Schneider is US player of the year

Only 30 points made the difference when it came to winning the World Series of Poker Player of the Year this week. Tom Schneider took the title in a close run contest with Jeffrey Lisandro when neither player succeeded in the last event, number 54 the $5 000 No Limit Draw Lowball, which was won by Erik Seidel.

Event 55 - the WSOP Main Event - started Friday and does not count towards Player of the Year points.

Event 54 was the decider, but Schneider was knocked out half way through before the money bubble, and Lisandro missed it too after being busted out in 14th place, leaving that 30 point difference that made Schneider the champ.

Event 54 winner Seidel probably didn't care either way - he pocketed his eighth WSOP bracelet and the winner's check for $538 835 after beating Chad Brown in the heads up.