Bittersweet
Saturday, July 11, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
For some just playing in the World Series of Poker Main Event is the realization of a lifelong dream. For other, cashing in the Main Event is a story to be retold over and over again for decades. But for some, there’s only on reason to play in the Main Event–or any poker tournament, for that matter. And that’s to win it.
Phil Hellmuth has a legacy to think about. He’s won more WSOP bracelets than anyone else, has played at more WSOP final tables than anyone else, has more WSOP cashes than anyone else. He won the Main Event twenty years ago. But still, that’s not enough. With every deep run comes an opportunity to rewrite history, history Phil himself wrote in years past. Coming into play today Phil had a big stack, big enough to work his usual magic and position himself for another deep run in the biggest poker tournament in the world, just as he did last year.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Famous for his line “I can dodge bullets, baby!”, Phil lost a big pot to Jose Manuel Gomez Rebenaque when Rebanaque called an 80,000 bet on the river with pocket Aces, and Phil wasn’t able to rebuild and retrench after that. He had chips, just not as many as those rising to the top of the leaderboard, when he lost a huge pot to Abraham Mourshaki when Mourshaki flopped trip Jacks and Phil called a 120,000 bet on the river. The end came shortly thereafter, when Phil was dealt…pocket Aces, and when the money went in after a Jc-10d-5c flop. Phil found himself in big trouble against Kenny Hsiung’s J-10 and Kevin Jenkins’ 8h-9h, and when the 7d fell on the turn it gave Jenkins a straight that held up to take the pot.
And that’s when WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla took the microphone and announced, “Ladies and Gentleman, just eliminated from the Main Event…Phil Hellmuth”. There was a smattering of applause in the half-empty room, an ESPN film team followed Phil as he walked out the door. “Love you, Phil!” a fan called from the far rail, but Phil walked out the door and was gone.
For Scott Ian, the Main Event WAS his World Series, as he was in Europe touring with Anthrax during the rest of the Series. He returned to the States just in time to take his Main Event seat, and then after surviving to Day 2 he had to hop on a plane and fly to Tulsa, Oklahoma to play a gig at the Rocklahoma music festival. A flight at dawn back to Vegas and Scott resumed his seat on Day 3, battling all day with a shortstack to make it to Day 4. And on Day 4 he gritted it out, folding several times to big re-raises when his entire stack was in peril, and battled his way into the money. If Phil was crushed after his elimination, Scott saw the bright side. As he tweeted, “I cashed in my first main event. Outlasted 5857 players. So stoked. Post main event euphoria.”
But that’s how it is for everyone who cashes in the Main Event but doesn’t win–there’s congratulations, and condolences as well. There’s only one winner, and everyone else walks away from the table bitterly disappointed. But there’s reason to be proud of cashing in the Main Event, and both Scott Ian and Phil Hellmuth have reason to be proud of what they accomplished this week. Even if pride is an emotion that might come harder for some at this particular time.
And with that, we’re done for the night. Tournament Director Jack Effel announced a bit ago that we were ending early tonight, with 407 players still in the hunt for the World Championship. We’ll resume tomorrow at high noon, with 406 players sure to ride that roller coaster of ecstasy and despair, while one will claim the ultimate prize–the title of World Champion.
Related posts:
- A Day of Rest For the first time since May 27 the Rio was...
- Those In the Field What with all the furor today over who didn’t get...
- The Bubble Bursts It took 13 hands and nearly two hours of play,...
- Two Weeks Notice Hard to believe that we’re two weeks into the 2009...
- Hail Hellmuth There’s a legend that when Julius Caesar was at the...
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Anthrax, Phil Hellmuth, Scott Ian, world series of poker, WSOP
