WSOP Event #7

World Series of Poker Event #7, No-Limit Hold’em 4-6 June 2008

Entrants: 1,592
Buy in: $2,000
Prize pool: $2,897,440

Final results:

1. Matt Keikoan, $550,529

2. Shannon Shorr, $349,142

3. Carter Gill, $228,898

4. Theo Tran, $191,231

5. Chris Bjorin, $155,013

6. Mihai Manole, $123,141

7. J. C. Tran, $94,167

8. Alex Bolotin, $72,436

9. Mike Lisanti, $50,705

The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship attracted 1,592 entrants, and was won by 40-year-old professional poker player from San Rafael, CA, Matt Keikoan. This was an increase over last year’s tournament size, which had 1,531 entries. The total prize pool amounted to $2,897,440. The top 153 finishers collected prize money.

Keikoan collected $550,529 for first place. He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet. To date, Keikoan now has seven World Series cashes. This was his first WSOP final table appearance. However, he has finished high in several other major events.

Keikoan finished 63rd in the 2007 Main Event. That cash was worth $154,194.

The tournament was played over three days. On Day Three, the final table was dealt out on the ESPN stage, also known as the “feature table.” The so-called “secondary” final table, located adjacent to the main stage area, featured the conclusion of Event #8 in a scheduling overlap. This year, most days at the WSOP will include two final tables.

The World Series of Poker consistently draws the most diverse fields in the game, attracting players from all over the world. This event included players who cashed from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, England, Romania, Norway, Scotland, Holland, and Russia, and the United States. Furthermore, players cashed from 34 different U.S. states.

Five different nations were represented at the final table – including Canada, England, Indonesia, Romania, and the United States.

When the final table began, Theo Tran was the chip leader. In fact, he possessed nearly twice as many chips as the player in second place. Despite this, Tran ended up as the fourth-place finisher. Tran has developed a well-deserved reputation as a fearless No-Limit player. He dominated play during much of the tournament. However, Tran steamed off his entire stack late at the final table when he went to the felt in less than a dozen hands after having nearly 60 percent of the total chips in play.

The $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em champion is Matt Keikoan. He is a 40-year-old professional poker player from San Rafael, CA. Keikoan worked as a “poker prop” for about eight years before phasing gradually into the life of a working poker pro. Keikoan started out playing at Casino San Pablo in the San Francisco Bay area.

While working as a poker prop, some of Keikoan’s regular co-workers included Bill Edler, Erick Lindgren, Bill Gazes, Matt Lefkowitz, and others. The poor tourists in that joint must have gotten skinned alive.

Matt Keikoan is the brother of poker pro Todd Keikoan, who lives in Las Vegas.

Keikoan attended San Francisco State University, but did not graduate. His father was interviewed following his son’s victory and commented: “We were thoroughly pissed off because he left college and wanted to become a professional poker player. But, it turned out well.”

Keikoan was cheered on by several poker pros, including Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren. While Keikoan was celebrating victory, Lindgren remarked that he has been playing golf with the new champ for several years. “When we used to play golf, we would play for all the money in our pockets until the sun went down. Sometimes, we would be hitting golf balls when it was dark,” Lindgren said. “Now, we can play a little higher.”