'Fossilman' is King of Poker

Almost 2,600 players entered the $10,000 no-limit hold'em world championship event at the Horseshoe. More than 200 players made the money and got at least their buy-in back, and the top five players all became millionaires. Dan Harrington made the final table for the second time in two years, and the third time since 1995, when he became the world champion. Marcel Luske, who was 14th last year, came close again this year, but was knocked out 10th (nine made the final table).

When the final table began, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer had a commanding chip lead, and never relinquished it. I am not sure what his game plan was, but he must have stuck to it. Congratulations, Greg, and everyone else who played in the event, making it the largest prize pool in the history of sports.

For the first time ever at the World Series of Poker, there were too many players for everyone to begin on the same day. The event has simply outgrown the Horseshoe, and will be moved to the Rio next year. Almost 1,300 players started playing on Saturday, and the other half started on Sunday. All of the remaining players from Saturday and Sunday came back on Monday, which was the third day of the event, but was referred to as day two because everyone was playing his/her second day. The talk around the tournament room for more than a week before the event started had to do with the starting day. Would players rather start on Saturday or Sunday?

Almost everyone I talked to seemed to like the day they started on. Those who started on Saturday thought they had a major advantage. First, they were able to start playing while the others were nervous and had to sit back and wait. More importantly, if they made it through the day, they were able to rest for an entire day on Sunday before playing on Monday. Rest is important, especially when you finish at 1 a.m.-2 a.m. Don't forget, it still takes a couple of hours to fall asleep after playing in an event of this caliber.

Those who started on Sunday didn't care about having to play late and then get up early the next day. They had a mental advantage of knowing that at least 600 players had busted out the day before, and they knew how much the chip leader had. In their minds, they had already beaten about a quarter of the field before they sat down. Some believed Sunday was better because in an event like this, there shouldn't be a day off. Sometimes in sports, it is a disadvantage to have too much rest while waiting for your next opponent.

Either way, it was a fun debate, and all who made it to Monday had to quit complaining and start trying to get lucky. Would you rather play in the first heat or the second?