Chen Takes WSOP Event 7

Published: Thursday, July 06, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

CHEN TAKES WSOP EVENT 7

$343 618 paycheck for poker pro


The big money tournaments were coming thick and fast in Vegas this week as the World Series of Poker juggernaut continued to provide great poker and plenty of excitement and rewards for winners.

Event 7, the $3000 Limit tournament played on the US 4 July holiday had a smaller starting field than expected at 415 players but that didn't stop some pretty intense action at the tables, leading to a final table of nine top players with Carlo "The Wizard" Lopez holding the biggest stack. Other players were Canadian Allan Puzantyan, Danny Ciasamella, circuit champ Jeff Lisandro, Yucqi Zhu, casino manager Larry Thomas and poker pros Ernie Scherer, Henry Nguyen and William Chen.

Keeping spectators entertained with some amusing commentary were 1983 world champ Tom McEvoy and Susie Isaacs, twice winner of the Ladies champion title.

Lisandro was the first to be eliminated, with Scherer following not long afterward. Puzantyan went home in seventh place just before the break, together with Thomas. Only 15 minutes after play resumed following the break it was the turn of Ciasamella to leave the table in fifth place. Chen then seemed to dominate the game and soon eliminated Lopez, leaving the final three players to go at it with Chen holding a 45 000 chip lead. He played a confident and masterly game, knocking Nguyen out at third place and then going head to head with Zhu for the big prize.

After a dinner break the action resumed for just on an hour and a half with some thrilling exchanges between two men who now held very similar chip stacks. By the end of the level, Chen held a commanding ten to one lead of 1.150 million to Zhu's 150 000 and when play resumed after the break it only took three hands for Chen to truimph in a level with 10 000 to 15 000 blinds and limits of up to 30 000.

Chen's paycheck for the match was $343 618, with Zhu's second place consolation check at $184 409.