To celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) we have witnessed arguably the strongest field in a live poker event EVER! The 40th Anniversary No Limit Holdem event was run over a gruelling 4 days with 201 Entrants paying the $40,000 Buy in.
At the end of 3 days with the elimination of Tony G in 10th Place taking $172,120 The final table was as follows :
Seat 1 - Ted Forrest (560,000)
Seat 2 - Noah Schwartz (660,000)
Seat 3 - Alec Torelli (2,340,000)
Seat 4 - Isaac Haxton (5,955,000)
Seat 5 - Greg Raymer (3,345,000)
Seat 6 - Justin Bonomo (1,685,000)
Seat 7 - Lex Veldhuis (3,805,000)
Seat 8 - Dani Stern (1,300,000)
Seat 9 - Vitaly Lunkin (4,565,000)
After 110 hands all 3 players were seperated by less than 50,000 chips
Greg Raymer with 8,025,000, Vitaly Lunkin 8,010,000 and Isaac Haxton with 7,980,000
The Fossilman is eliminated with pocket 5s v pocket 9's
Hand 113 - Greg "The Fossilman" Raymer has the button, he raises 400,00, Lunkin folds and Haxton three-bets to 1,250,000. Raymer makes a move all in for his 8,105,000, Haxton has him covered and makes the call.
Raymer [5h] [5d], Hayton [9h] [9d] The flop comes down and its [Kc] [Qd] [Ts], Raymer needs a 5 or a runner, runner mirage to stay in the tournament. The turn is the [3h], the river is [3d] the crowd go crazy for "the Fossilman" as one of the true gentlemen of the game.
At the start of Heads up play, Haxton has 70% of the chips with 16,495,000 against Lunkin's 7,520,000. During the course of the next 50+ hands, we have 4 hands that gave Vitaly Lunkin his 2nd World Series of Poker bracklet following last year's win which he described as the highlight of his poker career.
Hand 154 - Lunkin Doubles through Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He rauses to 400,000 and Lunkin comes in with a three-bet to 1.4 million. Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls all in for 7,940,000. Haxton has Lunkin covered.
Lunkin [Th] [Tc], Haxton [Kc] [3c]. The flop is [Ts] [4s] [2h] Lunkin flops top set of tens. The turn is the [Jh]. Haxton is drawing dead, the river is a meaningless [Qh]. This is a hugh double up for Lunkin. Following Raymer's elimination Lunkin has 15,940,000 against Haxton 8,155,000.
Hand 160 - Isaac Haxton Doubles through Lunkin
Isaac Haxton has the button. He opens for 400,00 and Lunkin calls.
The flop is [Kc] [5c] [3h] Lunkin [As] [Ad] check-raises Haxton's 525,000 bet to 1,450,000, Haxton Calls. The turn is a [6s]. Lunkin bets 1.5 million, Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls.
Haxton nees a king or a ten to survive. The river is a [Tc] and Haxton doubles to 13,970,000 while Lunkin drops down to 10,125,000
Hand 162 - Lunkin Doubles through Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton has the button. He makes it 400,000 to go and Lunkin reraises to 1.4 million. Haxton calls. The flop is [Ac] [5c] [4c], Lunkin leads out for 2,000,000, Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls
Lunkin [Qc] [Ts], Haxton [Qs] [8c] Haxton is in big trouble he needs to hit an eight or running non-clubs straight cards to survive. The turn is the [8d], Haxton has gone from 11% to 77% with the river to go. The river is a [2c] leaving Haxton with 5,505,000 against Lunkin sits with 18,590,000 chips.
Hand 167 - Pocket Aces hold for the Lunkin and the win
Vitaly Lunkin has the button [As] [Ah], he limps in, Haxton [3d] [8c] raises an additional 600,000. Lunkin makes the call
The flop is [Qd] [Td] [8d], Haxton leads out with 1,200,000 with a pair of eights and 4 to the diamond flush, Lunkin moves all in and Haxton calls all in for 5,635,000.
Lunkin is 49% against Haxton's 47%, the turn is the [7c], Haxton needs a diamond, an eight or a three to stay alive. The river is the [Ks] and Vitaly Lunkin wins the tournament.
Haxton earns $1,168,566 as runner-up while Lunkin takes home $1,891,012 and his second WSOP bracklet
WSOP 2009 Event 2 40th Anniversary $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em Results
- Number of Entries: 201
- Buy in: $40,000
- Start Date: 28th May 2009
- Duration: 4 Days
- Players in the money: 27
| Place | Winner | Prize (US$) |
| 1. |
Vitaly Lunkin |
$1,891,012 |
| 2. |
Isaac Haxton |
$1,168,566 |
| 3. |
Greg Raymer |
$774,927 |
| 4. |
Dani Stern |
$548,315 |
| 5. |
Justin Bonomo |
$413,166 |
| 6. |
Alec Torelli |
$329,730 |
| 7. |
Lex 'RaSZi' Veldhuis |
$277,940 |
| 8. |
Noah Schwartz |
$246,834 |
| 9. |
Ted Forrest |
$230,317 |
| 10. |
Tony G |
$172,120 |
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