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Event #57, $10,000 Main Event, End of Day 7 ReportWorld Championship Day 7 Headlines
The Main Event ContinuesThe 2009 WSOP Main Event continued with the play and conclusion of Day 7. The day played all the way down to three tables. All 64 players who started play on Day 7 were already guaranteed $90,344 in prize money. Now, after 12 days and 60 total hours of tournament play, all finishers are guaranteed at least $352,832 in prize money. Day 7 began with 64 players. The day ended with 27 survivors. Tables are usually played nine handed. Three tables remain. This was the 47th day of the 2009 WSOP. Play continues for one more day, plus the finale to be played in November. There will also be four gold bracelet events played at WSOP-Europe, to be held in London in September. Tomorrow (Wednesday) begins at noon and will play down to nine players, which constitutes the final table. This year’s final table will make up the 2009 “November Nine.” Following tomorrow’s play down to nine players, the tournament takes a 115-day recess. Play on Day 7 began on July 14, 2009 at 12:05 pm. Play on Day 7Following 2009 WSOP champion Peter Eastgate’s elimination in Day 6, no more former world champions remain alive in the Main Event. At the start of play on Day 7, six former WSOP gold bracelet winners were still alive in the Main Event. They included: Phil Ivey (7 wins), Tom Schneider (2 wins), Antonio Esfandiari (1 win), Blair Rodman (1 win), Jordan Smith (1 win), and Prahlad Friedman (1 win). Players competed for nearly four complete levels. Play ended towards the end of Level 29. There are 7 minutes 17 seconds remaining. Next, at Level 30, blinds will be 50,000-100,000 with a 10,000 ante. The average stack size is currently 7,215,556. Day 7 started with a field of 64 players and ended with 27 survivors. This means only about .41 percent of the original 6,494 starters survived past the seventh day. Only one female started the day still in contention. Leo Margets (Barcelona, Spain) began play ranked in 18th place. She survived and is currently in 26th place. Margets will need to make a big move on Day 8 to make the November Nine. Only one female in history has made it to a Main Event final table – Barbara Enright in 1995. Former gold bracelet winner Blair Rodman, from Rancho Mirage, CA was eliminated in 34th place. Dennis Phillips (St. Louis, MO) who finished third in last year’s Main Event, was eliminated in 45th place. 2007 WSOP “Player of the Year” and two-time gold bracelet winner Tom Schneider, from Scottsdale, AZ was eliminated in 52nd place. Former gold bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman (2003, $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em), from Malibu, CA was eliminated in 64th place. Players who survived Day 7 will return to continue their quest for the 2009 world poker championship gold bracelet and $8.5 million in first-place prize money on July 15th, starting at noon. Seven-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Ivey remains in contention, currently ranked in fourth place. Card Player magazine editor Jeff Shulman remains alive in the Main Event, currently ranked in seventh place. He finished seventh in the 2000 WSOP championship. Play on Day 7 ended at 10:40 pm. A Breakthrough Year for France?France is blessed with many talented poker players. However, in the 40-year history of the WSOP, only one French player has made it to a Main Event final table. That took place in 1998 when Marc Brochard finished in eighth place. In 2003, poker pioneer Bruno Fitoussi finished in 15th place. Other than those two showings, France has been shut out of championship celebrations. This year could be a breakthrough year for France. Of the 27 remaining players, three are from France. Antoine Saout, from Saint Martin des Champs, is presently in 6th place. Lacay Ludovic, from Paris, is in 15th place. Francois Balmigere, from Toulouse, is in 27th place. Interestingly, Ludovic and Balmigere attended college together, but became professional poker players. France appears to have a very bright future in poker, as all three of the French players are under the age of 25. Two Notable CorrectionsBradley “B.J.” Craig (Cleveland, OH) finished in 50th place. This was his first time to cash at the WSOP. There is another player named Bradley Craig (Stitbulle, ON Canada) who cashed in a WSOP event in 2005, who is a different player. There are two tournament players named Thai Tran. The 49th-place finisher in the Main Event was Thai K. Tran, from Houston, TX. The player asks that all his records be updated with the name THAI K. TRAN. About the Day 7 Chip Leader (Darvin Moon)Darvin Moon remains as the chip leader after seven days of play. He lives in the small eastern Maryland town of Oakland. Moon owns and operates a small logging company with other family members. Most of his days are spent in pine forests scattered throughout the Maryland panhandle. He is married and was cheered on by his wife, who was sitting in the crowd. This is Moon’s first time to play in the WSOP. It was also his first time to visit Las Vegas. Moon lost his lead early in the day and fell to around tenth place in the standings. Just when it appeared he might crumble and fade away, Moon managed to win a few big hands and stay near the top of the leaderboard. He won a few big pots late in the day to regain his chip advantage over Billy Kopp (Erlanger, KY), who is currently in second place. An Interview with Darvin MoonQuestion: How did you get to the WSOP? Here’s how the previous end-of-day chip leaders have fared:
Meet Billy Kopp (Second Place in WSOP Main Event)Billy Kopp is from Erlanger, KY. He is 23-years-old and is attending the University of Kentucky as a full-time student. He is close to receiving a degree in hospitality management and tourism. Kopp was the chip leader late on Day 7, but feel to second place when Darvin Moon (at another table) made a late run and regained his chip lead. Currently, Kopp has nearly 16 million in chips while Moon is atop the leaderboard with 20 million. Other rivals are all 12 million in chips, and less. Kopp has come close to victory recently. He was the runner up at the WSOP Circuit championship held at Harrah’s New Orleans in May. Kopp admits to being brought into the game about six years as part of the so-called “Moneymaker effect,” which brought millions of new players to poker. When asked about the surroundings of playing in the WSOP Main Event, Kopp remarked confidently: “I am not really intimidated by anybody. I think it is my ball game….I think I can play with the best of them.” Meet George Caragiorgas (Currently in 24th Place)Poker tournaments are often won by players who come from the middle of the pack or are far behind at a critical stage of the competition. Most recently, Jerry Yang and Joe Hachem began play at the final table with a low stack, yet somehow managed to stage memorable comeback victories. George Caragiorgas, from Montreal, Quebec (Canada) has to be hoping for a similar result. He will start Day 8 ranked 24th in the chip count, with 1,615,000 (the chip leader has more than 20 million). Question: You are currently one of the shorter stacks. What is your strategy for tomorrow? WSOP Main Event (Final Table Records)MOST LIFETIME FINAL TABLE APPEARANCES Doyle Brunson (5) Jesse Alto (5) Johnny Moss (5) Dan Harrington (4) T.J. Cloutier (4) Stu Ungar (4) Note 1: Johnny Moss’ victory in 1970 is not included amongst final table records, since the winner that year was determined by a vote. Note 2: Crandall Addington actually holds the record with nine Main Event final table appearances. However, most of these did not include a prize-money payout (field sizes were considerably smaller during the 1970s when most of Addington’s appearances occurred). Note 3: Final table appearances were counted only if the player also received a payout. Note 4: WSOP Main Event final tables were played six-handed during a 16-year span. However, the top nine finishers during those years are included in final table records. WSOP Main Event (Cashing Records) MOST LIFETIME CASHES IN MAIN EVENT:
MORE ON BERRY JOHNSTON: Berry Johnston’s cashes in the Main Event include:
MOST CONSECUTIVE CASHES IN MAIN EVENT: 4 – by three players
Notable PlayersHere is the current status of all former WSOP world champions who played in this year’s Main Event. All have been eliminated:
Here is the current status of all current and former WSOP “Player of the Year” champions who played in this year’s Main Event. All have been eliminated:
Here is the status of those players with notable results from this year’s WSOP:
Here is the status of notable non-pro celebrities from this year’s Main Event:
Historical Footnote: The highest Main Event finish by a celebrity was actor and comedian Gabe Kaplan, who finished 13th in the 1991 championship. The highest Main Event finish for a (non-poker) celebrity was actor Telly Savalas, who finished 21st in the 1992 championship. Here is the current status of last year’s “November Nine” (2009 Main Event Final Table participants). All have been eliminated. Three of the nine players cashed:
Here are the nations represented among the 27 survivors:
Daily elimination percentages are as follows:
Female Participants in the 2009 Main Event(Note: The WSOP recognizes that player characteristics such as gender, race, etc. do not warrant special mention. However, since many members of the media wish to know details about female participation and status, the staff is providing this information for media use.) The number of female participants in this year's Main Event is estimated to be 187, which amounts to 2.8 percent of the field. There is no official record since entrants are not designated by their gender. However, it has been customary to count every player at the start of Day One and take an unofficial head-count of female players. Here are the highest-female finishers (by year) in the WSOP Main Event (Note: Only players who finished in-the-money were recorded): No female cashed in the Main Event between the years 1970-1985. 1986 – Wendeen Eolis (25th) Playing on Day 1 – A, B, C, or D – Does it Matter?Which of the four Main Event starting days is the most advantageous? The data has been run and the numbers are now in. Statistics from the past two years of Main Events show there is almost no correlation between the starting day and the odds of finishing in-the-money. Here are the numbers: |
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