Day 39 at the 38th
World Series of Poker was the last day players could enter this year's
Series for a shot at the most coveted prize in the game, the World Championship no-limit hold'em bracelet.
The early-evening announcement that 6,358 players paid $10,000 each, creating a prize pool of just under $60 million, will be welcomed by the Europeans playing today, who will find the $8.25 million for first place weighs in at just over €6 million.
Carlos Mortensen, Gus Hansen, Martin De Knijff, Thor Hansen, Surindar Sunar, Sverre Sundbo, William Thorsson, Julian Thew, George Danzer, Dave Callaghan, Scott Gray, Willow Connolly, Michael Gracz, Adrian Walshe, Paul Testud, Dario Minieri, Paul McCaffrey, Michael Gracz, Torstein Iversen, Ken Powell, Don Fagan, Sean Coughlan, David Benyamine, Jude Jackson, and Padraig Parkinson all ponied up for their shot at poker immortality.
Parkinson was in fine fettle. 'I'm having a very funny kind of day,' he mused. 'It's amazing that you'd have this kind of day during the World Series. If it happened any other day it'd be hilarious.' Read his key hands and wry observations on his Pro Blog at CardPlayer.com.
Jackson, from Northern Ireland, was in much poorer form when he spoke with CardPlayer.com after he busted out. 'Unbelievable,' he muttered shaking his head and clearly shocked just after the second break. 'I had been going fine. Then I played Q-9 on the button and the flop came 9-9-3 and of course the other guy had 3-3 so I lost half my stack. Then with 6-2 on the button, I hit a flop of 6-6-7. The turn and river come J-J, we get all our money in the middle, and he has J-K , running jacks for top full house! Two hands and I'm out,' declared a disconsolate Jackson.
As the evening wore on, players started to lose touch with the pack and find themselves in dangerous waters. Among those unfortunate enough not to make it included David Benyamine, Adrian Walshe, Don Fagan, Paul McCaffrey, Surinder Sunar, Michael Gracz, Martin De Knijff, and Willaim Thorson.
Check back at CardPlayer.com regularly for comprehensive European news, live updates, and pro blogs from the Euro contingent on day 2A at the WSOP.
