WSOP: Main Event Day 7 -- Final Table Reached

One of the most important days in 27 players’ lives began at noon on Monday, July 14, in Las Vegas. The day in question was the final-table play-down day in the $10,000 no-limit hold’em world championship at the 2008 World Series of Poker. The final group of players had a lot on the line, despite the fact that every single one of them would walk away with at least $257,334 in prize money. A spot at the 2008 main event final table was on the line, and the shot at $9,119,334. At the end of the night, which clocked in at 3:30 a.m. PDT, nine players remained, and as it had been the day before, the early part of play was tough on the familiar faces that began the day. The final nine players, dubbed by many the November Nine, will now take a break for almost four months and return to the Rio Nov. 9 to play the first part of the final table. The final two players will then return for a heads-up match on Nov. 10 to determine the world champion.

Here is a look at the entire list of eliminations from day 7:

27th — Michael Carroll — $257,334
26th — Phi Nguyen — $257,334
25th — Niklas Flisberg — $257,334
24th — Aaron Gordon — $257,334
23rd — Tim Loecke — $257,334
22nd — Judet Tony Cristian — $257,334
21st — Paul Snead — $257,334
20th — Brandon Cantu — $257,334
19th — Albert Kim — $257,334
18th — Jason Riesenberg — $334,535
17th — Tiffany Michelle — $334,535
16th — Anthony Scherer — $334,535
15th — Owen Crowe — $463,202
14th — Gert Andersen — $463,202
13th — Nicholas Sliwinski — $463,202
12th — Chris Klodnicki — $591,869
11th — Joe Bishop — $591,869
10th — Dean Hamrick — $591,869

The last woman standing, Tiffany Michelle, took some hits early in play to take her stack down to 7 million, and her march to the rail had begun. She did survive longer than one of the biggest names left in the field, though, Brandon Cantu, who fell in 20th place after a series of unfortunate events sent him home early. Michelle continued to take hits after her rough morning, and she eventually fell in the first half of level 30 in 17th place. Her performance in this year’s main event was impressive, and she fell eight places short of making the main-event final table, which would have been the second final-table apperance for a woman, ever. The fifth-place finish by Barbara Enright in the 1995 main event remains the only time a woman has made the final table.

During the ultimate march to the final table, two big names from the online poker world, Owen Crowe and Chris Klodnicki, were both eliminated, as well, leaving the rest of the field almost devoid of familiar faces. One of the familiar faces that remained in play was David "Chino” Rheem, and he had, by far, the largest number of professionals present to keep track of his progress. This had to do with the fact that many of them had traded for percentages with Rheem or bought a piece of him in the tournament to diversify their chances of making some money, but they were also there to cheer on one of their own. Spotted in Rheem's corner were J.C. Tran, Nam and Tommy Le, Greg Mueller, Quinn Do, Tommy Hang, Michael and Robert Mizrachi, and Mark Newhouse as action got close to the final nine. Rheem had a day that saw him traverse the leader board from the very bottom almost to the top and back down again before he survived to make the final nine (check out the hands below). The final-table bubble took almost three hours to burst, and the most unfortunate bubble boy was Dean Hamrick.

Here are the final nine for November (with seat assignment, chip counts, listed occupation, and hometown), all of whom have already received the ninth-place payday of $900,670:

Seat 1: Dennis Phillips — 26,295,000 — Account Manager (St. Louis, Missouri)
Seat 2: Craig Marquis — 10,210,000 — College Student (Arlington, Texas)
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz — 12,525,000 — Professional Poker Player (Brooklyn, NY)
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery — 19,690,000 — Professional Poker Player (Perth, Ontario)
Seat 5: Darus Suharto — 12,520,000 — Accountant (Toronto, Ontario)
Seat 6: David "Chino" Rheem — 10,230,000 — Professional Poker Player (Los Angeles, California)
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov — 24,400,000 — Professional Poker Player (Moscow, Russia)
Seat 8: Kelly Kim — 2,620,000 — Professional Poker Player (Whittier, California)
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate — 18,375,000 — Professional Poker Player (Odense, Denmark)

Final-table payouts:

1st: $9,119,338
2nd: $5,790,024
3rd: $4,503,352
4th: $3,763,516
5th: $3,088,013
6th: $2,412,510
7th: $1,769,177
8th: $1,286,672
9th: $900,670


Here are the highlights from the day as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the event:

Michelle Drops Three Million Early in Level

On the first hand of the day, Owen Crowe raised from middle position, and Tiffany Michelle called from late position. The two saw a 8 7 5 flop, and Crowe bet 375,000. Michelle called, and the turn was the 3. Crowe checked, and Michelle bet 500,000. Crowe then reraised 1.075 million more. Michelle folded, and Crowe flipped over J 9.

Paul Snead raised from early position and was called by three players. The flop came 6 4 3, and Snead bet 600,000. Michelle, sitting to his immediate left, then raised to 1.6 million. It folded around to Snead, and he quickly moved all in, a raise of about four million. Michelle took a few minutes to think, and while she did, Snead paced around and talked to his wife and Joe Awada a few feet from the table. Finally Michelle folded, and Snead took down the pot. Michelle began the day with nearly 10 million and now has under 7 million.

Cantu Can't Do Wrong

Peter Eastgate raised to 275,000, and was called only by Brandon Cantu in the small blind. Cantu checked the flop of 10 5 2, but called Eastgate's continuation bet of 400,000. Both players checked the turn, the 10. The river double paired the board with the 5, and once again both players checked. Cantu turned over A Q, and his ace kicker was big enough to take down the healthy little pot.

...Or Can't He?

Kelly Kim raised to 275,000 before the flop. Brandon Cantu then reraised to 950,000, only to have Dean Hamrick move all in for 1,465,000. After some time in the tank, Cantu made the call and turned over ... 10 5. The one-time chip leader needed a lot of help to improve against Hamrick's A A. He got a little bit of assistance on the flop, which ran 8 7 5, but he was shot down to two outs when the turn brought the 8. There was no five on the river for Cantu, who started counting down Hamrick's double up as the dealer placed the 10 on the felt a little too late. Cantu was left with the smallest stack in the tournament after the hand with only 2.4 million.

Cantu Can't Cut It - Eliminated in 20th Place ($257,334)

Peter Eastgate opened with a raise to 300,000, and Brandon Cantu shoved from the button for 2.3 million. Eastgate made the call, tabling A Q against Cantu's 9 9. The flop gave Cantu good reason to sweat, running out 8 6 3. The turn improved Cantu's chances of doubling up with the 8, but the 4 sealed his fate on the river and sent him to the rail in 20th place. Eastgate climbed to over 9 million after the hand.

Tiffany Michelle Eliminated in 17th Place ($334,535)

Dennis Phillips raised to 500,000 from under the gun and was called by both Peter Eastgate and Tiffany Michelle, who sat in the big blind. Michelle checked the flop, which came A 10 9. Phillips continued firing, throwing in a bet of 1 million. Eastgate made the call, and Michelle moved all in for 3.8 million. The bet was enough to push out Phillips, but not Eastgate, who called instantly and showed down A A. Michelle was in trouble holding only A J, looking for a runner-runner miracle in the last two cards. But the turn brought the 5, and left Michelle drawing dead to the river, which brought the 6. Michelle bowed out in 17th place, giving her one of the deepest main event finishes by a female player. Although she outlasted a larger field, she will sit behind Barbara Enright's fifth-place finish in 1995, Annie Duke's 10th-place finish in 2000, and Tiffany Williamson's 15th-place finish in 2005.

Rheem Staves off Elimination

Joe Bishop raised to 450,000 under the gun, and play was folded around to David "Chino" Rheem in the big blind, who made the call. After a flop of 8 5 2, Rheem checked, and Bishop bet 800,000. Rheem then made his move, announcing all in for 4.4 million. Bishop agonized. The two had been in a previous battle when Bishop turned quad sixes against his rival. Bishop finally announced call, and Rheem shook his head. “You have sixes again?” Sure enough, Bishop held 6 6 for second pair. Rheem had made his push with just two overcards, the K 9. The turn brought the 3, and Rheem was down to his final card. But the miracle K on the river kept him alive and moved him into the middle of the pack for chips. Bishop fell back to about 11 million.

Rheem had raked in a couple of smaller pots previously to build his shortstack. The first was after he raised to 325,000 preflop and was called by Kelly Kim. The flop came 10 8 3, and Rheem bet 450,000. Kim again called. Both checked when the 5 made it a four-flush board, and then the 9 hit the river. Rheem checked, and Kelly bet 550,000. Rheem angrily threw in his chips to call, worried that his Q 6 had been run over by the fourth diamond on the turn, but Kim mucked his hand.

A few hands later, Rheem called a raised to 325,000 from Craig Marquis, and Kim in the small blind also called. The flop came K 7 3, Kim and Marquis checked, and Rheem bet 325,000. Kim called, and after the 8 was turned, both players checked. The 7 on the river brought two more checks, and Rheem won the pot with K 10.

Chino XL

David "Chino" Rheem was the short stack at one point on Day 7. But he has made moves and shot to the top three of the leader board.

Darus Suharto raised to 600,000 preflop from the hijack, and Rheem made the call from the small blind. The flop came out 9 7 2, and both players checked. The turn then brought the 6, and Rheem unloaded a blast of 800,000 into the pot. Suharto mucked, and Rheem took the pot, much to the delight of his supporters surrounding the table.

A few hands later, action folded around to Craig Marquis in the small blind. He raised to 625,000 and action was on Rheem. He instantly announced "all in," and Marquis went into the tank as Rheem's supporters cheered the bet. Marquis wondered what on earth Rheem could have to make such an overbet with the pot at just around 1 million. Rheem bet more than 10 million with his action. Marquis mucked, and Rheem raked in the pot. He was at 14 million in chips.

Set No Good, Rheem Takes a Hit

Action folded around to Ivan Demidov in the cutoff. He raised it up to 650,000, and action folded to David "Chino" Rheem in the small blind. He repopped it to 2 million total, and Demidov went into the tank. When he came out of the tank, he announced he was all in for almost 8 million. Rheem took some time of his own to think about what to do before making the call. He turned over 10 10. He was in good shape against Demdidov's 9 9. The crowd went nuts as the hands were set up for the cameras. The flop then came 10 8 6, giving Rheem top set but also giving Demdidov a variety of outs. The turn brought the 4 and Demdidov spiked a flush. Rheem needed to pair the board to win the hand, but the 5 sealed the deal for Demdidov, who moved up to about 18 million. Rheem dropped down to 8 million.

Bishop Trampled By the Wheel on the River, Busts in 11th Place

The fall of Joe Bishop would be complete a few hands later. He moved all in from under the gun and action folded around to David Rheem. He made the call and showed 2 2. Bishop turned over A 3 and was racing against deuces. He flew ahead on the flop as it dropped A 5 3. Bishop had two pair and Rheem needed another deuce or a four to bust Bishop. The turn was a blank as the Q hit the felt. But the river brought chaos as the miracle 4 showed up, knocking Bishop out of the main event and sending Rheem's supporters into a frenzy.

Craig Marquis Hangs Around Thanks to Running Hearts

Peter Eastgate raised before the flop to 750,000. The action was then on Dean Hamrick, who popped it to 2.1 million. Action folded to Craig Marquis, and he moved all in after many moments of thinking. Eastgate threw his hand in the muck, but Hamrick made a quick call. The hands were turned over.

Marquis: A Q
Hamrick: Q Q

Board: J 7 3 4 5

The flop gave Marquis some added hope as two hearts showed up. The turn added more hope as another heart fell. The river brought one more heart, and Marquis cracked Hamrick's ladies to build his stack up to 12 million. Hamrick was down to about 6 million.

Hamrick Bubbles Final Table, Out In 10th Place ($591,869)

Dean Hamrick moved his final 3,420,000 all in preflop and when action folded to Craig Marquis, who moved all in as well, having Hamrick covered. Everyone else folded, and they showed their cards. Hamrick held A J but was up against Marquis's ladies -- Q Q. The board was dealt slowly, and the crowd was on their feet reacting to each card -- K 10 3 10 K, and Hamrick was eliminated one spot shy of the final table.

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