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Fabulous Las Vegas and the Glamorous Star Studded WSOP 2008 turned out to be the winning combination for Team PokerRoom which placed this class of '08 forever into our PokerRoom.com history books!
With 76 players joining Team PokerRoom here in Vegas, this was our highest turnout yet at a major live poker event. And if the pressure was on to deliver it sure wasn’t showing on anyone’s face.
Several anxious days and several sleepless nights later when it was all said and done not only did this team enjoy the highest amount to survive to day 2 but saw the most team players cash ever. A total of 8 players cashed here in Vegas an astounding combined total of $270,841.
But it wasn’t all just about the poker by any means. In between the fast and furious action at the poker tables, the whole gang managed to enjoy the finest that Vegas had to offer, sumptuous dinners, the hottest nightclubs, outings to the Grand Canyon and other great tourist destinations.
And so here in our farewell tribute to Team PokerRoom.com WSOP 2008 we take a quick trip down memory lane and hall of fame, and from all of us here at PokerRoom.com say Thank You for making this the best trip yet!
You can find more pictures from the whole trip here!
Sadly as they begin to pack up the WSOP 2008 until this November, we find ourselves having to pack up and say goodbye as well. The triumphant Team comes together for one last time tonight to celebrate all that is great about Team PokerRoom.com with our traditional farewell party.
Expect much discussion of those unpleasant bad beats, incredible calls and life saving rivers, but more so, I think it gives us and the Team a chance to reflect on what has been awesome event. With so many cashing, we proved that weren't just here to take part, we were here to win.
It's been an incredible event that has gone by all too quickly.
After 11 long, grueling days of poker here at the WSOP Main Event, we've finally got a final table of nine players who will return in November to determine who the 2008 WSOP Main Event champion is:
Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: David "Chino" Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
If you're scratching your head as to who any of the players are, well, join the crowd, as it's a rather anonymous final table. Unlike the last few years in which at least one well-known pro has reached the final table, the final nine players for 2008 are all virtual unknowns in the poker world, although some do claim professional status and have some sizable tournament cashes in the past.
Now it's a waiting game until November to see if Harrah's change to the final table format will ultimately bear fruit, as the goal was to create buzz in the media in the months leading up to the delayed conclusion. With a field of unknown players, that buzz may be hard to generate, as it's hard for casual fans to get excited about which of nine equally unknown players will emerge as Main Event champion.
Action just started at the Main Event here in Las Vegas for Day 7, with 27 players returning. By the end of the day just nine players will remain, with the final table set. Unlike previous years, Harrah's changed the final table format this year so that instead of playing out the final table now, the nine final players will return in November, at which point the Main Event champion will be crowned.
Yesterday saw the final two well-known pros bow out of the field, with Phil Hellmuth finishing 45th and Mike Matusow going on in 30th place. Plenty of fans (and ESPN television execs) had been rooting hard that both the Poker Brat and Mike the Mouth would make it through to the final table, but neither could survive to Day 7, leaving a field of amateurs and little-known pros to battle it out at the Rio.
Peter Eastgate and Dennis Phillips are currently battling for the chip lead, with each sitting on just over 12 million chips.
Just a quick programming note before your bloggers collapse for a few hours of sleep before dragging our tired bones to the exclusive Team PokerRoom party tonight at the Rum Jungle nightclub here in Mandalay Bay (We know, we know, 'tis indeed a tough, tough job we have here.)
While the Main Event may be done for the Team, all that means is that now the fun can really begin for many of the players, as they can finally enjoy Vegas with no worries whatsoever. And your blogging crew will still be here blogging away in the next few days, sharing the entire experience with you. We've been caught up in the poker action the last few days but still have stories to share from past outings golfing and to the Grand Canyon, as well as more fun to look forward to.
So stay tuned to these pages for more updates from Sin City, and don't forget that plenty of promos for other live events such as this one are running, including European stops on the tournament circuit, Poker Race Trophy competitions, and PokerIsland.
With a little luck and skill we might be writing about you here in the blog at the next big live event, taking down huge pots and stacking up chips!
It's been a whirlwind last few days here at the Rio as we hit the money bubble and pushed onward, with the Team far exceeding even our own expectations over the closing days. While individual players have cashed for more in past events as part of Team PokerRoom, a record number of Team members fought their way to the money:
119th: EroticDon ($41,816)
141st: MickeMusxxx ($41,816)
152nd: AREZ_ONE ($41,816)
168th: Githead ($38,600)
251st: drohse ($35,383)
497th: UpChitCreek ($25,090)
565th: ---Grazy--- ($23,160)
600th: bettysogray ($23,160)
Total cashes for Team PokerRoom at the 2008 WSOP: $270,841
That's a pretty amazing total, as far as the Team going home more than a quarter of a million dollars richer, so a hearty round of applause for everyone! It's especially impressive given that many players played their way in via freerolls and qualifiers, so their return on investment is pretty astronomical.
And a hearty round of applause for all the Team members who played their way here, regardless of whether you cashed or not. It's an amazing accomplishment just to get here and something many poker players never achieve, so every single member of the Team should be very proud of what they've accomplished.
The last Team member has fallen here on Day 5, with EroticDon bowing out in 119th for $41,816. He was down to about 275,000 chips when he was in the BB and facing a bet and a call. He shoved all-in and the initial bettor shoved all-in himself for about 650,000 more, which was called as well by the player in late position who'd called the initial bet.
EroticDon had live cards with 10 8 but was up against AK and AJ. The board missed everyone, running out Q 4 3 6 9 and AK was good enough to take down the pot and eliminate EroticDon in 119th.
EroticDon is now the last Team member alive in the 2008 WSOP, currently sitting on about 850,000 chips. He's been sitting on a lot of chips for most of the last few days, and while he's taken some hits from time to time he's managed to build back up each time, so the Team hopes is in pretty capable hands.
Take it down, EroticDon
Team PokerRoom has been taking some hits early today, with MickeMusxxx the latest casualty.
Two hands did him in in pretty rapid succession. In the first a UTG player opened action for a raise, and a player in middle position called. MickeMusxxx re-raised with AK (and said later that he planned to fold if the UTG player came over the top of his re-raise). The UTG player folded, but the MP player who had flat-called the first time decided to shove.
MickeMusxxx made the call, as he had the MP player covered, but found himself well behind when his opponent flipped over AA MickeMusxxx couldn't suckout and found himself down to about 240,000 chips after that hand.
Shortly after MickeMusxxx raised with 66 and was re-raised enough to put him all in. He decided to make his stand there and called with his pocket sixes, only to find himself up against another huge hand, this time pocket kings. No help came for MickeMusxxx and his WSOP run was over, finishing in 141st place for $41,816.
Great show, MickeMusxxx
We're down to two Team members in action today, which is a bit of sad news with Githead and AREZ_ONE bowing out, but the good news is that both survivors have chips to work with:
MickeMusxxx: 729,000
EroticDon: 700,000
Blinds will be 8,000/16,000 with 2,000 antes when players return from the break.
MickeMusxxx said he was pretty happy with his table but that he still was looking for more chips before he opened up his game and started trying to make any moves. While 700,000 chips sounds like a lot, you have to keep in mind that with just 142 players currently left the average stack is now nearly 1,000,000 chips, so both our remaining Team members are slightly below average. Blinds and antes now eat about 42,000 chips per orbit from players' stacks, so our guys are under pressure to make a move in the near future.
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