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| EVENT #16 | 5/6/98 |
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| DEUCE to SEVEN (No Limit) $5,000 | |
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| TOTAL PRIZE MONEY - $295,000 | PRIZE MONEY TO DATE - $7,076,000 |
| ENTRIES IN THIS EVENT - 26 (33 Re-buys) | TOTAL ENTRIES TO DATE - 3,193 |
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The Final Table How they finished Live From the 'Shoe The Play-by-Play |
 IF I WERE A RICH MAN... The Championship Event buy-in is $10,000. Win or lose, that's all it costs. The $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Event, with unlimited re-buys can cost $20,000 and more. The Championship event is about pride. The Deuce-to-Seven is about ego. No-Limit Draw, with No-Limit Egos. At $5,000 a re-buy, It's Bankroll Chicken, Baby. BUY A BRACELET TIME. CHEAP AT HALF THE PRICE With only 26 entries, making the Final Table isn't enough to get you your money back. You have to finish fifth or better to get into the money. If you've had two or more re-buys, even fifth place won't get you unstuck. Defending champ, Johnny Chan reaches his re-buy limit and leaves the game early. With 19 players left, Doyle Brunson, John Bonetti, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest and Mickey Appelman have above average stacks. David Grey, Steve Zolotow, Wil Wilkinson, Chris Bjorin and Bruce Kuhlman have below average stacks. Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer, Lyle Berman, Danny Dang, Barry Greenstein, Jim Bechtel, Bob Stupak and Roy Thung are all in the middle. The re-buy period is over. With two tables left, Phil Hellmuth has taken some hits, as has Mickey Appelman. David Grey found some chips, as has Wil Wilkinson and Erik Seidel. Soon, Dang, Zolotow, Bechtel, Bonetti, Appelman, Bjorin, Greenstein and Kuhlman are gone. We are down to 10. From all reports, Lyle Berman is easily the richest of the players. He has a, presumably fake, gold ingot that he sets his chips on. On it is inscribed the words "Life is good." Indeed. In the game of "Bankroll Chicken", Lyle Berman is Frank Perdue. But that couldn't help Berman today, he finished 10th. Howard Lederer, Annie Duke's older brother, finished 9th, which was one off the Final Table, but well out of the money.
Prize Money
Six minutes into the Final Table, Bob Stupak has a run-in with David Grey. Bob goes all-in with a one card draw to a six. David calls and draws one to a seven. Bob catches an Ace, and is sent packing by David who draws a ten. Eleven minutes later, Phil Helmuth goes all-in, in early position with about $10,000 to go, and after there were no callers for Erik Seidel's re-raise, they both stood pat. Erik had a better Jack, and Phil was out, in 7th place. Ted Forrest can't see the money for the trees. He's leading in the "Close But No Cigar" category for this year's World Series. In a hand that Forrest probably still can't believe, Erik Seidel called Ted's all-in bet and took 3 cards!!! Ted, who let us all see his cards, including Erik Seidel who came around the table to look, had A 10 10 9 5. Remember an Ace is the worst card in Deuce-to-Seven, as it is high only. Forrest threw away the Ace and one of the 10's. Erik Seidel's draw came 2 5 6 to give him an 8 6. Forrest was drawing dead with 10 9 8 5, when a second 8 came. Without knowing how many re-buys Ted Forrest made, we do know he played for over ten hours, and paid at least $5,000 for the privilege of finishing one out of the money in 6th.. MONEY, IT'S A GAS Roy Thung went all-in with a 10 7, taking one card. Doyle Brunson called and took two. Now it was Roy who was drawing dead. Doyle caught a 9 8. Thung was 5th. David Grey, who had been so hot before the Final Table, was so not, at it. Finally, his 10 8 lost to Wil Wilkinson's 9 7 and David was a Grey 4th. Doyle Brunson has been a dominant player in every Event he's played in, except the first one. Already with a 1st, 2nd and 10th, Doyle fights to the last. He caught a 10 on his draw to lose to Erik Seidel's made 9. Brunson now has a 3rd to go with his other finishes. Wil Wilkinson started the heads up play with a $165,000 to $130,000 lead over Erik Seidel. At first Seidel controlled the play, then Wilkinson fought back to even. That was Wil's last gasp. Seidel ran Wilkinson into the felt. Once having a better Jack, and then winning a large pot with a pair of 3's over Wilkinson's pair of 7's. Seidel built up a 5/1 chip lead, and on the final hand, Wilkinson called Seidel's button raise with his last chips, and then rapped pat. Seidel stayed pat also, and his Jack low beat Wilkinson's Queen low, for the title. In an ego driven Event, one of the seemingly most humble superstars in this business - Erik Seidel - took home the shekels and the bracelet. FINAL RESULTS
$5,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven
SUPER SATELLITES (Patty Hughes and Rudy Lotief) The No-Limit Super Satellites start each evening at 8:40 PM in the Satellite area. The Entry Fee is $220 for $200 in Tournament chips and there are unlimited $200 re-buys during the first hour, if you have less than $200 in Tournament chips. You may also make a single or double add-on at the end of the re-buy period. Blinds start at $5/$10 and increase every 20 minutes. Available monies will be converted into non-negotiable, non-transferable, non-refundable seats in the $10,000 World Championship event, with at least $5,000 in cash and $500 Lammers being divided among the final table players. SINGLE TABLE SATELLITES (Becky Kerber, Barbara Lotief and Terry Vanderlip) Single Table Satellites are run continuously 21 hours every day (8:00 AM until 5:00 AM) and usually last around 90 minutes. There are featured Satellites each day for the next day's event, as well as other Satellites depending on demand. Single Table Satellites for the $10,000 Main event and for the next no-limit Holdem event are spread frequently. Binion's charges $10 per player in a Satellite. For the $320 buy-in No Limit Holdem Satellites, ten Players start with $1,200 each in chips. The blinds start at $10/$25, increase every 15 minutes, and the winner gets six $500 Lammers plus $100 in cash. For the $1,010 buy-in Single Table $10,000 Satellites, ten players start with $4,000 each in chips. The blinds start at $25/50 and increase every 20 minutes. The winner gets a non-transferrable seat in the Championship Event. There were two Final Tables played on Wednesday. Pot Limit Holdem and No Limit Deuce to Seven (which was a one day Event). There will not be a Final Table on Thursday, so our next WSOP report will be on Friday's $3000 No Limit Holdem Event #17. LAS VEGAS WEATHER The Temperature sign atop Binion's Horseshoe read 71 degrees at 3:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon. The sky was partly cloudy, sunny, blue and clear. The wind was out of the SW at 15mph, gusting to 25mph most of the day. With six players left at the Final Table, Lyle Berman walks in, hands Jack McClelland a $100 bill, and announces that he is placing a $100 bounty on Doyle Brunson (who is the short stack). Erik Seidel eventually earned the bounty. As Phil Helmuth Jr. left the Final Table, after standing pat with a Jack low, when he was all-in, and then losing to Erik Seidel who also stood pat, with a better Jack low, Phil said to Erik, "That is the worst tournament play I have seen all day. How could you stand pat with that hand? What did you think I had, a Queen?" LENGTH OF FINAL TABLE
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY First 16 Events: $7,076,000 (1998) vs $7,393,000 (1997) WSOP FINAL TABLE DEALS It is not likely that a Deal was made in today's $5000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Event.
Formal, official Deals at the WSOP are done in private, under the supervision and guidance of Jack McClelland, WSOP Tournament Co-ordinator. Deals represent a reallocation, or split of the announced remaining prize pool, that is agreeable to all remaining players. All remaining players do not have to participate in an official Deal, as long as all remaining players give their consent. All pay outs by Binion's, and the tax reporting will reflect the Deal allocation, but press releases and official WSOP earnings reflect the scheduled, announced pay outs. Jack McClelland tries to immediately squelch any "Deal talking" in the Final Table area, and will stop the playing clock and allow a "Deal break" at any time. A normal Deal will probably allocate the bulk of the remaining prize pool equally (or unequally, relative to chip count, perceived ability, bargaining skills etc.) between the remaining participants, with a small portion (perhaps 10 % or so) and the Title going to the eventual winner. Some deals may earmark some of the un allocated portion to the eventual second or third place finisher, in addition to the allocation for the first place money. Binion's attempts to prevent private Deals, which are unenforceable and may present tax complications, by the participants. Binion's probably would prefer a Deal free environment all together, but recognizes that a top heavy pay out structure is conducive to Deals, and has arrived at the current procedure as the best solution. PLAYER CONDUCT Any player abusing employees or other players, either verbally or physically (swearing, throwing cards, etc.) or disrupting the tournament will be penalized. The following will be the MINIMUM penalty imposed:
FIRST OFFENSE - 20 minutes away from the table.
(Blinds and/or antes to be forfeited)
The WSOP Floorpeople will be strictly enforcing the rules, with zero tolerance. Every player starts each Event with a clean slate as far as penalties are concerned. SCOREBOARD
TOURNAMENTS Jack McClelland is assisted by Steve Morrow and Jeff Vanderlip as Assistant Tournament Coordinators. The 1998 WSOP continues the two-day format that was inaugurated last year, for most of the tournaments. Also, all two-day events start one level lower than in past years, and each level at the Final Table has been lengthened from 60 minutes to 80 minutes. Limit Holdem and Omaha events have two new levels of betting. First day play continues until the field is reduced to the Final Table, and Final Table play begins at 4:00 PM on the second day. In addition to the money and a gold bracelet, each winner of a 1998 WSOP Event will get free rooms at next year's WSOP. If you win more than one Event, you can roll subsequent hotel accommodations over to later years. The extra betting levels added to this year's WSOP Events, and the longer duration of levels at the Final Table, "promised increased playability and a higher expected return for the skilled player." If "skilled player" equates to well known "world class player", then the the higher expected return for the skilled player has not been happening. Except for a few scattered exceptions, the 1998 WSOP has been dominated by lesser lights and relatively unknown players. POKER ROOM Shift Supervisors Jimmy Stefan, John Buchanan, Tony Shelton and Cathy Wood run the Poker room where the lower limit games are played. Games being spread on 30 April:
SIDE ACTION Shift Supervisors John "Scoff" Sheffield, Kathy Hudson and Marshall Kassoff run the higher limit games on the south end of the Tournament Pavilion. Games being spread on 30 April:
$10,000 CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANTS Updated Through 8:00 PM Wednesday 6 MAY 1988
Alphabetized:
"Amazon" Erik Alps  Overcoming one of the most elite fields in poker, Eric Seidel captured the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event to win his fourth World Series gold bracelet. The late-night victory for the 38 year-old onetime top backgammon player and Wall Street options trader propelled him from 16th to 12th place on the Top Money Winners list, with earnings of $1,248,586, just $96 short of John Bonetti in 11th place.
This was Seidel's 13th final table and 18th money finish at the World Series; he was runner-up to Johnny Chan in the 1988 Championship event. He said tonight, "I'm very happy about my World Series record." Seidel claimed the title after a 90-minute heads-up contest with Wil Wilkinson who started with a $165,000 to $130,000 chip advantage. That position changed radically in a key hand 24 minutes into the fray when Wilkinson drew one card in a large pot and bet $30,000 while Seidel, who drew two, called with 10-7-6-4-3. Wilkinson, with 2-3-4-7, had paired. Although Wilkinson nearly got even when, with K-J-10-4-2, he called a $25,000 bluffing bet by Seidel, it was never close after that. Wilkinson was mortally crippled in a raised pot when both took two cards and Seidel showed down J-8-7-6-4, nipping J-9-6-5-2. In the final hand, with both players standing pat, Seidel took the title with J-9-5-3-2 against Wilkinson's Q-10-9-8-6. "I feel like I was lucky to get here and I'd have liked to be a little bit luckier at the finish," said Wilkinson, 56, a longtime California cardroom owner who has been to every World Series since 1978, often as a spectator. This was his third cash and raised his total earnings to $105,160. "All the players were world class, while I'm kind of a recreational player," Wilkinson said. "All this tournament business pales against the best thing I've got going for me - a great family," he added. Two-time World Champion Doyle Brunson took third place after a hand which Seidel called the key to his tournament victory. Both players drew one card, with Brunson all-in and Seidel left almost chipless after the last bet of $57,500. Seidel caught an eight to 9-7-5-2, while Brunson exited when he drew a 10 to 8-4-3-2. Although he missed winning an unequalled ninth WSOP title, Brunson with this finish achieved a major goal he had identified early last week - passing Berry Johnston and moving into fourth place on the Top Money Winners roster. Brunson's earnings now total $1,744,209. He has been at 19 final tables and cashed 21 times since 1976, four already this year. The 64 year-old superstar and poker author won the $1,500 Razz event two weeks ago. Fourth place went to David Grey, 39, a poker professional for 15 years who has now won just over $100,000 in five money finishes at the World Series and has two Hall of Fame titles. "I loved the tournament," he said. "The best players in the world are here, and it's the best place to win - if you're lucky." Luck ran out for Grey, the initial final-table chip leader, when he was all-in and stood pat with 10-8-5-4-2 against Wilkinson, also pat, with 9-7-5-4-2, Roy Thung, an Indonesian-born private investor, took fifth place, his third final-table finish at this WSOP. He has now won $96,387 in two years here. Thung was knocked out holding 10-7-5-3-2 by Brunson's 9-8-6-4-3. Finishing at the final table but out of the money were: Ted Forrest, the three-time 1993 titleist, sixth; 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth, Jr., seventh, and Bob Stupak of Vegas World fame, eighth.  We will announce when the play-by-play of the final table is available for this event. |
"I never expected to win, not at all," Seidel said. "I feel
this event has the strongest players, so it takes a lot of
luck to get through the field. Tonight I got there when I
needed to, hitting a number of draws while my opponents
didn't hit theirs in many cases."