WSOP 2008

Event No. 37 - $10,000 World Championship Omaha Eight-or-Better

There was an explosion of European action at the final table of event No. 37. Englishmen Ram Vaswani and Jason Gray, and David Benyamine from France caused a lot of damage as they forced their way toward the top of a total of 235 players. This was the largest Omaha eight-or-better prize pool in WSOP history, so with $2,209,000 at stake, there was a lot to fight for.

Benyamine sent Shun Uchida out in 11th place, and Vaswani eliminated Berry Johnston in 10th, before getting in trouble himself with Greg Jamison. Jamison eliminated David Chiu and then set his sights on Vaswani, sending him to the rail in seventh place with $88,360.

It was every man for himself when both Gray and chip leader Benyamine got involved in two important pots. Toto Leonidas found himself all in for 40,000 in the big blind. He was called by both Benyamine and Gray. They checked down to the river, where Gray fired out a bet and Benyamine called. Gray mucked his hand when Benyamine turned over the king-high flush and took both the side and main pots, eliminating Leonidas in fourth place ($71,792).

Gray and Benyamine decided to tango with each other once more, but this time with fatal consequences. Benyamine hit trips on the river and scooped the pot, eliminating Gray in third place ($209,855).

Heads up, Jamison struggled hard against Benyamine's massive chip stack, which was more than triple his own. Eventually, Benyamine raised from the button, Jamison reraised all in, and Benyamine called. Jamison had the K Q 6 2, Benyamine had the Q 10 10 3, and the board came J 10 9 J♥ 3. It was France's turn to win an event, and after making his full house (tens full of jacks), Benyamine took home $535,687 and his first WSOP bracelet. Jamison had to settle for second place and $331,350.

Twenty-seven players cashed in the event, including Bruno Fitoussi from France in 24th place ($22,090), and Russian Alexander Kostritsyn, who barely escaped the bubble in 27th place ($22,090).

Event No. 38 - $2,000
Pot-Limit Hold'em

Almost half of the final table of event No. 38 were European, with Englishmen Michael Greco and Ben Roberts, Davidi Kitai from Belgium, and Jan Von Halle from Germany each vying for the $244,583 top prize from the $1,101,100 prize pool.
Greco was the first to go when his pocket kings ran into Chris Bell's pocket aces. The board made no difference to either player and Greco was sent to the rail $22,573 richer.

He was followed closely by his fellow countryman when Roberts moved all in in response to a raise from Canadian Robert Cheung. Cheung called with the K J, needing to hit against Roberts' pocket sevens. The board came 8 5 5 J 2 and Roberts was sent home in eighth place with $30,831.

Jan Von Halle faired a good bit better than most of his Euro counterparts in the 605-player field, as he made it to the final four. He was, however, eliminated by the only other European left at the table, Davidi Kitai. Von Halle took home $77,077 for fourth place.

After Keith Greer was sent out in third place, it was up to Kitai to take down the last American standing, Chris Bell. Without playing a single big pot or an all-in confrontation, Kitai took the lead. It took four hours of heads-up play, but finally, on the 287th hand, Bell committed his last four big blinds with the A J against Kitai's A Q. The board came 10 high, and Davidi Kitai became the third European in two days to take home gold.

Chris Bell finished in second place, earning $155,806 for his runner-up finish.

Event No. 39 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Matthew Wood took on the most experienced contender, David Woo, at the final table of event No. 39. Woo's experience ultimately won out, earning him his first bracelet and $631,656 - the top slice of the $3,712,800 prize pool. Runner-up Wood took home $389,844.

Brit Paul Kerr did well in the event, finishing 10th out of 2,720 entrants ($36,756). Other Europeans who cashed for the higher end of the $3,712,800 prize pool were Giovanni Nervo from Italy ($21,905) and Kevin O'Leary from England (21,905).

Event No. 40 - $2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple-Draw Lowball

John Phan got a short-stacked Dario Alioto all in during event No. 40. Phan drew two on the first draw and the Italian drew three. Phan drew one on the second draw and Alioto drew two, then laughed when he saw his cards. Phan showed 9-8-5-3-2, Alioto showed a facecard, and with that, the last European in the event was eliminated in 12th place, earning a meagre $9,580 from the $547,400 prize pool.

After a batch of relentless raises and reraises heads up, Phan finally sent Shun Uchida to join 236 others on the other side of the rail. Uchida's consolation prize was $95,795. Phan became the first player of this year's Series to win two gold bracelets, and added $151,911 to his previous winnings of $434,789 from the $2,000 no-limit hold'em event earlier.

Event No. 41 - $1,500 Mixed Hold'em

A Swede, an American, a German, and an Irishman walked into a Binger in event No. 41. Mats Gavatin, Alex Jalali, Chris Rentes, and David Machowsky found themselves up against the seemingly unstoppable Nick Binger when play got down to nine from 731.

Gavatin ran up against Binger's trips and was sent out in seventh place ($34,923), followed by Machowsky in sixth ($44,901). Jalali was next on the menu with the A Q against Binger's J J, and the board ran 7 7 6 K 2, missing Jalali and sending him to the rail in fifth ($56,875). Binger then called short-stacked Rentes' all-in bet and flipped over the 7 2, while Rentes showed the 6 5. But even the worst hand in hold'em couldn't stop Binger as the board ran K J 4 10 Q, and with his 7 playing, Rentes was out in fourth place ($69,348).

It wasn't long, however, before Jonathan Tamayo and Frank Gary took their share of Binger's winnings, and Tamayo eventually put him out in third place ($84,814). Gary went on to gain a decisive chip advantage over Tamayo, and became the champion, taking home $219,562 from a prize pool of $997,815.

Event No. 42 - $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship

Event No. 42 shattered last year's record and became the largest seniors event in the history of the World Series; 2,218 players entered the tournament, creating a prize pool of $2,018,380. The final table was filled with largely unknown names, except for one, Card Player Poker + Sports columnist "Mad" Marty Wilson. The Brit was the first to go with pocket eights, when Fred Berger took him down with A-Q. The flop crushed Wilson's eights, as it came down K-Q-Q, and when the turn and river brought blanks, Wilson waved goodbye to rapturous applause. It was Wilson's first-ever World Series final-table appearance, and he took home $34,312 for ninth place.

Two Ohio men - Dan Lacourse, a policeman, and Dale Eberle, a fireman - went heads up for the $368,832 top prize. It was Lacourse who took it down in the end, and luckily for him, it was the biggest WSOP prize ever paid to a seniors event winner.

A total of 198 players out of an initial 2,218 cashed in the event, but only two of them, excluding Wilson, were European. Ian McDonald from England came 76th ($3,633) and Robert Willis from Ireland came 98th ($2,825).

Event No. 43 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better

The European who shined the brightest in event No. 43 was Martin Kläser. The German left a mass of destruction in his wake as he advanced toward the finish line. Kläser doubled up and raked in the biggest hand of the tournament through Gabe Costner, and forced another opponent all in soon after. "Yes!" Kläser shouted when his opponent showed the A Q 7 2 and was drawing slim in a way rarely seen in Omaha. Kläser held the A K 7 2 and took down the pot.

Shannon Shorr also had the misfortune of tangling with Kläser, and like the rest, he did not fare very well. At the end of the hand, another large pot was shipped in Germany's direction, and Kläser became the commander of the table. He sent out Gary Hutzler in 12th place, and although he was no longer the chip leader going to the final table, that did not deter him from his end goal. He knocked out Joseph Haddad in seventh place, Chad Burum in sixth, and Michael Fetter in third. Only Casey Kastle stood in his way, but not for very long.

Kläser stayed focused and won nearly 80 percent of the hands without having to go to a showdown. Then, on a flop of J 9 9, Kastle went all in and Kläser called, turning over an overpair of queens to beat Kastle's jacks. A queen on the turn sealed the deal, and Kastle was sent out in second place with $137,985. Kläser won his first bracelet and $216,249. At 21 years and 4 months old, he ranks among the youngest WSOP bracelet winners ever.

The event attracted 720 players, creating a prize pool of $982,800 and making it the largest event of its kind in WSOP history.

Event No. 44 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em With Rebuys

As the dust settled after the rebuy madness, play began to take a different pace, and styles changed. Frenchman Jean Claude Perrot was knocked out in 19th place out of 878, taking home $18,144, and Russian Ivan Demidov was later sent to the rail in 11th with $39,854.

Dane Rene Mouritsen was joined at the table by fellow countryman Albert Iversen and Aliaksandr Dzianisau from Belarus.
The Danes got off to a lively start, eliminating one player each. First, Iversen knocked out Alex Bolotin in ninth place ($63,183). Then, Dzianisau went all in and suffered an unfortunate fate at the hands of Mouritsen. Mouritsen showed the J 7 and Dzianisau turned over the Q Q Dzianisau took a bad beat, however, when the board came J J 4 A A, sending him packing in sixth place ($144,187).

Mouritsen continued his reign, eliminating one-time chip leader Jesse Chinni in fifth place and Scott Freeman in fourth. Max Greenwood then doubled up against Mouritsen twice in the space of four hands and took the chip lead, before Iversen was put all in by fellow countryman Mouritsen and eliminated in third place ($267,314).

Heads-up play saw Mouritsen go up against Greenwood with a heart-breaking turn of events. Greenwood took over the chip lead, and the two aggressors saw a jack-high flop. Mouritsen bet 175,000, Greenwood check-raised to 500,000, Mouritsen moved all in, and Greenwood made the call. Mouritsen showed K-J, but was dominated by Greenwood's A-J. The turn and river failed to bring any miracle kings, and Greenwood took down the title.

Mouritsen finished runner-up for the third time in his career, earning $445,523, while Greenwood took home the first prize of $693,444 from a total prize pool of $3,240,174.

Event No. 45 - $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.

See the feature story in this issue.

Event No. 46 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed

With 805 entrants, the total prize pool for event No. 46 amounted to $3,783,500, with a top prize of $911,855. Players eliminated early included Brit Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott, Frenchman Fabrice Soulier, and Finn Thomas Wahlroos. Johannes Strassmann from the Netherlands was the bubble boy when his A-K fell victim to the A-J of Jonathan Aguiar.

France's Bertrand Grospellier's run came to a shuddering standstill when he ran into slow-played aces when holding top pair. He hit the rail in 16th place for a $31,781 payday.

Other Europeans who faded before the final table included Dane Jesper Petersen in 13th ($31,781), Brit Paul Foltyn in 15th ($31,781), German Eddy Scharf in 22nd ($26,106), and Swede Magnus Persson in 23rd ($26,106).

The two Europeans who made it to the final table were recent bracelet winner Belgian Davidi Kitai and Englishman Sam Trickett. Kitai was the first of the six eliminated when he went all in against Richard Lyndaker. Kitai showed pocket tens, but Lyndaker held pocket kings, and when the board came A A 3 2 A, Kitai was eliminated in sixth place, picking up $120,693 as a consolation.

Brit Sam Trickett was sent out in fourth for $245,927 by Edward Ochana. His pocket kings were no match for Ochana's sixes when they hit a set on the flop. The turn and river came 9♠, 4♦, and Trickett ran out of tricks.

The event was won by Joe Commisso, a 28-year-old cash-game specialist from New Jersey.

Event No. 47 - $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better

Event No. 47 attracted 544 players, creating a $742,560 prize pool. Euro hopes eventually lay solely in the hands of Alessio Isaia from Italy and Jonas Klausen from Denmark. Ryan Hughes was the bully of the final table. He succeeded in eliminating the one, two, and even three-time chip leader Jonas Klausen in fifth place for $39,355. The European contingent then took a fatal blow when chip leader Hughes eliminated Isaia in fourth place for $50,122. Hughes unsurprisingly went on to win the event, collecting the first prize of $183,368. "I never play this game; this is only the second time I've played it since I won the event last year," Hughes told Card Player, clearly to the annoyance of those he crushed on his way to another bracelet.

Event No. 48 - $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Event No. 48 began with 2,317 entrants and played down to a final table that included Russian Kirill Gerasimov and Sverre Sundbo from Norway.

Sundbo was thrown straight into the action early on when he was dealt pocket sixes. Check-raising Gabe Costner on the turn, he put all of his chips in the middle, and Costner instantly called. With two overcards, the K 8, Costner needed to see one hit the river, but Sundbo's pocket pair held and Costner fell from the chip lead. Sundbo saw no rest, as his freshly won chips found their way back in the middle again. This time he was up against Alan Cutler. He had hardly warmed up the chip leader seat when he had to hand it over to Cutler.

With around half the chip lead's stack, Sundbo took a shot with the Q 6. Up against the monsterous A Q of Ryan D'Angelo, an ace came on the flop, and by the turn, the Norwegian was drawing dead. Sundbo said goodbye and consoled himself with $134,942 for seventh place.

Russian Kirill Gerasimov was next on D'Angelo's hit list. After a raise to 150,000 from D'Angelo Gerasimov pushed all in. Much like his last decision, this was an easy call for D'Angelo, as he was sitting with the A Q. This time, however, the race was a little harder, as Gerasimov turned over pocket jacks. The board was in D'Angelo's favour once more, as it came down 6 5 5 7 A. D'Angelo's rivered ace sent Gerasimov packing in sixth place ($177,111).

Despite his best efforts, European slayer D'Angelo did not quite make it to the final two. He was eliminated in third place, leaving Alexandre Gomes and Marco Johnson behind to fight it out for the lion's share of the $3,783,500 prize pool. A roller-coaster heads-up match ensued, ending with an all-in bet from Gomes with the A 10, and a quick call from Johnson with the A A. Gomes' Brazilian supporters willed the 10 onto the board, cheering, "Diez! Diez! Diez!" and he proved that aces do not necessarily mean game over when he paired his 10 on the flop and hit a set on the turn. This left Gomes slightly in the lead, and ultimately it was his turn to take home the gold and $770,540, when his A K beat Johnson's Q J.

Europeans who did well in the event were Russian Sergey Rybachenko in 10th place ($46,386), German Arne Mews in 12th ($46,386), Denys Drobyna in 15th ($35,843), Englishman Sunny Chatha in 19th ($25,301), and Adam Markovits from Hungary in 22nd ($20,241).

Event No. 49 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

The odds of a European champion were better than usual in event No. 49 when five overseas players, from an initial field of 2,718, made it to the final table. Rasmus Nielsen from Denmark, German Christophe Kohlman, Irishman John Conroy, Swede Jesper Hoog, and Robert Kalb from Germany sat among three Americans and one Canadian.

There was an epidemic of eliminations during the first round of final-table play, with three of the original nine players sent packing. Conroy sent Kohlman out in ninth place with $58,248 when his K J found a straight on a board of Q 9 9 3 10, and beat the German's A J.

The next elimination saw the eradication of Germany altogether, this time by Denmark. Nielsen called Robert Kalb's all-in bet, and with his A Q dominating Kalb's A 9, Kalb was sent home in eighth place ($85,331).

It was one Euro after another when Swede Jesper Hoog moved all in and Peter Nguyen called. Hoog had the K 7 and Nguyen had the A K. The board fell 10 2 2 J 9, and Hoog was sent to the other side of the rail in seventh place, earning $113,157 from a total prize pool of $3,710,070.

Conroy's dominating play came to a screeching halt when Nielsen turned his sights on the Irishman. Although Nielsen's A 8 was dominated by Conroy's A Q, Nielsen got lucky and hit his three-outer, pairing his 8 on the flop of 8 5 5. Conroy failed to redraw on the turn, the 3, and the river, the 4, and finished in third place, $278,255 richer.

Peter Nguyen was the next to go, leaving the U.S. and Denmark to go to war. However, it wasn't to be for Europe once again, as Nielsen's luck ran out at the last hurdle. As J.C. Tran closed the gap, it became anyone's race, but in the end, Tran's K Q beat Nielsen's Q J, and he took $631,170 from the $3,710,070 prize pool. Nielsen received $389,557 for second place.

Event No. 50 - $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha

Russian Nikolay Evdakov was getting no slack for his style of play in event No. 50. His opponents were openly talking about his play just a few feet away from him, and timing him to see how long he would take before acting. Despite this, he managed to make the money, giving him 10 cashes for this year's Series.

After a warning to act quicker from the tournament director, Evdakov decided to risk his remaining chips and move all in following a raise from Brandon Moran. Things did not look good for Moran, but at only 32,000 extra, he had to call with the Q Q J 9. Evdakov had the A A K J, and the board came Q 4 2 5 8. When Evdakov showed his hand, many of the players were unable to understand why he had taken so long to make the all-in move, but justice prevailed when Moran drew out and Evdakov was sent to the rail in 28th place ($25,069).

Many Europeans disappeared before the big money, with Dutchman Rob Hollink taking 22nd place; Austrian Sigi Stockinger, 25th; Italian Dario Alioto, 19th; Rino Mathis from Switzerland, 18th; and German Eddy Scharf, 17th.

Irishman Marty Smyth was the highlight of the event, as he wreaked havoc on the 381-player field. After doubling up through Michael Mizrachi, he went on to eliminate Richard Harroch, further increasing his chip lead. Then, Peter Jetten took down Mizrachi, and went heads up against Smyth for the gold.

In the final hand of the night, Jetten limped in and Smyth raised to 300,000. Jetten called and the two saw the Q 10 9 flop. Smyth bet and Jetten raised pot. Smyth moved all in and Jetten called.

Jetten: K J 3 2

Smyth: K J J Q

Both players had flopped the nuts, a king-high straight, but Smyth had a club-flush draw and a pair of queens. Irish supporters chanted "Freeroll! Freeroll!" and "Club! Club!" as the turn was dealt, the 7, and the river, the 6, giving Smyth a flush, the pot, the bracelet, and $859,549 from a prize pool of $3,581,400. Jetten finished second, earning $528,256.

Event No. 51 - $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

The $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event kicked off with an astounding 803 entrants. First place received $256,412 - nearly $100,000 more than what last year's champion earned - largely because the buy-in had been increased by 50 percent. Unfortunately, any Euro interest disappeared after the lower end of the prize pool was distributed.

The highlight of the event was Phil Hellmuth's battle to win his 12th World Series title, but as it got closer to the final two, his record-breaking attempt came to an end when he was eliminated in third place ($93,168). James Schaaf then began his heads-up match with Tommy Hang at a 2-to-1 chip disadvantage, but a few lucky draws and some aggressive play eventually won him the title and $256,412. Hang took home $158,933 from a total prize pool of $1,096,095.

Event No. 52 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Europeans with a shot in event No. 52 were Finn Voitto Rintala and Russian Andrey Zaichenko. Although Rintala did his best to stave off his opponents, he was eliminated in ninth place, taking home $57,712 from the $3,675,945 prize pool.

Another Euro victory was not to be, however, as Russian Andrey Zaichenko didn't last much longer. He open-shoved for 770,000 on the button and Scott Sitron called, his pocket kings dominating Zaichenko's 9 6. The board ran out K Q 2 9 A, providing no miracles for the Russian. He received $112,116 for seventh place.

Eventually, it was just Scott Sitron and David Daneshgar left to fight it out from an initial field of 2,693. Daneshgar took down the $625,443 top prize and the shiny gold bracelet, while Sitron had to settle for $385,974.

Event No. 53 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout

Among those who went out before the money in event No. 53 were Alexander Kravchenko, David Benyamine, and defending champion Ram Vaswani.

Englishman Spencer Lawrence made sixth place after getting Lorenz Guarin all in. Guarin showed the K 9, a big favourite over Lawrence's 9 6, but the board ran out 7 6 3 Q 7, giving Lawrence a pair of sixes, and Guarin was sent out. Lawrence then got all of his chips in the middle preflop against Jean-Robert Bellande and showed K-10. Bellande was doing better with the A 9. The board came 9 6 3 2 Q, eliminating Lawrence in sixth place ($20,221).

Matt Graham and Jean-Robert Bellande were the last men standing out of a total 823 entrants. They went head-to-head for the largest piece of the $1,123,395 prize pool, and although Graham was down to just 300,000 in chips to Bellande's 2,400,000, he made an impressive comeback to take down the $278,180 first-place prize and his first bracelet. Bellande narrowly missed his first WSOP title, receiving $173,564 for his efforts.