WSOP 2005 Is Building To A Climactic Finale Today
Published: Friday, July 15, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
VEGAS THRILLER
WSOP 2005 is building to a climactic finale today
It has dominated the gambling and mainstream media for the past two weeks or more,
but as the 36th World Series of Poker runs up to the finals interest has reached
a fever pitch.
With a prize fund of almost 53 million dollars, and the involvement of the biggest
names and companies in poker, it's not hard to see why.
The beginning of this week saw 5619 hopefuls - experts and casual players alike
- arriving in Vegas for the start of poker's biggest event, the World Series of
Poker championships.
With a $10 000 buy-in, many of the players were sponsored through their fame in
the game or by winning satellite tournaments online. Players begin with $10,000
in chips, then play for six days in marathon sessions that can last up to 12 hours
a day.
So big was the field that Harrahs as owners of the event had to start by organising
a massive area at the Rio to accommodate the scores of tables, and initially
bring the players together in groups of 2 000.
By Thursday, when a now more manageable group of only 27 players were left standing
the grand finale moved to Binions. Along the way many top names in poker had
fallen among the thousands who crashed out, but there were still legendary names
like Hung La, Kenna James, Greg Raymer, John Juanda, Lee Watkinson, Phil Ivey,
Mike Matusow, Tim Phan and Fred Bonyadi, and one woman - the UK's Tiffany Williamson.
In the past, Internet sponsored players, called "dead money" by Vegas
pros who consider them amateurs, have stunned the poker world by coming away
victorious. Chris Moneymaker won more than $3 million in 2003. Greg Raymer won
more than $5 million in 2004. Both were Internet players.
With a first prize of $7.5 million to be won, and hundreds of thousands of dollars
in prizes for "in the money" players at this stage, the scene was
set for some exciting and competitive poker.
Going into the final day of the 36th World Series of Poker the attrition rate
among the professional players continued to be high with faves like Phil Ivey,
Tim Phan and Greg Raymer falling by the wayside.
Minh Ly was at 19th position when he went out just ahead of Ivey at 20th, Phan
24th and Raymer 25th. They were preceded at the end of Day 5 by John Juanda
(31) Farzad Bonyadi (41) Lee Watkinson (45) Pat Hayden and Rod Pardey.
With 23 players now left to battle it out to the final 9 at Friday's top table
at Binions, Mike Matusow is still contending fiercely in the top spot, and a
little known 27 year old US realtor called Aaron Kanter was impressing onlookers.
The UK's Tiffany Williamson was the lone woman left in the event on exactly
1,000,000 in chips heading to Binions after a bruising encounter with Greg Raymer.
Her position was not strong.
STOP PRESS:
As InfoPowa went to press the field was down to 10 as follows (not in any particular
order): The only woman left in the tournament, Tiffany Williamson was the 15th
player to be eliminated, but will return to London $400 000 richer.
- Aaron Kanter
- Joseph Hachem
- Brad Kondracki
- Scott Lazar
- Ayhan Alsanacak
- Daniel Bergsdorf
- Steven Danemann
- Mike Matusow
- Tex Barch
- Andrew Black
Four nations are represented at the final table of 10: Ireland (Andrew Black),
Australia (Joseph Hachem), Sweden (Oskar Silow) and the United States are all
represented.
Of the final 27 players before the final cut, 11 qualified for their seats online.
Tiffany Williamson won a freeroll at her local cardroom. John McGrane had a
personal outlay of only $11. It cost Daniel Bergsdorf $33. With every player
on this shortlist guaranteed at least $350,000 the online players had a stunning
return on initial investment.
