WSOP: Main Event Day 6

Day 6 of the World Series of Poker main event started at noon yesterday (July 13) in Las Vegas, and there were 79 players gunning for the final 27 spots in the tournament before the day would come to a close. That number has been reached, and the final three tables will return tomorrow in the $10,000 no-limit hold’em world championship and play down to the final nine players. The sixth day of play was rough on the biggest names left in the field, as all but a few professional players have been bounced from the tournament at this point. Here is a look at the notable players who were eliminated on day 6 with the prize money they received:

73rd place: David Benefield -- $77,200
64th place: Victor Ramdin -- $96,500
61st place: Thomas "Thunder" Keller -- $115,800
48th place: Adam Levy -- $135,101
47th place: Tommy Le -- $135,101
45th place: Phil Hellmuth -- $154,401
41st place: Kido Pham -- $154,400
36th place: Peter Neff -- $193,000
30th place: Mike "The Mouth" Matusow -- $193,000

The elimination of Hellmuth ensured that there will be a new world champion in 2008, and, for the fourth year in a row, he was eliminated holding A-Q. Hellmuth started the day amidst some controversy (which you can read about below), and his absence from the tournament diminished the star power considerably. The other big star to fall today was Matusow. He survived late into the day, but he missed the end-of-day bubble by just three spots.

The notables who still remain include Brandon Cantu, David Rheem, Phi Nguyen, Owen Crowe, Scott Montgomery, and the last lady standing in the field, Tiffany Michelle. Cantu spent a large portion of the day at the top of the leader board. He took a chip lead of over 10 million into the dinner break, but the post-dinner phase of the tournament was rough on the aggressive professional, and he ended with 4,740,000. Michelle, on the other hand, kept things consistent, and she finished one spot higher on the leader board than where she started. Michelle has 9,755,000 and currently sits in third place. If Michelle makes the final table by surviving until the end of tomorrow, she will be the first women to make the main event final table since 1995, and only the second ever, joining Barbara Enright.

The final 27 return tomorrow at noon and play down to the final table of nine. The action should slow down considerably, with one of the most important final-table bubbles in the history of poker on the line. The final nine players will return to play the main event final table on November 9, with the final two advancing to a heads-up match for the world championship on November 10. With the amount of publicity and endorsements on the line, in addition to the lucrative prize money for those at the final table, expect things to tighten up considerably tomorrow.

Here is a look at the seating charts for tomorrow, followed by the highlights from day 6 as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the main event:

Table 1

Seat 1: Joe Bishop -- 4,855,000
Seat 2: Peter Eastgate -- 9,325,000
Seat 3: Gert Andersen -- 6,740,000
Seat 4: Kelly Kim -- 8,840,000
Seat 5: Brandon Cantu -- 4,740,000
Seat 6: Dean Hamrick -- 2,375,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov -- 4,965,000
Seat 8: Niklas Flisberg -- 1,330,000
Seat 9: Michael Carroll -- 1,015,000

Table 2

Seat 1: Scott Montgomery -- 4,320,000
Seat 2: Tim Loecke -- 2,280,000
Seat 3: Anthony Scherer -- 2,385,000
Seat 4: Owen Crowe -- 3,800,000
Seat 5: Craig Marquis -- 11,460,000
Seat 6: Ylon Schwartz -- 3,655,000
Seat 7: Paul Snead -- 6,600,000
Seat 8: Tiffany Michelle -- 9,755,000
Seat 9: Phi Nguyen -- 1,020,000

Table 3

Seat 1: Jason Riesenberg -- 3,405,000
Seat 2: Darus Suharto -- 4,510,000
Seat 3: Chris Klodnicki -- 6,245,000
Seat 4: Toni Judet -- 5,000,000
Seat 5: Nicholas Sliwinski -- 4,925,000
Seat 6: David Rheem -- 8,280,000
Seat 7: Dennis Phillips -- 11,910,000
Seat 8: Albert Kim -- 3,675,000
Seat 9: Aaron Gordon -- 1,790,000

Phil Hellmuth’s Penalty Disappears

During the final minutes of day-5 play, Phil Hellmuth berated Christian Dragomir after he won a pot with 10 4 and cracked Hellmuth’s A-K. Although the hand occurred at the end of the night, Hellmuth was assessed a one-orbit penalty to be administered during the first orbit of day 6’s play.

As the official “shuffle up and deal” announcement was made to start off the day, Hellmuth took his seat at the ESPN featured table and received cards on the first hand and continued to on all subsequent hands of the orbit. An inquiry by our reporting team was answered with an explanation that the penalty had been “overruled.” World Series of Poker media director Nolan Dalla informed our tournament reporting team that a statement would be released regarding the overruling within one hour.

Hellmuth won three of the first nine “penalty” hands at his table, bringing well-needed improvement to his struggling chip stack. He quickly rose to more than 1.5 million in chips.

Update: The morning of day 6, Phil Hellmuth met with WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, Harrah's Regional Vice President for Specialty Gaming Howard Greenbaum, and WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. Based on that meeting and an official review of the situation, it was decided that the penalty imposed on Hellmuth at the conclusion of play last night was excessive.

"Warnings and penalties are intended to correct inappropriate behavior, and our rulings should be as fair as possible, given the circumstances," said Pollack. "In this instance, the punishment did not fit the crime."

"Phil has now been warned and put on notice in a way that he never has been."

Michelle's run continues

With the board reading K 6 5 9, Tiffany Michelle raised to 300,000 and was called down by Kido Pham and Ivan Demidov. The river was the 4, and Michelle bet 600,000. Pham folded quickly, and after thinking it over for two minutes, Demidov did the same. Michelle is now up to 5.8 million, while Demidov has a similar amount, and Pham has under 2 million.

Phil Hellmuth Eliminated in 45th Place

It’s official: This year’s World Series of Poker main event winner will not be a former champion. After watching his stack slowly chip away, Phil Hellmuth finally made his stand by moving all in for 405,000 from under the gun. Hellmuth’s shove marked the first time today that Hellmuth was at risk for all of his chips. The action folded to Andrew Rosskamm, who called. As the spectators rose to their feet, Hellmuth turned over A Q to Rosskamm’s J J. As the shouts of encouragement came, the flop fell K 4 3, failing to give Hellmuth a pair. As the dealer prepared to deal the turn card, several shouts of turn card requests from audience members filled the ESPN featured-table area. Just as someone had requested, the 10 fell on the turn. This card gave Hellmuth several ways of winning the pot on the river. The chips would go his way if the river card was any ace, jack, queen, or heart. The crowd silenced as the 2 fell on the river.

Hellmuth earned $154,400 for his 45th-place finish, bringing his WSOP career total earnings to $6,008,145, including 11 bracelet victories. After politely shaking the hands of his tablemates, Hellmuth exited the tournament area with a storm of obscenities, cursing his inability to “catch a break.”

Cantu -- chipleader going into break -- takes big pot off Rheem

Mike Matusow raised to 150,000 from early position and was called by four players, including Brandon Cantu and David Rheem. The flop was 6 5 3, and when it checked around to Cantu, he bet 400,000. Rheem was the only caller, and then both players checked when the 6 came on the turn. The 2 came on the river, and Cantu bet 600,000. Rheem took about five minutes to think it over before ultimately calling. Cantu flipped over pocket fours for a straight, and he took down the pot of over 2.75 million. Cantu now has close to 11 million.

Marquis Becomes New Chip Leader, Cantu Loses More Than Half His Stack

Brandon Cantu had a lot of chips. So did Craig Marquis. Together, they created the biggest pot of the tournament. After raised and reraised action preflop, Cantu was heads up against Marquis. Both checked the flop of J 6 5. The A fell on the turn, and Cantu checked to Marquis, who bet 200,000. Cantu check-raised to 1 million, and Marquis just called. The 10 completed the board, and Cantu moved all in, having Marquis covered. Marquis called, and Cantu threw his cards into the muck. Marquis showed A Q and raked a pot that moved him over the 12-million mark. Cantu fell to under 4 million.

Matusow Takes a Wrong Turn, Eliminated in 30th Place ($193,000)

Right before the players went on break, Paul Snead raised to 200,000, and Mike Matusow repopped it to 660,000 from the big blind. Snead made the call, and the flop came A A 5. Both players checked, and the turn brought the 9, the death card, as far as Matusow was concerned. He bet 500,000, and Snead shoved all in. Matusow made the call and showed down A J for trips. Unfortunately for "The Mouth," Snead turned over A 9 for a full boat on the turn. Matusow needed a jack to survive, but the K fell on the river, and the biggest name left in the main event took a sick beat and made his exit in 30th place.

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