WSOP -- Ray Foley Wins Event No. 39

Ray Foley was just one player in the large field of 2,715 players that entered event No. 39 ($1,500 no-limit hold’em) at the 2009 World Series of Poker. When the dust settled before 3 a.m. on June 23 he also happened to be the one champion left standing thanks to strong play against tough opponents. Foley was awarded $657,969 for the win and his first gold bracelet.

Foley came into the final day in second chip position among the final 26. Lost along the way to the final table were professionals Nam Le (23rd), Joe Bartholdi (20th), Mohsin Charania (19th), and Raymond Davis (13th). Foley held the chip lead when the final table began and he was able to hold off strong challenges from Alex Jacob and Brandon Cantu.

Foley eliminated Jacob in fourth place and his toughest test came in the final against Cantu. Foley trailed Cantu and it looked like the young, Vegas professional was going to overpower the Michigan native for his second WSOP bracelet. Foley was on the ropes with pocket tens on a board of K-5-3 while Cantu held K-9 in the hole, but a third 10 came on the turn to double up Foley to more than 8 million. Less than 15 minutes later Cantu was eliminated in second place and Foley was the champion.

Here are the final results:

1. Ray Foley – $657,969
2. Brandon Cantu – $403,951
3. Wei Mu – $269,609
4. Alex Jacob – $190,857
5. Tyler Spalding – $143,421
6. Jonathan Markham – $114,514
7. Chairud Vangchailued – $96,355
8. Richard Lutes – $85,608
9. Patrick O’Connor – $80,049

Here are the elimination hands, as featured on CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Patrick O’Connor Eliminated in Ninth Place ($80,049)

Patrick O’Connor moved all in preflop for 500,000 from the small blind and Brandon Cantu made the call from the big blind. Their cards:

Cantu: 3 3
O’Connor: A 4

Board: Q 8 2 9 7

O’Connor was eliminated in ninth place on the hand and Cantu grew his stack to 1.7 million.

Richard Lutes Eliminated in Eighth Place ($85,608)

Brandon Cantu checked a flop of A 7 4 and Richard Lutes shoved all in for 500,000. Cantu made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Lutes: K 10
Cantu: J 10

Turn: 2

Cantu made an ace-high flush on the river and Lutes was drawing dead. Lutes was eliminated in eighth place and Cantu grew his stack to over 4 million.

Chairud Vangchailued Eliminated in Seventh Place ($96,355)

Chairud Vangchailued rasied to 120,000 and Tyler Spalding made the call. Alex Jacob moved all in for 800,000 and Vangchailued made the all-in call. Spalding mucked and the two players turned up their cards:

Vangchailued: Q J
Jacob: J J

Board: K Q J 8 5

Vangchailued was eliminated in seventh place and Jacob grew his stack to 1.8 million.

Jonathan Markham Eliminated in Sixth Place ($114,514)

Jonathan Markham raised to 210,000 under the gun preflop and Wei Mu made the call. The flop fell A K J and Mu checked. Markham bet 265,000 and Mu raised all in. Markham called and they flipped up their cards:

Markham: K K
Mu: Q 10

Turn and River: 6 3

Markham fell to the straight of his opponent and he was eliminated in sixth place.

Tyler Spalding Eliminated in Fifth Place ($143,421)

Alex Jacob raised to 200,000 from the cutoff preflop and Tyler Spalding raised all in for 575,000. Jacob made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Jacob: 9 9
Spalding: J 2

Board: 10 7 6 3 Q

Spalding was eliminated in fifth place while Jacob charged into the chip lead with 4,580,000.

Alex Jacob Eliminated in Fourth Place ($190,857)

Alex Jacob moved all in for 310,000 preflop from the small blind after he was nearly crippled doubling up Brandon Cantu. Ray Foley called from the big blind. Their cards:

Jacob: J 9
Foley: A 4

Board: K 6 4 7 2

Jacob was eliminated in fourth place.

Wei Mu Eliminated in Third Place ($269,609)

Brandon Cantu raised to 275,000 from the cutoff and Wei Mu made the call. The flop fell K 4 3 and Cantu bet 350,000. Mu raised all in and Cantu made the call. Their cards:

Cantu: K 10
Mu: K 9

Turn and River: 6 5

Cantu won the hand to grow his stack to almost 7 million. Mu was eliminated in third place.

Ray Foley Wins Event No. 39 ($657,969)

Brandon Cantu raised to 305,000 preflop and Ray Foley made the call. The flop fell J 9 3 and Foley checked. Cantu bet 450,000 and Foley raised all in. Cantu made the all-in call and the final two players in the tournament flipped up their cards:

Cantu: J 7
Foley: Q J

Turn and River: 10 5

Foley won the tournament with a pair of jacks and queen kicker to take home his first gold bracelet and $657,969 in prize money. Cantu falls short of winning a his second bracelet in second place ($403,951).

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