Three Tables to Go

It’s all about extremes at this year’s World Series of Poker Championship Event. The first “day” was the longest ever, as it was divided up into four separate flights spanning over four days. The second “day” was split into two actual days. But Day Six was the complete opposite. Already a day ahead of schedule, the field was down to 45 players going into Monday’s action and the goal was to narrow it down to the final three tables, or 27 players. That happened in less than five hours, including two 20 minute breaks.

It looked at first like it might take longer, as play tightened up initially, probably a result of players wanting to hang on for the next money jump, but after a little bit, the chips were flying again, just like the last couple days.

This time, more of the huge all-in moves seemed to take place after the flop, instead of before it, which was a pleasant change of pace.

There was also a mix of fun and tension in the room as players moved closer to the $12 million prize. On the one hand, at a couple tables, the players seemed to be enjoying themselves, enjoying playing with each other, and happy that they had gotten so far. On the other hand, while it wouldn’t be quite accurate to say tempers were flaring at the featured table, there was most definitely no love lost between Jeffrey Lisandro and Prahlad Friedman.

The two players found each other playing several big pots against each other, each bluffing each other out. A little before 4:00pm PDT, after a Lisandro raise and Friedman call, the flop came A-K-J rainbow. Friedman checked, Lisandro bet, and Friedman folded, only to see Lisandro show 4-4. The next hand, Lisandro again raised pre-flop, Friedman re-raised, and Lisandro called. After the all club A-J-8 flop, Friedman bet out half a million, forcing Lisandro to fold. Friedman then showed a bigger bluff than Lisandro showed earlier – 9-2 off-suit. As he pulled in the pot, Friedman said, “Now we’re playing some poker.” Friedman then bluffed Lisandro later with 6-3 on a K-Q-8-7-J board. Of course, each player enjoyed showing the other what they held. This was not a huggy-feely table.

Jamie Gold increased his chip lead on Day 6, using his intimidating stack to bully opponents. His $13 million chips are almost twice that of his closest competitor.

D’oh!

Humberto Brenes chose the wrong time to try a blind steal. He pushed all-in for $475,000 with a lowly 5-8 of spades, but ran into Ricki Nelson’s K-K in the big blind. Needless to say, Brenes went out in 36th place. Unfortunately for Nelson, he couldn’t bask in the glory of the elimination, as he was knocked out himself on the very next hand when his A-K couldn’t improve against Michael Binger’s 6-6 (Binger flopped a set for good measure).

Hand of the Day

David Einhorn raised to $160,000 pre-flop and was called by William Thorsson and Rob Berryman. After the Qs-9c-5c flop, Einhorn bet out $400,000, Thorsson raised to $1.3 million, and then Berryman moved all-in for yet another million and change. Einhorn called, putting himself all-in for his last $930,000. After a couple minutes of thought, with the crowd creeping in and ESPN cameras hovering, Thorsson made the call, having both players covered (he had a very big stack at this point). It took several minutes for the dealer to count out the chips and create a side pot, all the while the crowd around the table grew and ESPN crews setup their shots. Finally, after the $8 million in chips were pushed into the massive pot and the onlookers couldn’t take the suspense anymore, the players turned over their cards.

Thorsson: Ks-Js (most likely a pot-odds call – he was shocked that his King was live)
Einhorn: As-Qc (top pair, top kicker, backdoor flush draw)
Berryman: 7c-8c (gut-shot straight flush draw)


Both the turn and river produced Aces, giving Einhorn a full house and by far the biggest pot of the tournament. Berryman was eliminated and while Thorsson lost a big chunk of chips, he still had a healthy stack left. A floor manager needed to assist Einhorn in stacking his chips, as it might have taken all day for him to do so by himself. As it was, it took a good ten minutes, even with the help. This hand shot Einhorn up to the top of the standings and he finished the day in 3rd place.

He Doesn’t Need a Sponsor

David Einhorn (shown in the picture on the News front page before he won the $8 million pot) is not just interesting because of the huge hand he won. He announced shortly after the hand of day that he will be donating all of his tournament winnings to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. While this is an incredible act of generosity, there’s even more to it than just philanthropy. Einhorn is the president of Greenlight Capital, Inc., a privately owned investment firm that he founded in 1996. Greenlight and its affiliate companies manage about $3 billion in assets, including 95% of New World Restaurant Group (Chesapeake Bagel Bakery, Einstein Brothers, Manhattan Bagel, Noah’s New York Bagels). Einhorn’s success led him to a seat on the Foundation’s Board of Directors, along with Fox and other well-known names such as Donny Deutsch, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Donna Shalala.

He also serves of the Board of Directors of New Century Financial Corporation, Hillel, and Natan, and on the Leadership Council of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Parkinson’s research is also very personal to Einhorn, as his grandfather was afflicted with the disease.

Einhorn said that if he makes the final table, Michael J. Fox told him that he would fly out to Las Vegas to attend.

Chip Counts

1. Jamie Gold - 13,000,000
2. Erik Friberg - 7,735,000
3. David Einhorn - 6,905,000
4. Rhett Butler - 6,400,000
5. Dan Nassif - 5,430,000
6. Richard Lee - 5,275,000
7. Michael Binger - 5,275,000
8. William Thorsson - 3,765,000
9. Jeffrey Lisandro - 3,750,000
10. Kevin Aaronson - 3,670,000
11. Doug Kim - 3,595,000
12. John Magill - 3,275,000
13. Allen Cunningham - 2,650,000
14. Leif Force - 2,265,000
15. Kevin O'Donnell - 2,130,000
16. Prahlad Friedman - 1,850,000
17. Eric Lynch - 1,785,000
18. Lee Kort - 1,700,000
19. Rob Roseman - 1,685,000
20. Fred Goldberg - 1,611,000
21. Dustin Holmes - 1,210,000
22. Sirious Jamshidi - 1,190,000
23. Luke Chung - 1,100,000
24. Paul Wasicka - 700,000
25. Siddharth Jain - 675,000
26. Mark Garner - 635,000
27. Richard Wyrick - 570,000