[bigboydan]

Nine players set for World Series of Poker final table

LAS VEGAS -- A software engineer from Virginia and a psychologist from California are among the nine players remaining in the main event of the World Series of Poker.

Play wound down early Monday to the group that will compete for the $8.25 million top prize at the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament’s final table.

Raymond Rahme, who held pocket queens, called Steven Garfinkle, a 37-year-old history professor from Bellingham, Wash., who had pushed all-in with a short stack and an ace and three. The queens held up, putting Rahme, a 62-year-old South African retiree, in fourth with more than 16 million chips and sending Garfinkle home.

“I’d seen very few cards in the last hour and the time was coming where I needed to either pick up chips or go home,” Garfinkle said.

He busted out in 10th, winning $476,926.

With the final table set, Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane making a living playing poker online in England, held the lead with more than 22 million chips, followed by Toronto poker pro Tuan Lam, 40, with 21.3 million and British poker player Jon Kalmar, 34, with 20.3 million.

Kalmar said he was “nearly broke” before the $10,000 buy-in main event began play July 6, but he plunked down $500 in a satellite tournament to win a seat.

“Otherwise, I was thinking of taking a very long break from the game,” the former Internet technology manager said. “I was thinking of going back to work for a bit. Maybe not for a while yet.”

Others remaining in the hunt for the top prize were Lee Childs, a 35-year-old software engineer from Reston, Va., with 13.2 million; and Lee Watkinson, a 40-year-old pro from Cheney, Wash., in sixth with 9.9 million.

Internet player Hevad Khan, 22, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was seventh with 9.2 million; Temecula, Calif.-based psychologist Jerry Yang, 39, was eighth with 8.4 million; and Russian poker pro Alex Kravchenko had 6.5 million.

The nine players were all that was left from a field of 6,358 who paid $10,000 in cash for a seat or qualified through satellite tournaments.

Those who busted out late Sunday and early Monday still went home with small fortunes.

Scotty Nguyen, “The Prince of Poker,” ended his run through the main event, busting out two places short of the final table and ending hopes of a former champion winning again.

The 44-year-old Nguyen, the 1998 main event champion and the fan favorite as play wound down to a final table, had as many as 15.5 million in chips but lost three huge pots in a disappointing collapse.

“When you’re playing good, you get too cocky and too confident and you give players no credit,” he said after busting out in 11th with a $476,926 payday. “That’s what happened. That’s taking nothing away from all these players. They’re great players. That’s the reason they’re here.”

Later, he took the microphone and thanked the crowd for cheering him on.

One woman yelled out, “We love you, Scotty!”

The last person to win more than once at the main event was the late Stu Ungar, who earned the $1 million top prize in 1997 after back-to-back victories in 1980 and 1981.

This year, John Armbrust, a 26-year-old high school teacher from Los Angeles, left in 18th place with $381,302.

Ron Kluber, a 46-year-old intelligence analyst for U.S. Forces in Seoul, South Korea, came in 29th. Kluber said his $285,678 prize would help put two teenage daughters through college.

“It’s perfect timing,” he said.

Jason Koshi, a 33-year-old certified public accountant, said his payday, also of $285,678, was “a big score” compared with his salary and what he made playing $10-$20 games in Los Angeles.

“This is more than I make in a year, definitely,” he said.

The remaining players reconvene at noon Tuesday at the Rio hotel casino and play until there is a winner. Unlike previous years, when getting to the final table meant becoming an instant millionaire, ninth place this year will pay $525,934, and the millionaire’s club does not begin until fifth place, which pays $1.26 million.

The U.S. crackdown on online gambling, which is believed to have shrunk the field from last year’s record 8,773 entrants, and the flatter payout structure were seen as contributing to the more modest payouts.

Last year’s champion, Jamie Gold, won $12 million, but had to share an undisclosed amount with an acquaintance after a brief court battle.

Day 11


BIG NEWS: Nine players made it to the final table of the $10,000 buy-in main event of the World Series of Poker. Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane making a living playing poker online in England, was the chip leader with 22.07 million. Toronto poker pro Tuan Lam, 40, had 21.31 million and British poker player Jon Kalmar, 34, had 20.32 million. Others with a chance to make millions were Raymond Rahme (16.32 million), Lee Childs (13.24 million), Lee Watkinson (9.92 million), Hevad Khan (9.2 million), Jerry Yang (8.45 million) and Alex Kravchenko (6.57 million).

STUD OF THE DAY: Ron Kluber, a 46-year-old U.S. intelligence analyst in South Korea, said his $285,678 prize for finishing 29th would go toward putting his two teenage daughters through college. “It’s perfect timing,” he said.

POKER TALK: Limp: When a player enters a pot before the flop simply by calling the amount in the big blind. A limp is considered a weak play with a marginal hand. It also can conceal a monster hand like pocket aces. Jeff Bryan of Fort Calhoun, Neb., limped for 80,000 in chips and was reraised to 320,000. Bryan decided to go over the top with 1.375 million with a jack and 10, indeed a marginal holding, and was called by a player with the ace and king of hearts. Although Bryan made two pair when a jack and 10 came as the last two cards, a queen on the flop gave his opponent a straight. Bryan finished 27th.

UP NEXT: Nine players will sit down at noon Tuesday at the final table and go until there is a winner, who collects $8.25 million. Second place is worth $4.84 million and third gets $3.04 million. It will take a fifth-place finish to become a millionaire at $1.25 million. The first player to bust gets $525,934 for finishing ninth.

HE SAID WHAT?: “When you’re playing good, you get too cocky and too confident and you give players no credit.” — Scotty Nguyen, fan favorite and the main event champ of 1998, who busted two places short of the final table after having as many as 15.5 million in chips but lost three huge pots

[BigBollocks]

I'm really surprised this still gets a following like it does. I used to play poker exclusively years ago, and it's about as miserable of a lifestyle as one can come by. Solid poker is the most boring way to earn a living imaginable. Many pros I knew then had severe problems away from the felt as a result of the lifestyle.

How all these poker movies and TV exposure has made the most miserable way to earn a living look "cool" is beyond me, but kudos to those investors who saw the light as they've made a fortune off of exposing the game.....

[BigBollocks]

On the surface it appears that the guy who won it this year is a really good guy. He had pledged 10% of his winnings a week earlier to the Make-A-Wish and the Ronald McDonald foundations and plans to follow through. $8 million can disappear quick with six kids though .

In all seriousness it seems like this is the exact kind of guy that poker needs to represent them, as having two years of Jamie Gold-like champions certainly wouldn't have helped anything....