The World Series of Poker Main Event began on Saturday at the Empire Casino in London. 159 players put up £10,000 on this Day 1a to take their shot at this championship, which is the last bracelet of this year. Many of poker’s top names from both the United States and Europe gathered to take their shot at the title. Annette Obrestad is the current defending champion of this event. She became the youngest person in history to win a bracelet last year and the only woman to ever win a WSOP Main Event title.
Big names that participated in today’s event included Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Scott Fischman, Andy Black, Erik Seidel, Josh Arieh, Erica Schoenberg, Steve Zolotow, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Lawson, Kathy Liebert, Vanessa Rousso, Alexander Kravchenko, Chad Brown, Eli Elezra, Freddy Deeb, Patrik Antonius, Max Pascatori, Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, and Howard Lederer.
David Benyamine was the first big name to be eliminated from this Main Event. Apparently he had tangled early on with Andy Bloch and Bloch took around 6,000 of Benyamine’s 20,000 stack before they got tangled in another huge hand. There was a lot of action preflop between the two before the flop fell 4c-4d-6d. Benyamine bet out 2,800 and Bloch raised enough to put Benyamine all-in. Benyamine went into the tank, probably sensing what was about to come. He finally called showing Kc-Ks. As he was probably guessing, Bloch flipped over Ah-Ad. Benyamine was unable to catch a king and his day was done early.
Howard Lederer was the next to exit. Chris Moorman called a raise to 1,000 from Lederer preflop and the flop fell 9-6-3. Moorman checked and Lederer bet 1,500. Moorman check-raised to 4,800 and Lederer called. When the turn fell a 7, Moorman bet enough to put Lederer all-in and Lederer called. Moorman showed pocket sixes for a set of sixes and Lederer showed pocket aces. The river was a blank, and Lederer headed for the door.
One interesting note was that the seat formerly occupied by David Benyamine was shortly replaced by Erica Schoenberg. Schoenberg is the fiancé of David Benyamine. Also apparently the crews over in Europe aren’t quite sure who Phil Hellmuth is. An intern with ESPN asked Phil Hellmuth to fill out a player profile sheet, which is kind of funny considering that there shouldn’t be a poker fan out there that doesn’t know who he is.
It took a while for the next big name to fall by the wayside, but finally Layne Flack was all in with Ah-Kc against Ac-10s. The flop fell 10c-9c-10h, leaving Flack drawing thin. He was drawing dead after the 8c fell on the turn. Mike Matusow was among the early chip leaders after knocking out Finnish rocker Voittlo Rintala. Around the mid point of the day, Matusow had 75,000 chips.
I’m not sure why Odin is pissed right now, but he must be, because Thor Hansen had a really bad beat put on him at the river. Hansen and Liebert were all in against Liya Gerasimova after a pre-flop raising war. Hansen held Jc-Jd, Liebert held Qc-Qh, Gerasimova held Kh-Kd. Hansen was far behind and fell behind further on the flop of Ad-10h-3d. It must have seemed that Odin smiled upon Hansen when the Jh hit the river, giving Hansen a set. Odin was clearly just teasing Hansen, because the fell the Ks, giving Liebert a straight, and sending Hansen home. Why Odin, why?
Barny Boatman was eliminated later in the day when he moved all in with pocket 10’s. Isaac Haxton had limped in pre-flop with pocket aces and made the call. The board missed both players and Boatman is done. Linda Lee will not be making another final table at this WSOP Europe. She was all in with pocket sixes against the pocket tens of Praz Bansi. Neither player hit the board and Lee was eliminated. Eli Elezra was one of the short stacks the entire day and had survived a few all-in’s. Finally he went all-in with 7h-8h and was called by Andy Bloch who was holding A-K. An ace hit the board, and Elezra hit the bricks.
Phil Hellmuth had been grinding for the better part of the day himself. Earlier in the day he was all the way down to 4,000 after losing to a set holding pocket aces. He had moved up a little over 10,000 and had hovered around there most of the evening. During the last level, Hellmuth was in the big blind and was raised by the small blind. Hellmuth then moved over the top all-in. The call to the small blind was 8,000. After tanking for a while, the small blind made the call. Hellmuth flipped over Ad-Kc and the small blind showed As-Qd. Hellmuth had his opponent dominated. The flop came with two kings on it to give Hellmuth a set. With the hand, he doubled up to 24,800 and remained alive for Day 2. Hellmuth was head saying, “That’s what I’ve been waiting for and I have them dominated. That’s the first time I’ve been all in today.”
Josh Arieh was among the chip leaders when he ran into a big hand against Scott Montgomery. Montgomery went all in preflop for around 40,000 chips and Arieh inexplicably made the call with Ac-Jd. Montgomery flipped over As-Kc. An ace hit both players when the flop fell 7s-5h-Ad. The turn and river fell running 8’s and Arieh was reduced to 43,000 in chips.
86 players remain out of the 159 players that started this Day 1a. Many pros were eliminated on this first day including big names such as Phil Ivey, Max Pescatori, and Patrik Antonius. Justin “BoostedJ” Smith is the Day 1a chip leader with 158,925 in chips. Andy Bloch finished third in chips and will enter Day 2 with 97,100. Many top names remain in contention for this title and Day 2 should prove interesting. Day 1b will commence at 1pm Sunday London Time.
Day 2 of the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. started with 110 players trying to make their way to the final table. The field is still overrun with pro players. Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Gus Hansen, Robert Williamson III, John Juanda, Joe Beevers, Barny Boatman, David Williams, Max Pescatori, Jeff Lisandro, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Howard Lederer are among the names that are still in contention.
Barry Greenstein was the first casualty of the day. Shortly after the beginning of play, Greenstein was all in with A-10 against John Phan’s A-9. Phan caught a nine on the flop, and Greenstein was left hoping to catch one of the remaining 10’s. A ten did not arrive and Phan now has a copy of Ace on the River.
Bruno Fitoussi busted out shortly afterwards in an Omaha 8 round when his pair of kings were no match for Bruce Yamron’s sixes and fives. Fitoussi was the runner-up in the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker. Freddy Deeb was the winner of the event.
Phil Hellmuth has received a tough table draw for this Day 2. His opponents include Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Mark Gregorich, Sherkhan Farnood, and Gary Jones. Gus Hansen started razzing Phil when he asked Howard Lederer if Phil was the 7th or 8th best player at the table. Lederer would not respond, but Hellmuth mentioned that he had only played 5 hands to that point.
Jean-Robert Bellande was voted off the island in a stud round when his queens ran into Ivo Donev’s kings up. Brandon Cantu was out shortly afterwards. In a holdem round with a flop of 8d-4h-3d, Cantu bet out and was raised by Yuval Bronshtein. This was enough to put Cantu all-in. Bronshtein showed 8s-8c for a set and Cantu showed Qh-Jc. Cantu needed running straight cards to win, but they did not come and Cantu hit the rail.
Sadly a few hands later saw the end to one of the more entertaining players, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. In a holdem hand against Gus Hansen, Matsow called bets from Hansen all the way to the river, where he was all in. The board showed Jd-Js-Jc-Ks-Qc when Hansen tabled pocket threes for a full house. Matusow only held ace high and was gone.
John Phan was involved in a three way pot that included Max Pescatori and Raul Paez. On a flop of Qs-Kh-5h, Phan bet out the last of his stack and was called by both opponents. Pescatori bet both the turn of the 3d and the river of the 6d. At showdown, Pescatori showed Ad-Kc-5c-3c for two pair, Paez showed As-3h-4c-Jc for the low, and Phan showed Ah-Jd-7h-6s, for a pair and a weaker low. As a result, Phan is eliminated from this H.O.R.S.E. event.
As we began to approach the bubble, Andy Bloch was all in during a holdem round. He had hit a pair of sevens on the flop, but John Juanda he flopped a pair of kings. Neither player improved and Bloch was eliminated from today’s event. Bloch was the runner up of the first ever $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker. He came up on the short end of the marathon heads-up match with the late Chip Reese.
The two Phil’s have been tangling a bit today. First, Ivey sucked out on a hand against Hellmuth when he caught a queen on seventh in a stud round. The very next hand, Ivey caught a straight flush in five cards to move his chips up to 100,000. Then, a few hands later, David Williams completed showing (X-X) 4c. Ivey raised showing (X-X) Jc and Hellmuth called showing (X-X) Ad. Williams followed along.
Ivey bet out on fourth and fifth, with Williams folding on fourth and Hellmuth calling along. Hellmuth then bet out on sixth showing (X-X) Ad-Qs-6c-5h. Ivey raised showing a board of (X-X) Jc-7s-Kh-4d. Hellmuth three-bet and Ivey made the call. At showdown, Hellmuth showed a bluff and Ivey showed a pair of kings to take another big pot off of Hellmuth.
Howard Lederer has been the biggest surprise of this Day 2 thus far. He has been near the chip lead a good portion of the day. In one hand in a stud round, Lederer was able to eliminate both Gus Hansen and Barny Boatman with kings up. After the hand he was up to 85,000 but moved up to around 100,000 not long afterwards.
As we got closer to the bubble, both John Juanda and Robert Williamson III were eliminated. Both were eliminated during a stud 8 round. Joe Beevers finished in 18th place when his 7-6 low in razz ran into a perfect 6 of Jeff Lisandro.
Max Pescatori ended up being the bubble boy for this event. In a hand against Sherkhan Farnood, Pescatori was all in on Sixth Street showing Ah-5d-2h-8h-3s-7d for a wheel draw and a seven low. Farnood showed 4h-6d-8s-5c-As-7s for an eight high straight and a weaker seven low. A 3h on the river gave Farnood a seven high straight and a six low. Pascatori did not catch a four and he was eliminated.
David Williams was the first player to make the money with a 16th place finish. In an Omaha 8 round, with the flop showing 10c-3h-Kd, Yuval Bronshtein bet out 2,000 and Raul Paez raised to 4,000. Williams made the call and Bronshtein three bet to 6,000. Williams four bet but only for a few hundred more. Both opponents made the call. The turn of the 10s fell and Bronshtein bet out 4,000. Paez made the call. At showdown Bronstein showed 10d-3c-2h-5h for tens full. Paez flashed pocket threes for a weaker full house and Williams mucked his hand. He then went and collected his £4,812 for his finish.
Play will continue until we reach a final table. Of course, Harrah’s has been known to make strange decisions regarding ending tournaments early. The rest of today’s coverage will conclude in the next post.
Today’s field included Phil Laak, Andy Bloch, Andy Black, Michael Binger, John Phan, David Williams, Howard Lederer, Robert Williamson III, Allen Cunningham, Mike Matusow, David “DevilFish” Ulliott, Erica Schoenberg, Annette Obrestad, and Phil Hellmuth. Conspicuously absent were the Brunson. Doyle, Todd, and Pamela were absent from this event. It is not known whether they just have not arrived yet or just decided not to play this event.
Many players arrived late for today’s tournament, including the man that historically likes to arrive late and put on a show, Phil Hellmuth. Today was no exception. Phil came in with his typical manner of going around the table and shaking everyone’s hand and letting them know that “The Man” had arrived.
Mike Matusow was wired for sound on this Day 1b. First he went into a little monologue regarding the crowd hanging around the rail. He mentioned that “There’s more people in that square than Sarah Palin was ever governor of in that little town of hers in Arkansas. Or Alaska or whatever.” Later he gave a clue regarding why he is always so wired. He said that is was coffee. Apparently the caffeine gets to him. He said, “I went from sleeping to can’t shut up.”
Jennifer Tilly and Marcus Golser were among the first big names to exit early in today’s field. Golser pushed with the powerhouse hand 8c-2d. Unfortunately, a player woke up with the “mediocre hand” A-A. The flop did come with an 8 on it, but the rest of the board bricked out and Golser hit the rail. Tilly exited much quieter and we didn’t get details on the bustout. I must say that I cannot see how she can afford to keep playing these events. After watching her play at the World Series at different times, one has to wonder who the money pit she is tapping to keep being bought into these events. Before you say Phil Laak, remember that he isn’t doing much better either. At least Laak cashed twice at the WSOP this year. Tilly was 0 for whatever.
Just before the end of the third level, both Phil Hellmuth and Annette Obrestad were eliminated. Hellmuth was all-in on a flop of 6h-8h-Qh. He held Ah-Ad, but unfortunately his opponent held Qc-Qd. As irony would have it, Hellmuth had 11 outs to win the hand. (11 is the number of bracelets Hellmuth holds.) The turn fell the 3d, which reduced his outs to 10. The river fell the 6d, which completed his opponent’s full house and sent Hellmuth packing. Annette Obrestad was all in on the turn with a pair and a flush draw, facing two players with better pairs. She was unable to neither pair her kick nor catch her flush, and her day is done.
Topics from politics to religion were discussed at today’s event. Mike Matusow and Robert Williamson III were discussing politics and Williamson said “Biden sucks . . . He’s old! He’s almost as old as McCain. That’s the only one out of the four I don’t like.” For those of you that are reading overseas, Biden is the vice-presidential candidate of John McCain in the US presidential election. Mike Matusow later on mentioned that he knew the reason why Jerry Yang won the Main Even in 2007. He said, “The reason Jerry Yang won the World Series was because he prayed harder than everyone else.”
Sadly, Mike Matusow was eliminated during level 5 of today’s event. Mike Matusow was all-in preflop and called by Costas Artemi. Matusow held pocket kings and his opponent held Ad-Kd. The flop hit neither player, but the turn produced an ace that put Artemi ahead. Matusow did not catch a miracle two outer on the river and the tournament area became significantly quieter after the hand.
In a “hand” that should have brought back great memories, the dealer at John Phan’s dealer dealt out a flop before dealing any cards to the players. Phan was greatly amused by this. David Williams at an adjoining table asked “You moved in, right?” For those of you that don’t know, during the $3,000 No Limit final table at the World Series of Poker in Vegas, John Phan and his heads up opponent moved all in blind three times in a row. The flop, turn, and river were all dealt before they turned up their cards one at a time.
The eighth and final level of the night saw the departure of Allen Cunningham. Cunningham tried to make a move from the button, pushing all in with 9d-2d. Jerome Bradpiece made the call with As-Qd. The board missed both players and Cunningham’s tournament is over.
John Phan had a roller coaster day. At one point he was around 50,000 in chips but slowly bled off chips throughout the evening. Finally in the last level, he was all in with As-Qs. Unfortunately, he was against Ks-Kd. The board missed both players and Phan had to get off the ride.
David Williams and Jean-Robert Bellande were the last two big names eliminated in the last level of play. Bellande pushed from the small blind holding 9h-8h. The big blind called with Kh-7s. The flop came with two hearts, giving Bellande hope. A king on the turn left Bellande needing a heart to win. The river fell the Ad, and Bellande was off to watch Survivor reruns. David Williams moved all in preflop with Ac-5d but ran into the pocket queens of Andy Black. The turn produced a gutshot wheel draw for Williams, but neither an ace nor a five fell on the river and Williams was gone.
48 players survived today’s Day 1b and will join the 41 player from yesterday tomorrow for Day 2. Phil Laak, Andy Bloch, and Andy Black all survived with decent stacks. Adam Junglen emerged as the chip leader, with 83,600 in chips. Junglen will enter Day 3 as the overall chip leader.
Day 2 will begin tomorrow at 1 p.m. London Time. The 90 player field will then play down to the final table.
The 2008 World Series of Poker will be known as the “Year of the Pro.” Many pros won bracelet at this years with one winning his first two bracelets. Below are the top five moments from the 2008 WSOP preliminary events.
#5: Mike Matusow Wins Third Bracelet
The final table of the NL 2-7 Lowball with Rebuys event was one of the strongest in World Series of Poker history. Jeffrey Lisandro, Tony G, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren, Tom Schneider, and Mike Matusow played a final table that went well into the night. Play was up and down all night for Matusow but in the end Matusow was able to outlast Jeffrey Lisandro and take his third World Series of Poker bracelet. For his win, Matusow took home $537,862.
#4: David Benyamine Wins First Bracelet
The final table of the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship included several top pros. Tony Ma, Mike Matusow, David Benyamine, David Chiu, Toto Leonidas, Ram Vaswani, and Berry Johnston all were vying for the top honors. Mike Matusow was trying for his second bracelet of the series and made things interesting. In the end David Benyamine weaved his way through the field, taking pots along the way and keeping his stack healthy. Once Mike Matusow was eliminated, Benyamine’s experience took over and by the time play was three handed, Benyamine had around 70% of the chips. Heads-Up play was almost a formality as Benyamine continued to hammer and outdraw his opponent to finally secure his first bracelet. Benyamine took home $535,687 for his win.
#3: Erick Lindgren Finally Breaks Through
Up until 2008, Erick Lindgren was considered the greatest poker player to not have a World Series of Poker bracelet. Lindgren finally shed that title in 2008 when he bested an all star field to take the $5,000 Mixed Holdem event. Lindgren took his first bracelet and the top prize of $374,505. In addition, Lindgren also finished 4th in the NL 2-7 Lowball event and finished 3rd in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. He had five total cashes for the World Series of Poker and won the Player of the Year Award.
#2: John “Razor” Phan wins two bracelets.
In a heads-up match that saw three hands played “all-in blind”, John Phan emerged with his first bracelet in the $3,000 NL Holdem event. The win netted him $434,789. A few days later, Phan won the 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball event for a prize of $151,911 and his second gold bracelet.
#1: Scotty Nguyen wins the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E Event.
The final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event again was a stacked field. Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Michael DeMichelle, Matt Glantz, Lyle Berman, Huck Seed, Barry Greenstein, and Patrick Bueno came together after four days of play to try and make their place in history. After a long final table and a long heads up match with Michael DeMichelle, Scotty Nguyen emerged as the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. This was Nguyen’s fifth bracelet and ranks second to only his 1998 Main Event victory. For his win, Nguyen won the bracelet and $1,989,120. Play online poker on Titan Poker.
