A sleepy Lee Davy paints the news of the 34th day of the 46th Annual World Series of Poker, including a dramatic One Drop victory for Jonathan Duhamel that had to be halted during three-handed play after a man collapsed on the rail, and had to be rushed to hospital.
When you see a man failing to respond to defibrillators pounding his chest, poker takes a back seat.
That’s what happened during an all-in and call, when three-handed, with the Big One for One Drop champion, Daniel Colman, facing elimination against Bill Klein.
Jonathan Duhamel limped the button, Colman moved all-in from the small blind holding [Ks] [Js], Klein also moved all-in, holding [As] [Ad], and Duhamel folded. The cards were turned face up, the flop of [Jd] [5c] [2c] was shown, and a man collapsed on the rail, halting the action for 30-minutes as paramedics tried valiantly to revive him. It’s not known at this time if he survived. Colman didn’t. He was eliminated in third place. A great run for the controversial champion. But nobody seemed to notice. The life sucked out of the contest, like the poor man stretchered into the ambulance. Our prayers are with him.
A very somber heads-up contest began with the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion holding a slight chip lead over the part-timer. What a story this could have been if Klein could have beaten one of the toughest fields of the year to take the $3,989,985 first prize.
In the end experience and skill won the day. A different story is now being written. Duhamel making his sixth final table, securing his second bracelet after his pocket kings kicked the crap out of Klein’s [Kh] [Jd] in the final hand.
“I feel so lucky and so blessed in so many ways where I am right now,” Duhamel said afterward. “This is the biggest buy-in event of the summer, and it turned out to be my second-best day.”
$5,555 of each player’s buy-in was given to the One Drop charity, and most players handed over even more than that. Nobody gave more than Bill Klein after he gave all of his winnings – $2,465,522 – to two different charities of which the One Drop was one.
There were 135 entrants, and $14,249,925 was placed into the prize pool. The final table included World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year, Anthony Zinno (7th), and that man Phil Hellmuth (6th).
Final Table Results
1st. Jonathan Duhamel – $3,989,985
2nd. William Klein – $2,465,522
3rd. Daniel Colman – $1,544,121
4th. Ben Sulsky – $1,118,049
5th. Dan Perper – $873,805
6th. Phil Hellmuth – $696,821
7th. Anthony Zinno – $565,864
8th. Sergey Lebedev – $466,970
9th. Andrew Lichtenberger – $390,875
Brandon Wittmeyer wins the Draftkings 50/50 Event
The Draftkings 50/50 event has been won by a professional gambler from Chicago. Brandon Wittmeyer took the $200,618 first prize days after finishing third in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for $215,964. Incredibly, this was his fourth cash of the series, and only the fifth of his lifetime.
It was the first event ever sponsored by Draftkings, and the first to ever promise, and deliver, payment to 50% of the field. 562 players each bagged a minimum of $1,000, and the tournament numbers (1,123) deemed it a success.
It was a quality final table with the likes of Ping Liu (3rd), Mukul Pahuja (4th), and Matt Affleck (6th) proving stern opposition for Wittmeyer.
Final Table Results
1st. Brandon Wittmeyer – $200,618
2nd. Derek Gomez – $123,907
3rd. Ping Liu – $77,516
4th. Mukul Pahuja – $56,245
5th. Tom Braband – $41,540
6th. Matt Affleck – $31,079
7th. Perati Muhamet – $23,650
8th. Stefano Terziani – $18,268
9th. Michael Whitman – $14,266
Stephen Graner Leads Day 2 of Event #57: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
There are 26 players left, of the 2,412 that entered Event #57: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and Stephen Graner holds what could possibly be the biggest chip lead we have seen this year.
Graner has double the chips that Paul Vas Nunes has in second place, and is a shoe-in for a final table berth. There are 26 left in that one and the winner will pocket $399,039.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. Stephen Graner – 1,869,000
2nd. Paul Vas Nunes – 936,000
3rd. Thomas Loya – $910,000
4th. Robert Piltz – $886,000
5th. Glenn Lafaye – 832,000
Other notables with chips include Mayu Roca (288,000), Kelly Kim (203,000) and Jude Ainsworth (111,000)
Kevin Killeen Leads Event #59: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em
The penultimate $1,500 event of the series attracted 2,155 players (13% increase year-on-year) and the Irishman Kevin Killeen has the chip lead over the remaining faces.
The prize pool contains $2.9m and change, and there is $531,037 awaiting the winner.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. Kevin Killeen – 177,900
2nd. Luke March – 174,000
3rd. Bradley Goulding – 153,400
4th. Eduards Kudrajevs – 152,400
5th. Andrew Kelsall – 150,300
Other notables with chips include Brandon Wong (110,900), Andrew Frankenberger (109,100), and Davide Suriano (104,100)
James Parker Leads Event #60: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #60: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha is a new event for the series, and timed perfectly to catch the fall out of the $111,111 One Drop High Roller.
166 players entered, and 67 survived the day. James Park holds the chip lead, but keep an eye on that man Scott Clements. Talal Shakerchi, who cashed in the One Drop High Roller, also has chips going into Day 2.
Top Five Chip Counts
1st. James Park – 465,700
2nd. Scott Clements – 460,000
3rd. Joseph Sanders – 434,900
4th. Alexey Makarov – 433,000
5th. Talal Shakerchi – 420,400
Other notables with chips are Brian Hastings (338,200), Juha Helppi (333,400) and Phil Galfond (327,300).
