World Series of Poker Europe – £1,500 No Limit Holdem Day 1a

Posted by James on September 20, 2008

The World Series of Poker Europe kicked off Friday at the Empire Casino in London England with a £1,500 No Limit Holdem Event. Day 1a saw 191 players put up £1,500 each to take their shot at the first WSOP-E bracelet of the year. This event is a new even in this year’s World Series of Poker Europe schedule. Annette Obrestad kicked off the event with the customary “shuffle up and deal.”

Thor Hansen, Max Pescatori, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Chris “Jesus’ Ferguson, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Brandon Cantu, Barry Greenstein, Layne Flack, Roland De Wolfe, and several local professionals were among those competing in this first day. Max Pescatori was one of the first casualties of the day when he and Andrew Teng called an all-in bet from William Martin. Pescatori was on a flush draw, Martin held aces, and Teng held kings. In the end, Pescatori didn’t catch his flush and he was eliminated before the start of level two.

Phil Ivey went out before the end of level two, but if you must go out of a tournament, go out like Ivey did. On the turn, the board showed Q-8-5-9, and Ivey had a nut straight against Johnny Cooke. The river fell another five and Cooke checked to Ivey. Ivey moved all-in and Cooke called and showed pocket fives for quad fives. Ivey then headed “straight” out of the door.

Chris Ferguson and Roland De Wolfe departed during level four. Odin couldn’t help Thor Hansen on this day, as he was also a Day 1a casualty. Layne Flack proved that bad timing can happen to pros as well as amateurs. A player raised preflop and was called. Flack decided that he would try to make a move and go all in with K-Q. Unfortunately, the original raiser had pocket aces and Flack hit the sack. Barry Greenstein didn’t fare any better, and someone now has a signed copy of his book.

Daniel Negreanu quietly built his stack through Day 1a and finished the session with the unofficial chip lead. He current sits with 74,900 in chips. Not far behind is Jason Gray who has 72,800. Brandon Cantu finished in the top 5 in chips for the day and John Juanda finished in the middle of the pack with around 27,000 in chips. Erik Seidel is the 2nd short stack of the day with only around 7,000 chips remaining.

Day 1a was supposed to last ten full levels but the action today was fast and furious. Players dropped out at such a rapid pace that tournament officials decided to conclude play after only eight levels. 42 players remain of the 191 that started the day. This event is expected to sell out, so tomorrow’s Day 1b is expected to be at least 309 players. Several players have yet to take their seats including Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, David Benyamine, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, and Scotty Nguyen. Expect tomorrow’s action to be very pro heavy with a lot of action.

Tomorrow’s action kicks off at 1 p.m. London time.

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Filed Under: WSOP Europe

Tags: Annette Oberstad, Barry Greenstein, Brandon Cantu, Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, Layne Flack, Max Pescatori, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Poker, Thor Hansen, World Series of Poker, World Series of Poker Europe, WSOP-E, WSOPE

Gallery of WSOP Champions – Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston (1972)

Posted by James on September 19, 2008

Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston is known as much for his gambling and prop betting as he is for his prowess in poker. Throughout the years, Slim has bet on everything from playing pool with a broom to betting on presidential elections. In fact, this year at the 2008 WSOP, I personally witnessed him prop bet one of my coworkers as to who could make more free throws in basketball. My coworker is over 6’4” tall and Slim is 79.

Amarillo Slim was one of the first seven original players that started the World Series of Poker in 1970. However, it wasn’t until 1972 that Slim took down his first title. The 1972 World Series of Poker Main Even had eight entrants that year. $5,000 per player was added to the prize pool. This was done as a publicity stunt to try and draw spectators into the Horseshoe.

Puggy Pearson, Doyle Brunson, Crandall Addington, Jack Straus, Johnny Moss, Roger Van Ausdall, Jimmy Casella, and Preston battled it out for the $80,000 top prize. Doyle Brunson, Puggy Pearson, and Slim were the last three remaining in the event when Brunson struck a deal to “cash out” his chips for $20,000. Then Puggy Pearson and Amarillo Slim battled it out for the adjusted top prize of $60,000. Pearson held a 2 to 1 chip lead, but Slim was able to battle back and win his first Main Event title.

According to Barry Greenstein, the Main Event went down slightly differently than history portrays it. Apparently Doyle Brunson, Puggy Pearson, and Amarillo Slim struck a deal to where they would throw the event and let Slim have the win. In exchange for the win, Slim agreed to let them have the prize money.
After winning the Main Event, Amarillo Slim went on various talk shows to talk about his win at the World Series of Poker. He garnered a lot of fame and even picked up a part in a Robert Altman movie entitled California Split. If Greenstein’s story about the 1972 Series being thrown is true, then Slim made a very wise business decision. Giving up $80,000 was well worth the publicity he received as a result of his win.

In all, Amarillo Slim won 4 bracelets at the World Series of Poker. Two were in Pot Limit Omaha and two were in No Limit Holdem. Even at 79, Slim is still playing at a high level. He has cashed in the Seniors event at the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker. He also plays in a few selected events. Whenever he is at the table, players take note. It is still a big thrill for a player to be able to say that they took a pot of Amarillo Slim.

Amarillo Slim is a classic example of an old school gambler. He bets on anything that you can wager on and likes the thrill of chasing the dollar. If the story of how he won the 1972 World Series of Poker is true, than that just adds one more legend to the man that has so many legendary tales.
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