Some were funny, others poignant, many historic, but all were standout stories from the 2007 World Series Of Poker
1 BRITS BRING IT HOME
Just as what looked like a dismal series for the Brits was drawing to a close, the Hendon Mob’s Ram Vaswani won his first ever bracelet in the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout event. And then, quite unexpectedly, an even bigger story emerged in the Main Event…
Jon ‘Skalie’ Kalmar is a well known face on the UK poker circuit with two decent cashes to his name – third in the 2006 Ladbrokes Cruise ($170,000) and 82nd in the 2005 World Series Main Event ($91,950). This year he went 77 places better taking down a whopping career best cash of $1,255,069.
His wife jetted over to support him a couple of days before the final table and the Brit contingent added its (occasionally too) vocal support to his final moments. It’s funny how things work out – a fortnight before we were bemoaning this year’s World Series as a complete disaster for the Brits.
2 HELLMUTH WINS 11TH
He said he’d do it but then almost every poker player going into the WSOP would have said the same. The only difference is that Hellmuth actually delivered. He scored his record-breaking 11th bracelet in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event that, at the time, was the third biggest tournament field of all time.
By beating 2,627 opponents to make history, Hellmuth silenced pretty much all his critics and helped cement himself as the best no-limit Hold’em tournament player of all time. He couldn’t go on to add to his tally and he looked a bit of an idiot in his Main Event get-up (see Hellmuth Crashes) but you’ve got to respect his achievement.
3 SEIDEL’S EIGHTH
It’s always the quiet ones that get ignored. And in all the hype surrounding Hellmuth winning his 11th bracelet the world seems to have forgotten about Erik Seidel. This year he won the $5,000 No- Limit Deuce-to- Seven Lowball w/ Rebuys event to score his eighth bracelet, putting him back in fourth place behind Chan (10), Brunson (10), and pieces of wrist jewellery.
What’s more he beat probably the best final table of this year’s WSOP to get there, including Chad Brown, Shawn Sheikhan, Andy Black, Freddy Deeb and Todd Brunson. And just so Hellmuth doesn’t get all the plaudits we should point out that Seidel is still the only player to win WSOP titles in three consecutive years.
4 LADBROKES LOUNGE
Last year almost every operator had a lounge just outside the tournament room, each offering its own haven from the crazed crowds of the WSOP. This year, due to the recent US legislation, the numbers dropped dramatically. In fact Ladbrokes was the only operator to satisfy Harrah’s conditions and its English-themed pub lounge played host to everyone from journalists to Ladbrokes players, to pros like Jamie Gold and Liz Lieu.
‘Mad’ Marty Wilson and snooker legend Steve Davis provided the entertainment inside while Team Ladbrokes did battle outside, and they made our stay 100 times better than it would have been otherwise. We’re not too sure what the Americans made of the giant Ladbrokes players beaming down at them though.
5 PHIL CRASHES
Not in a poker tournament – he’s too good for that – but in a genuine NASCAR. This was all part of his big PR stunt for his entrance to the Main Event the next day, but he couldn’t help treating himself to a test drive first.
Unfortunately it didn’t go to plan – Hellmuth totalled the car and gave himself a sore neck just before the biggest tournament of his life. Has he learnt a lesson? Over to Phil: ‘I was driving too fast, I was out of control, I was pushing the limits, I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and I didn’t even have a helmet on! I will be careful around cars, in cars, and with cars for the rest of my life.
6 NO FUN!
With over 600 players left in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em w/Rebuys event, two of the greatest players on the planet, Phil Hellmuth and Barry Greenstein, were somehow seated one seat apart. And in between them was one very, very scared looking chap. Imagine you’ve taken your $1,000 shot at a bracelet event, made a few hands and got through the early stages to end up here.
He looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a 40-ton truck and we thought we could faintly hear his inner monologue, which went something like this: ‘Stay calm, try and look cool – it’s just Hold’em, the same as you play on the internet. They only get two cards – just play normally… What’s this? Two Kings? Fold. TABLE CHANGE PLEEEAASSSEE!
7 BODOG BUS
If Harrah’s won’t let you have a lounge inside, make one in the car park. That’s what Bodog did when it parked its tour bus outside for its players. It got moved on after three days but then it just drove up and down the Strip. Class.
8 BUBBLE BURSTS
People talk about being there for the very first ‘Shuffle Up And Deal’ at the Main Event but that was like a funeral parlour compared to the moment the bubble burst. The entire room – some 630-plus players – were playing hand-for-hand. ESPN camera crews were dashing round the room to film the all-ins as friends and family died a thousand deaths on the rail.
A lot of Main Event players were satellite winners; all of them had played for two and a half days solid; the majority were about to win a minimum $22,000, probably the biggest pay-day of their poker lives. When the bubble finally burst the room erupted in a sea of hugs and high-fives. But what of the poor soul making the long, solitary walk? We can’t even begin to imagine…
9 WSOPE
Why wait a whole year for another bracelet event? Betfair has been in Las Vegas during the WSOP whipping up support for the ‘WSOPE, presented by Betfair’, including a fabulous celebration at Pure, Caesars Palace. But you know what? They needn’t have bothered.
Even before the free drinks in the plushest club in the world, every star player we talked to confirmed they were making the journey to play for the year’s 56th, 57th and 58th bracelets. And that includes Phil Hellmuth. You could be a part of it too, by entering our exclusive freeroll on p80. Remember, you can only win the first ever WSOPE bracelet once.
10 COMING HOME
Because there comes a time, believe it or not, when 108-oz steaks, 116-degree temperatures and air-conditioned hotel rooms just don’t cut it any more. Don’t get us wrong, Las Vegas is one of the most exciting places in the world but it’s only that good because you’ve got a home to go to afterwards.
Pretty much all the pros we met while we were watching the final table were ready to go home. Some of them had been out for six or seven weeks and some were leaving without a single, solitary cash. And, despite the promise of deadline when we arrived back at Gatwick, we were ready as well. Roll on the 2008 WSOP…
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