John Monnette used the power of love to win his third World Series of Poker gold bracelet after taking down Event #22: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship with his wife on the rail, Ralph Perry leads the MILLIONAIRE MAKER, and Maurice Hawkins is doing the same in the Marathon.
As John Monnette’s wife moved through the Rio rail like a female fox cuts effortlessly through the forest, he knew the title was his. Granted, he came into the final table of Event #22: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship with the chip lead, but it wasn’t a sure thing until he saw the most important person in his life cheering him on.
Monnette is WSOP aristocracy. I don’t know much about Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), but I know enough about Monnette to want him on my team. He is a Jack of All Trades Master of Them All. His previous two bracelet wins had come in Seven Card Stud (2012) and 8-Game (2011), but none of them was in front of his wife.
“She’s been awesome for me,” Monnette told PokerNews reporters after his third bracelet win. “All of them are special, but it was super cool with her being here. She’s always been supportive of me in everything I do. She’s always rooted for me, and there’s been some disappointment. She deals with me being gone thirteen hours a day, and coming home angry, but luckily, I’m not so angry anymore.”
It was a compact and bijou field of 92 entrants, and there were no weeds on the final table. Paul Volpe won this event in 2014 and is in stunning form. Darren Elias is a modern day World Poker Tour (WPT) legend. Mike Gorodinsky is a former WSOP Player of the Year, and Mike Leah goes deeper and more consistent than Mandingo.
But none of these amazing poker players had the puff to make it to the final table, leaving Per Hildebrand facing a 3:1 chip deficit against one of the best card for card players in the world.
Hildebrand did manage to double up once during his brief heads-up experience, but he couldn’t capitalise on that momentum, with Monnette closing the door of opportunity into Hildebrand’s face after only five hands.
It was Monnette’s fourth cash of the series and his second final table after finishing ninth in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.
Final Table Results
- John Monnette – $256,610
- Per Hildebrand – $158,596
- Darren Elias – $110,944
- Xavier Kyablue – $79,016
- James Chen – $57,316
- Mike Gorodinsky – $42,357
- Mike Leah – $31,903
- Paul Volpe – $24,498
The Best of the Rest
Ralph Perry, the man Tony G once tore to shreds during the 2006 Intercontinental Poker Championship, is leading the final 14 players in the MILLIONAIRE MAKER.
The top brass ran out of puff like an asthmatic kid playing football with jumpers for goalposts.
Farzad Bonyadi finished 15th, Kenny Hallaert’s run ended in 17th place, and the former World Champion Joe Cada ran out of steam in 42nd place.
The event began with 7,761 entrants, and the remaining 14 are guaranteed $68k, with $1.3m up top.
Here is the tale of the tape.
- Ralph Perry – 7,765,000
- Daniel Chan – 7,585,000
- Bryce Yockey – 6,315,000
- Yuriy Boyko – 5,300,000
- Alexander Farahi – 5,295,000
- Jonathan Gray – 5,160,000
- Chen Yu Hung – 4,550,000
- Senovio Ramirez III – 3,520,000
- Hector Martin – 2,910,000
- Dejuante Alexander – 2,357,000
- Marc MacDonnell – 2,357,000
- Pablo Mariz – 2,050,000
- Thiago Grigoletti – 1,855,000
- Brian Altman – 1,015,000
Maurice Hawkins Searching For Gold in the Marathon
268 players are remaining from the 1,759 who began the Marathon, and Maurice Hawkins continues to glide through tournament chip counts with the grace of a world-class ballroom dancer.
The 2016 American Poker Award (APA) winner and World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) record holder has the chip lead. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner, Adrian Mateos sits ominously in third.
But there is a long way to go.
It is a marathon after all.
Here are the top five chip counts:
- Maurice Hawkins – 920,500
- Alexander Lynskey – 618,000
- Adrian Mateos – 599,500
- Matthew Parry – 586,000
- Maxim Sorokin – 553,500
Five-time bracelet Winners Jason Mercier, and Allen Cunningham are still in contention, as is six-time winner T.J.Cloutier.
