Heads-up play for the World Series of Poker Main Event started Monday night at 10 p.m. Pacific Time. According to Barry Greenstein, the decision to start at 10 p.m. was to keep various media sources from being able to print the winner of the Main Event in their morning editions.
Peter Eastgate entered heads up play with 79.5 Million in chips. Ivan Demidov started play with 57.725 Million. The very first hand was potentially explosive and ended a little odd. The board by the river showed K-10-10-K-K to put a full house on board. Demidov then made a bet of around 8 Million and Eastgate went into the tank. Many players expected Eastgate to call in this spot. Chris “Jesus” Ferguson said later that he would have even raised it 12 Million. Eastgate shocked everyone when he ended up folding his hand and giving the pot to Demidov. Later on it would be revealed by Demidov in an interview that he indeed had the case king in his hand and Eastgate made an amazing laydown. Demidov continued to apply the pressure early on and took the chip lead in hand 12 of heads up play after making two pair on the river. He had nearly a 9 million chip lead at that point.
It would be the last chip lead that Demidov would hold during the main event. Eastgate won several pots afterwards to take back the chip leads and move up to around 75 Million in chips. Demidov was set to take back the chip lead in hand 33. On a flop of 5d-7h-4d, Demidov raised the action to 3.375 Million in chips. Eastgate called and an 8h fell on the turn. Demidov would then check-raise a bet from Eastgate to 14 Million total. Eastgate would make the call. The 3d fell on the river and both players checked, fearing the flush. Demidov showed 6c-8c. He had flopped the straight. Unfortunately for him, Eastgate turned over 4c-6h. The turn had given Eastgate the same straight, and the players wound up chopping the pot.
Eastgate would extend his chip lead in hand 35. After a raised to 2.8 Million preflop, both players saw a flop of Ad-3s-Jh. Both players checked and the Jd fell on the turn. Eastgate would be out 2.5 Million on the turn and was called. The river came the Qc and Eastgate bet out 6.9 Million. Demidov insta-called and players thought he might have a big hand. Eastgate turned over Ac-Qh for top two pair. Demidov mucked his cards and Eastgate moved up to 86.65 Million. Demidov slipped to 50 Million.
Four hands later, Demidov took another blow to his stack. Eastgate called a raise of 2.75 Million and both players saw the flop of 9h-7s-6d. Demidov bet 3.625 Million and was called. Action was checked around on the turn of the Jh. The Qs fell on the river and Demidov bet 7 Million. Eastgate insta-called and showed Js-8s for a pair of jacks. Demidov was caught bluffing and was only holding ace high. Eastgate took in the 26.95 Million pot and moved up to 100 Million. Devidov slipped to around 36.275 Million.
Demidov would slip down to as low as 29.725 Million in chips before making a bit of a comeback. He began to apply pressure a lot on Eastgate again with a lot of min-raises pre-flop. A couple of key re-raises pre-flop also helped Demidov rebuild his stack. He was able to rebound to around 52 Million. At this point it seemed that Demidov had retaken the momentum in the event.
Hand 98 wound up being another huge hand between the two. After another min-raise preflop, Eastgate made the call and both player saw the flop of Kd-10d-7c. The flop was checked around and the turn fell the Jd. Eastgate bet 2.5 Million and Demidov came over the top to make it 8 Million. Eastgate called and the river fell the 3s. Eastgate checked to Demidov and he bet out 12 Million. Eastgate snap-called and flipped over 7d-4d for the flush. Demidov mucked his cards and Eastgate moved up to 106 Million in chips. Demidov slipped to 30 Million.
At this point, it seemed that Demidov had nearly conceded defeat as he slipped under 20 Million in hand 104. The very next hand would be the final hand of the event. Eastgate limped in and Demidov would check his option pre-flop. The flop came Ks-3h-2d and Eastgate bet out 1.25 Million. Demidov made the call and the turn fell the 4c. Eastgate bet out 2 Million and Demidov raised to 6 Million. Eastgate called and the river fell the 7s. Demidov pushed all-in and Eastgate insta-called. Demidov showed 4h-2h for two pair and Eastgate showed Ad-5s for the wheel and the win. With that hand, Peter Eastgate became the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
Eastgate showed very little emotion when the final hand was shown. He stood up, walk away from the table, and then was mobbed by his fans. He then began to smile a bit as realization set in that he had just won the most coveted prize in poker. Also, Eastgate’s win makes him the youngest Main Event champion in history, a title formerly held by Phil Hellmuth.
And just like that, the 2008 World Series of Poker concludes. It all started back in May when players from all around the world came to the Rio in Las Vegas to chase a dream of winning a bracelet. After 6 weeks of events, the Main Event started with 6844 players. After many grueling days and then a four month wait, we finally played out the final table until Peter Eastgate emerged as the newest World Champion. Congratulations to Peter Eastgate, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion!
Whether you loved or hated the idea of the final table delay, it looked as if the end result was just what Harrah’s and ESPN wanted. No announcement has been made about next year’s Main Event, but don’t be surprised if we have another “November Nine” in 2009.
Sunday was the day. The “November Nine” finally reconvened to play out the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. The crowd was massive and play was held in the Penn & Teller Theatre at the Rio. Dennis Phillips flew in around 300 supporters, all dressed like him, complete with St Louis Cardinals caps. Each player had their own entourage to support them at this epic final.
Jack Effel opened the festivities and finally the cards were in the air. Kelly Kim was the short stack of the tournament and actually played the very first hand, which happened to be from the button. He won the hand, and then was relatively quiet until he was nearly blinded down to nothing. His stack got down to less than 1 Million and Ivan Demidov put him all in. Amazingly, Kim woke up with pocket kings in the big blind and called. The kings held up and he had a few more waiting chips. And wait he did. Kim only seemed to have one goal, and that was to finish in at least 8th place.
Dennis Phillips lost most of his stack in the early going when a couple of well timed re-raises from both Ivan Demidov and Ylon Schwartz forced him to fold big pots. At one point he was the 2nd short stack with just under 5 Million chips. He was able to claw his way back up.
Craig Marquis then became the short stack and was all-in pre-flop. Scott Montgomery made the call with A-Q. Marquis held pocket sevens. The flop would come A-10-7 to give Marquis a set and leave Montgomery drawing thing. However, in poker, even the smallest percentages can win. Montgomery was able to catch a Jack on the turn to give him a gutshot straight draw and then he caught the miracle card on the river when a King fell to give him the straight and eliminate Marquis in 9th place. Marquis will receive no additional money as all players were paid out 9th place money in July.
Kelly Kim was the next player eliminated. As expected, he moved all in and received multiple callers. In the end, Darus Suharto had a pair of nines to beat Kim’s fours and Kim finished in 8th place and took home $1,288,217.
Chino Rheem could never get anything going and was finally all in with A-K against Peter Eastgate’s A-Q. Unfortunately for Chino, Eastgate would spike a queen on the flop and the pair of queens would hold. Rheem finished in 7th place, making $1,772,650.
Players went on dinner break and came back to watch both Dewey Tomko and Henry Orenstein inducted into the Professional Poker Hall of Fame. Action was somewhat slow for a while after dinner until Darus Suharto decided to move all-in over the top of a raise from Scott Montgomery. Montgomery finally made the call after tanking a while. Montgomery held As-Qd and Suharto held Ah-8c. The flop would fall all spades to give Montgomery the nut flush draw and the turn would complete Montgomery’s flush. Darus Suharto would take home $2,418,562 for his strong finish at the WSOP Main Event.
A huge pot would then develop between Ivan Demidov and Scott Montgomery. Pre-flop, Demidov would come over the top of a raise from Montgomery to make it 4.025 Million to go. Montgomery would then decide to move all-in and Demidov insta-called. Demidov held pocket Kings and Montgomery had only Ad-9d. Amazingly the flop fell with two diamonds to give Montgomery the nut flush draw. The turn and river both missed Montgomery and Demidov doubled up through Montgomery to over 51 Million in chips. Scott Montgomery was left with only 6 Million.
Four hands later, Montgomery was all in with Ad-3d against the pocket sixes of Peter Eastgate. An ace would hit the flop to put Montgomery in the lead. An ace would also hit the turn, leaving Eastgate needing a six. Someone mentioned that they had folded a six, so there was only one six left in the deck. Amazingly, the case six in the deck hit the river to give Peter Eastgate the full house. Scott Montgomery finished in 5th place for $3,096,768.
Hand 154 of the event saw the elimination of Ylon Schwartz. On the turn, the board read 2s-Kh-8h-Kd. Peter Eastgate bet 1.75 Million and was called by Schwartz. The river fell the 5d and Eastgate bet 4.6 Million. Schwartz then moved all-in for 20.775 Million. Eastgate went into the tank for a very long time contemplating a call. He finally made the call and Schwartz told him “Good Hand” as he showed A-10 for air. Eastgate showed pocket fives for fives full. Schwartz finished in fourth place. $3,774,974 would be his prize for fourth.
It didn’t take long after that to get down to heads up. Peter Eastgate made it 1.5 Million to go pre-flop of hand 168 and Dennis Phillips called. The flop fell Jc-3s-4d. Eastgate then made a bet of 1.5 Million. Phillips then came over the top all in for 16.8 Million and Eastgate snap called. Eastgate had flopped a set with pocket threes and Phillips had 10-9 for nothing but a backdoor straight draw. An Ace fell on the turn, leaving Phillips drawing dead and as the third place finisher. The man who started the day as chip leader finished in 3rd and took home $4,517,773.
The final two that will return Monday night at 10 p.m. Pacific are Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov. Eastgate has the chip lead with 82,585,000 and Demidov has 54 Million. Eastgate has the lead, but Demidov has the experience, making the final table of the WSOP-E. It should be a great heads-up match to determine the 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion.
Barry Greenstein attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studies Computer Science. While at college, he would host various poker games where he would offer to teach people how to play poker. The only stipulation was that they must play him in a poker game after the lessons. His games attracted various students and professors. Upon graduating with his Bachelors Degree, Greenstein became a regular in the California card rooms, where he honed his skills
One of the players that Greenstein played with frequently was Larry Flint, who was the owner of Hustler Magazine and owned the Huster Casino. In 2003, Flint put together a 7 Card Stud event with several of the top names in poker and himself. Flint wanted the event to result in only a single winner, but in the end Flint and Greenstein wound up chopping the prize money and Greenstein took home his first large score in poker at $770,000.
Later in the year, Greenstein earned his nickname “The Robin Hood of Poker” during a WPT event in Tunica, MS. Greenstein made the final table of the World Poker Open and eventually took down the top prize. He then donated the prize of over $1.2 Million to charity. Greenstein also took a WPT title in 2006. He placed first in the WPT Invitational held in Los Angeles, CA. For a long time Greenstein donated all of his tournament winnings to charity, but he had to slow down and only donate his overall profit from tournaments.
Barry Greenstein also holds three bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He won an lowball bracelet in 2004, and won a Pot Limit Omaha bracelet in 2005. His third bracelet came in 2008 when he won the Razz event. Greenstein also has made two final tables at the WSOP in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. In both 2007 and 2008, he made the final eight, finishing 7th and 6th respectively.
When not playing at the tables, Greenstein is a member of Team Pokerstars. He is a regular ambassador for the site and is featured prominently on their site. Greenstein also authored the book Ace on the River. This book is primarily his autobiography, but it also delves into the pro poker lifestyle. He frequently autographs a copy of his books and gives it to players that knock him out of different tournaments. Greenstein is a high stakes poker player and is featured on shows such as High Stakes Poker and regularly plays in the “Big Game” at the Bellagio. Greenstein also is extremely respected by his peers. He is even called upon at times to settle disputes amongst professionals.
Greenstein has been around the poker community a long time and has adapted as the games switched from lowball and stud to Texas Holdem. He is skilled in all forms of poker and continues to compete at a championship level. His bracelet in 2008 was just one of many great accomplishments in his career and Greenstein looks to be a successful member of the poker community for many years to come.
Generally it is believed that being a good person is incompatible with being a good poker player. But for Brian “Sailor” Roberts that was the picture he presented to the others. Growing up in San Angelo, TX, Roberts’ first gambling that he took a shine to was craps. As a 12 year old caddie in local golf club he specialized in shooting craps against his colleagues.
He did not cherish gambling as his only goal and aim. He was a talented football player during his high school days and had planned to play the same at the college level as well. But then a change of mind landed him the Navy. His duty years coincided with the years of Korean War. He had almost become familiar with all types of war ships. The nickname “Sailor” came to him in this fashion. But one thing was certain. All through his times in the Navy he continued his craps game and seemed determined to be a professional gambler when once permanently found foothold on land.
In the 1950s he teamed up with Amarillo Slim Preston and Doyle Brunson. The group travelled throughout the country. They specialized in playing poker and sports-betting. For an unbroken period of six years this continued. The provisions of the Federal Wire Act caught up with Roberts in 1962 and he was arrested for conducting betting on sports over the telephone. After a year’s prison life Roberts concentrated only on poker.
In 1970 when World Series of Poker was in its infancy, Roberts was among the invitees for the first game. He was a regular in the event for many years. It was in 1974 that he got his first WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 2-7 Draw Event. His prize earnings were $35,850 when he won over Larry Perkins. In the following year he achieved cherished goal winning the WSOP Main Event. This he accomplished by outlasting 20 players. He took home the Championship Bracelet and prize earnings of $210,000.
It was the practice until 1975 to award the Main Event Winner just a trophy and the prize money. In 1975 the idea of giving a physical bracelet began. In this sense Roberts may be said to be the first person to have won a bracelet. Subsequently past champions were also awarded the bracelets retrospectively as a decision had been made that for Main Event Champions the bracelet would be the reward of recognition.
Roberts continued to play at the WSOP for many more years though he did not meet with a high level of success. The 1982 Main Event saw him finish in the 8th place. He passed away later on due to sclerosis caused by hepatitis. He was fondly recollected for his generosity to every one. In 1961 he looked after Doyle Brunson who had just then undergone an emergency surgery. He was also noted for compassion for a luckless fellow gambler and helped such people often. The best tribute to his personal popularity was when nobody felt jealous when he won the Main Event.
Despite a relatively short career in the poker world, he was noted for being a good man and that was not said of many in the field. It is true that this did not guarantee substantial earnings at the table, but it brought him the unreserved respect from others.
A stately figure, 6’ 6” tall, ‘Treetop’ Jack Straus had a long and storied career. He played college basketball in 40s when he was at Texas A&M. He graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Business Administration but preferred to be a teacher.
The manner in which he was attracted towards poker remains unclear. But he is often spoken along the same lines as Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim. Equally fascinating is the fact that was showed great creativity in bluffing at the poker tables. Once he was playing a hand blind after a rush. Raising the states he glanced and found he had just 7-2. But the flop was 7-3-3 and Straus had the prospect of a raise. After his opponent made the call, the turn fell a 2 and he boisterously made a big bet. Naturally the opponent was perturbed and it is said that Straus told his opponent that he would let him see one of his hole cards for $25. The opponent obliged and saw the deuce card. The opponent put Straus on pocket deuces and eventually folded his hand. This earned him the distinction of being a great bluffer.
He is remembered for two great events in the World Series of Poker. In 1973 he won his first WSOP bracelet when he won the 2-7 Lowball bracelet with take home earnings of $16,500. The second one is significant not for the achievement as such but the way it was done.
It took place on the first day of the Main Event in 1983. Jack Straus placed moved all of his chips to the middle and was called. He in turn lost the hand. Naturally he was preparing to leave the place when one chip said to belong to him was discovered either under a chair or under a napkin. It so happened that the floor authorities allowed him to continue with the single chip. In a while he made a remarkable comeback. This is the origin of the phrase “a chip and a chair” in the poker world. His progress was phenomenal that day and on the following day he found himself at the final table. A galaxy of big names like Dewey Tomko, Doyle Bruson and Berry Johnston were there as well. Eventually it was a toss between Straus and Tomko and in the end he walked away a world champion. He went home with the bracelet, not to mention the $520,000 in prize earnings.
He was a regular in many subsequent tournaments. Although he played in a lot of tournaments, his game was much more suitable to cash game. The reason was obvious. His capacity to bluff was much more useful in cash games back in that era as tournament play was much more conservative. There were a number of small time events where he fared well but his best were in his WSOP finishes.
In November 1988 while a high stakes cash game was in progress he died suddenly due to unexpected massive heart attack. One cannot assert with authority how his game would have stood up to the modern era of poker. He likely would have continued to play cash games and endured. Whether this would have come about or not his fame as a legend in the game lives on.
Heads-up play for the World Series of Poker Main Event started Monday night at 10 p.m. Pacific Time. According to Barry Greenstein, the decision to start at 10 p.m. was to keep various media sources from being able to print the winner of the Main Event in their morning editions. 
Demidov would slip down to as low as 29.725 Million in chips before making a bit of a comeback. He began to apply pressure a lot on Eastgate again with a lot of min-raises pre-flop. A couple of key re-raises pre-flop also helped Demidov rebuild his stack. He was able to rebound to around 52 Million. At this point it seemed that Demidov had retaken the momentum in the event.
And just like that, the 2008 World Series of Poker concludes. It all started back in May when players from all around the world came to the Rio in Las Vegas to chase a dream of winning a bracelet. After 6 weeks of events, the Main Event started with 6844 players. After many grueling days and then a four month wait, we finally played out the final table until Peter Eastgate emerged as the newest World Champion. Congratulations to Peter Eastgate, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion!
