WSOP Event #18

World Series of Poker Event #18, No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball, 9-11 June 2008

Entrants: 85
Buy in: $5,000
Prize pool: $1,735,020

Final results:

1. Mike Matusow, $537,857

2. Jeffrey Lisandro, $347,004

3. Barry Greenstein, $225,553

4. Erick Lindgren, $156,152

5. Tom Schneider, $104,101

6. Tony “G” Guoga, $78,076

7. David Benyamine, $58,991

8. Thomas Dwan, $45,111

9. Dario Alioto, $34,700

One of the most recognisable faces in global poker, Mike Matusow has won a bracelet at the year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, adding to his two previous career victories. Matusow collected $537,862 for first place.

“My patience was great,” Matusow said afterward. “I don’t know a lot about this game, I know a lot more about Hold ‘Em. I kept my patience, and I never gave up. I played against 84 of the best players in the world. I played real good, and I never say that about myself. I’m proud of myself.”

The $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball championship attracted 85 entrants. Another 272 re-buys and add-ons created a prize pool totaling $1,735,020. The final two tables comprised of the top 14 finishers collected prize money.

When play was at eight-handed near the end of Day Two, Mike “the Mouth” Matusow delivered what must be considered the best sound bite of the 2008 WSOP. Erick Lindgren had just won a monster-size pot which busted two players and catapulted him into the chip lead for the first time. Furthermore, Lindgren won his first WSOP gold bracelet a few days earlier. Annoyed by Lindgren’s recent good fortune, Matusow quipped to the large crowd, “Barack Obama should pick Erick Lindgren as his running mate. That way, he can’t lose!”

There was considerable interest in this tournament by many other players in the tournament room. Poker star Phil Ivey has reportedly wagered somewhere between $2.5 and $5 million on himself (reports vary) that he will win a WSOP gold bracelet this year. Many top pros bet against Ivey, not necessarily doubting his talent as much as differing with Ivey as to his actual chances of victory (Note: Ivey is said to have settled on a 1:1.8 payout in his favor).

Ivey invested $80,000 in this event (buy-in plus multiple re-buys) and had a big stack when play consolidated to three tables. But he busted out without cashing, allowing many poker players to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Ivey is clearly a much bigger dog now than when he started the WSOP, with 18 events finished and with the shorter-fielded events such as Seven-Card Stud and Deuce-to-Seven concluded

The player who invested the most money in this tournament was Todd Brunson ($140,000).

This final table lineup was indisputably the toughest and most interesting from a personality perspective of any of the first 18 events at this year’s WSOP. Five former WSOP gold bracelet winners – Jeffrey Lisandro, Mike Matusow, Tom Schneider, Erick Lindgren, and Barry Greenstein joined well-known high-limit cash game pros David Benyamine and Tony Guoga (“Tony G”) to make up the final table comprised of seven players.

• Perhaps the most impressive feat of the tournament belonged to Chad Brown. He cashed for the second consecutive year in this event, finishing 11th. Brown invested only $5,000 in this tournament and did not make any re-buys.

All WSOP images are supplied by “IMPDI for the 2008 WSOP”