Poker aces close in

With the field slashed to 569 players, it was money day at the World Series of Poker. Almost all of those at the tables as play resumed Monday will end up taking home at least $12,500 each. Of the 5,619 entrants who began play, most walked away empty-handed -- with only 560 assured of any money.

But the $12,500 minimum payout -- enough to cover the required $10,000 buy-in plus some expenses -- is not likely to satisfy the gambling appetites of many of the players lucky and savvy enough to survive the first four days of the no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament.

They are shooting for one of the nine spots at the final table where even the first one out will take home $1 million and the winning player will collect $7.5 million in first-place money.

Among those in the running was patent lawyer Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, the 2004 champ who was in ninth place with a strong stack of chips as play resumed Monday.

Raymer took a huge pot of $185,000 after he completed a full house of sevens over eights on the last community card turned over.

Raymer was sitting on about $350,000 in chips as the field was narrowed to 460 players by late afternoon.

Of 14 former champions of the World Series of Poker who started in this tournament, Raymer was the only one still in Monday. Huck Seed, the 1966 champion, busted out Sunday as the 13th of the champs to go.

"Raymer is playing great, but nobody is a favorite," said John Vorhaus, author of the "Killer Poker" book series and an analyst with ultimatebet.com. "Between last year and this year, he's demonstrated his skills are not a fluke."

The early chip leader was Rod Pardey Jr. of Las Vegas, and lurking among the remaining players were some top-notch pros, such as Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, John Juanda, Paul Darden, Layne Flack, Howard Lederer and Sam Farha, who finished second to Chris Moneymaker in 2003.

No woman has ever won the 36-year-old event, but the only one ever to make it to a final table previously -- 1995's fifth-place finisher, Barbara Enright -- was still playing Monday. Also still in when play resumed Monday were beauty queen and pro Clonie Gowen of fulltiltpoker.com and Olga Varkonyi, wife of 2002 winner Robert Varkonyi, but by 3:35 p.m., Gowen was out. Her ace-queen lost to two aces.

Poker star Phil Gordon, who was bumped from the main event last week, said it looked grim for the women.

"Look around; there aren't a lot left," Gordon said.

With most of the weakest players knocked out, the pros began assert themselves if they caught good cards. That could spell the end for the Internet upstarts who have dominated the tournament the past two years.

By Monday afternoon, the reality of the tournament had set in for all the players. To win, Vorhaus said, they'll have to "get cards, get action, get lucky."

News Added: 12 July, 2005

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