Poker News Round-up

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Poker News Round-up: Week #25

By Adam Noone, 22/06/2007

Ross Boatman started the week by turning in the best performance by a mobster so far at this WSOP in the $5,000 no limit hold’em event 22. Having navigated his way through a field of 640 runners though he was cruelly denied a final table appearance when the trip aces he had flopped with his big slick was cut down by Karga Holt’s small pair making a full house on the river. With 9 players left England was still represented however by Stuart Fox of Birmingham, who held a reasonable sized stack going into the final day. Just 48 hands were needed at the final table to find a winner, and for the most part Fox was able to steer clear of trouble and move up the ladder as other players busted each other out. What it did mean though was by the time he found himself heads up against James Mackey he was heavily outchipped and after four hands of Mackey moving all in Fox had to take a stand. Fox’s king high was the best hand pre-flop and post-flop but Mackey spiked what he needed to finish the game off and become the second 21 year old to take a bracelet this series. It was another near miss for Stuart Fox after a second and a third place at last year’s WSOP, but nevertheless his win of $449,000 represents the biggest cash by a Briton so far this series.

Former army commando Eli Elezra had his work cut out when he sat down at the final table of the $3,000 stud hi/lo event, despite sitting on a healthy chip lead. His adversaries included four past bracelet winners in Scotty Nguyen, Thor Hansen, Dutch Boyd and David Sklansky, but Elezra held his nerve to get himself heads up against former world champion Scotty Nguyen. The two moved away from the table to discuss a deal and although their negotiations were not made public, it might seem reasonable to assume that an agreement to chop the money had been reached from the way play ensued from there on. From that point both played as if they were messing around in a home game and even started bolting cocktails to liven up proceedings. When Nguyen kept calling all the way with a pair of sixes for the high and no low hand, pretty much all the chips went across to Elezra and he duly took his first WSOP title. One man who will surely not have been impressed by what he saw was Barry Greenstein who had laid Elezra 10/1 on winning a bracelet, meaning that he ended up owing more than Elezra had won in official prize money for first.

Ross was straight back in the saddle with a cash in the $2,000 no limit hold’em in event 25 with a creditable 20th place from 1619 starters and was joined by fellow Brits Praz Bansi and Martin Green in 10th and 11th. Another cash was also being engineered by Phil Hellmuth in event 28, $3,000 no limit hold’em, taking his tally to a massive 60 WSOP money finishes. The $76,000 he picked up for 6th though did not cover the insurance he had taken out with Phil Ivey at various points when he feared being outdrawn, and Hellmuth actually ended up making a loss on the tournament by winning those hands and then exiting shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile German pro player Katja Thater was cleaning up in the $1,500 razz event. Not since Annie Duke won an Omaha hi/lo event three years ago has a woman won an open event at the WSOP, but Thater did well to outlast a tough final table and pick up her first bracelet. This event was also notable for the resilience of Paul “Eskimo” Clark who managed fourth place despite having to stop for medical attention again. The Dave Lee Travis impersonator had first been taken ill when he collapsed during a stud hi/lo event last week amid fears of a heart attack. Despite clearing himself to continue playing poker, play had to be stopped twice more during the razz tournament after he complained of numbness in his right arm, and the medics were again called for. Fortunately the diagnosis was nothing more serious than a low blood sugar level and the hairy cornflake made a spirited comeback.

Vinny Vinh however is not in such good shape. Reports from various sources who have seen him recently describe him as emaciated, frail, twitchy and erratic. Vinh himself has not exactly been shy about hinting as to his over-indulgences, and when he failed to show up for day two of the $1,000 rebuy event last week, some suggested it was due to self-inflicted incapacitation. Sadly, he again failed to return for the second day in event 30, the $2,500 no limit hold’em, having once more built a decent stack on the first day. His chips were blinded away and 22nd place was claimed from afar as another excellent shot at a bracelet went up in smoke.

Daniel Negreanu once again went close to winning another bracelet and of the course the money he has on himself at 5/1 to win one, but could do no better than 5th in event 32, $2,000 stud. Jeff Lisandro managed to go one better than the second place he has already collected in this series by taking first here for $118,000. That amount is in fact only the seventh biggest tournament win of Lisandro’s career but it is a first WSOP bracelet and not the money that will mean most to a player who has been part of the poker scene for a long time.

Whether it is a case of players wanting to maximise their opportunities to pick up a bracelet or simply because they can’t get enough action, this year we have seen many players entering events that conflict with one another. Whilst multi-tabling is a common occurrence online, it is clearly a much tougher proposition to multi-table in a large casino, although this has not stopped plenty from trying. The most extreme example is perhaps that of Gene Todd who has been multi-casinoing – shuttling back and forth between playing in the Bellagio Cup and WSOP events at the Rio. He’s not doing too bad a job of it either, having cashed three times at the World Series and once at Bellagio.

Moving away from the WSOP for a moment, domestically there is confrontation looming after the UK Poker Clubs Association lodged an application for a review of government plans to introduce further regulation of poker clubs. In September the 2005 Gambling Act is due to come into effect, which would require clubs to obtain a casino license to run poker games. Additionally a limit on maximum membership charges of £3 per day would be enforced, which clubs say would restrict the size of prizes they can offer to tournament players. The UKPCA believes that the act favours casinos which run a variety of gambling games, and is looking to get the legislation overturned.

Just before dealers are instructed to shuffle up and deal the first hands of the main event on July 6th, a Poker In The Park afternoon will be taking place in London. Leicester Square Park will host the event for people with an interest in the game to find out more and play some games on the day. The activities are being organised in association with the World Poker Tour and Bluff Europe to celebrate London being named as Europe’s number one poker city by the magazine.

The WSOP is now over halfway complete, although the most prestigious events are yet to be played. In addition to the reporting in this weekly news round-up, from next week coverage will be enhanced with photos and updates direct from the Rio so the climax of the world championship HORSE tournament, which starts on Sunday 24th June, will be brought to you in more depth.

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