee hours of the morning, Benyamine captured not only his first WSOP bracelet but also a World Championship in Event No. 37 – $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship. Of course, he also gets the $535,687 that goes along with it.

With this win, two final tables and a 10th place finish in the $5,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event under his belt this year, Benyamine has moved into second place in the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year standings, trailing Jacobo Fernandez (?) by two points. Behind him in those standings is the proof that this year marks the return to dominance of poker pros. Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren and Daniel Negreanu all trail him, in that order, with Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Andy Bloch and Ted Forrest not too much further down the line.

Most of these players are out today playing today in Event No. 40 – $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw – including Benyamine himself, so those standings are likely to get shaken up a bit once this event wraps up.

Stay tuned for more updates on the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year race and all of your live updates from the 2008 World Series of Poker.