WSOP Final Table

Tonight, at 10pm PST, the Penn and Teller Theatre at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino will host the heads up showdown for the main event of the 2008 WSOP and the bracelet will be leaving North America.

Yesterday, some four months after they had begun their campaign to be crowned champion, the November 9 sat down at the final table. By the end of the night, the two survivors were Denmark’s Peter Eastgate and Russia’s Ivan Demidov. Tonight’s play sees Peter hold the advantage as he has 79,500,000 to Ivan’s 57,725,000 but most bookies struggle to put a playing card between them and expect a tense affair. Both players will believe they have the game and the temperament to win.

Yesterday’s wild atmosphere generated by the sell-out crowd was neither for the faint-hearted nor for those who like their cotton free of logos. It was estimated that 300 members of the audience were kitted out in the trademark white shirt and red cap of Dennis Phillips, a level of support that must have been slightly intimidating for the other players. (He later denied rumours that he had hired a private plane to jet them all to Vegas, although he did admit he had paid all of their expenses and bought them the desired garb.)

He had begun the day as chip leader and he didn’t have to wait long until his minimum payday increased, although it was not in the fashion everyone had expected. Kelly Kim defied all expectations and outlasted Craig Marquis, who became the only player not to become a dollar millionaire when he crashed out in ninth place. He was desperately unlucky.

Aware that was becoming terminally short of chips, he shoved in his stack when he saw 77 in the hole. When Scott Montgomery called with AQ, Marquis was jubilant when the flop landed 7-A-T. When the turn brought a jack, he was still fairly unconcerned. The knock-out was the deadly card, the king, giving Scott the nut straight, a possibility that had been neglected by the tournament director, who had announced the outs on the flop. In a way, that is not surprising. On the flop, Marquis would win that hand over 96 times in 100. It probably cost him roughly $387k.

Kim must have felt like Cinderella and he continued his fairy-tale a little longer, although he needed a magic wand when his push with 44 attracted the attention of three callers. I’m sure he was happy with eight place pay-out, given he had already survived two mini-bubbles.

The next player to burst was David Rheem. Again we saw hands reaching into the arc of the probability laws but this time, they were just given a shake, not a throttling. Rheem made his final move with AK and was called by Eastgate with AQ. The queen paired, the king didn’t and Rheem was left royally unimpressed.

A final table is never a good time to be conscious of one’s inferior status so when qualifier Darus Suharto found himself as the lowest of the table’s pecking order, he decided he would fight like a noble. Unfortunately, he decided to push and found himself against a stronger holding just at the moment the probability Gods stopped tickling the ear of the underdog. They demanded a sacrifice. A8 versus AQ, time for Suharto to go walkies.

Montgomery was to follow. He had been wearing a hangdog expression ever since he had received a dressing down from Ivan Demidov in a hand worth around 50 million. Before the flop, the action had been: raise, re-raise, all in, call, with Demidov the last to act. In an online game, these hands leave the impression that someone’s bloodstream is a tad tainted with hooch and the players are subconsciously trying to empty their bladders. When Montgomery revealed Ad, 9d, we wondered if he needed a potty; when he saw Ivan’s KK he must have felt like crying ‘finished’.

The flop uncovered two diamonds and both players clenched their fists. The turn was a blank. The crowd whooped. The river was another blank and Ivan was dancing around the table. It was not Montgomery’s day – Eastgate gave him the final shove by hitting a one outer a few hands later.

With only four players left, there was a period of exhalation and the game slowed down. At such times, the mettle is tested and some crack. Schwartz was close to the edge and had decided that he would try to sucker punch his opponents. He was in a hand against Eastgate and the board was 2-K-8-K. Schwartz checked, Eastgate bet 1.75 million, Schwartz called. The river was a five.
Again, Schwartz checked. Eastgate bet 4.6 million. Schwartz check-raised all in: 12.5 million on top. He wasn’t expecting a call. He got one. Eastgate had a full house with fives. Schwartz had ace high. In his post game interview Schwartz maintained it was a good play as it would have been difficult for Eastgate to call had he not hit the five. I’m inclined to agree. It would have been the perfect time to flip his cards had the bluff worked and he could have boosted his table image. Next time.

Another rashly timed move saw the exit of Dennis Phillips. He had been a little too aggressive in the day’s early stages and his chip stack had fluctuated. Now done to three, he found himself as the short stack. He was under pressure, but his final hand was a little odd. Eastgate had raised from the small blind and Phillips called from the big. The dealer presented a flop of J-4-3.
Eastgate bet 1.5 million. Phillips went all in for 15,275,000 and was quickly called. He had bet close to five times the pot and Eastgate had flopped a set of threes. Philips had T-9. It was the kind of bet that can only win a relatively small pot and will lose a huge one. Such is the pressure of the WSOP.

It leaves Eastgate versus Demidov. It promises much but guarantees a European champion.

Peter Eastgate – DEN – 79,500,000
Ivan Demidov – RUS – 57,725,000

Casualties:

3. Dennis Phillips – USA - $4,517,773
4. Ylon Schwartz - USA - $3,774,974
5. Scott Montgomery – CAN - $3,096,768
6. Darus Suharto – CAN - $2,418,562
7. David Rheem – USA - $1,772,650
8. Kelly Kim – USA - $1,288,217
9. Craig Marquis – USA - $900,670