Two Canadians reach final table at World Series of Poker in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — The final table in the main event of the World Series of Poker will feature a pair of Canadains.

Scott Montgomery of Perth, Ont., and Darus Suharto of Toronto outlasted 6,835 other players to reach the final nine-man table that will compete Nov. 9-10 for one of the richest prizes in poker history. The tournament champion will take home US$9.12 million, while each of the nine players is guaranteed no less than $900,000 simply for reaching the final table.

Montgomery, who has four cashes at this year's World Series of Poker, sits third with 19.7 million chips, behind only Dennis Phillips (26.3 million) and Ivan Demidov (24.4 million). Suharto is sixth at 12.5 million.

"It was good," Montgomery told Pokernews.com after Monday's gruelling 15 1/2-hour session. "It wasn't a breeze, I needed to get lucky a couple of times, but overall it went well. I'm still here".

The 26-year-old University of Waterloo graduate said he won't be doing much between now and the final table in November.

"Just keep playing poker," he said.

Montgomery nearly went out early Monday evening when he ran into his opponent's top pair, needing one of two aces on the river to stay alive. The ace of diamonds fell, keeping his tournament hopes alive against incredibly long odds.

Suharto, a 39-year-old accountant, remained steady throughout the final day, which began with 27 players vying for the final nine spots. Suharto is no stranger to main event success, having earned $26,389 for a 448th-place finish in 2006.

No Canadian has ever won the main event of the World Series of Poker. Mississauga, Ont., native Tuan Lam came close, placing second in last year's main event.

Lam pocketed a cool $4.8 million for his runner-up result.

Dean Hamrick, a 25-year-old poker player from East Lansing, Mich., was eliminated in the last hand Tuesday morning when his ace-jack failed to beat the pocket queens of 23-year-old amateur Craig Marquis of Arlington, Texas.

Both players bet the last of their chips before seeing any community cards. Hamrick picked up an inside straight draw on the flop, giving him additional possibilities to win the hand, but he failed to pair his ace or make the straight and was eliminated in 10th place. He won $591,869.

"It's the worst you're ever going to feel to win half a million bucks," Hamrick said. "I guess at least it's a good story."

Tournament officials changed the structure of the final table this year to coincide with the television airing of the event, giving the players extra time to study, promote themselves and generate hype.

"Now, I have nothing to lose," said Kelly Kim, a 31-year-old professional poker player from Whittier, Calif., who ended the day with 2.62 million in chips, the lowest stack of any survivor.

The decisive hand echoed a previous hand that pitted Marquis against Hamrick with all the chips in the middle.

Marquis put his tournament life at risk with an ace-queen and was called by Hamrick holding pocket queens.

Marquis was a huge underdog before the community cards were dealt because Hamrick's two queens made Marquis' queen seem worthless. But Marquis' queen was also a heart, which won him the hand when the fourth and fifth community cards gave him a flush. He doubled up to 11.2 million in chips while Hamrick dropped to 6 million, the second-shortest stack at the table.

"I was hoping he would fold, obviously," Marquis said.

Chips have no monetary value in the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event, but are used to indicate where players stand relative to one another in the tournament. One player will have to win all the chips in play to win the title.

Entry into the tournament cost $10,000 and each player sat down with 20,000 in chips.

The 27 players who began their final push Monday topped a field that began play July 3. Eight hours into play, 16 players had been eliminated, leaving 11 players at two tables.

That wasn't lost on Chris Klodnicki, a 23-year-old poker player from Voorhees, N.J., who was eliminated in 12th place, winning $591,869.

"I just have the mentality to play to win," said Klodnicki, shaking his head and sighing when asked about falling just short of the final nine.

Each bet, each call and each bust brought the remaining players closer, and the eventual winner will have never won a world series tournament before.

"I love this game," said Dennis Phillips, a 53-year-old trucking account manager from Cottage Hills, Ill., who finished the night as the chip leader.

Phillips held a roughly 1.9 million chip lead over Ivan Demidov, a 27-year-old semiprofessional player from Moscow.

The last two gold bracelet winners, Phi Nguyen and Brandon Cantu, were eliminated early Monday after the cards fell in favour of their opponents.

The last woman in the field, 24-year-old actress Tiffany Michelle, was eliminated in 17th place - the best finish for a woman in the main event since 2000, when tournament professional Annie Duke finished 10th.

"All these guys who bust out now, I actually have kind of an advantage and even more of a win and a title that none of them get to have," Michelle said. "It's not this huge disappointment because it's like I already won this cool title.

"It may not be a World Series of Poker bracelet, but that's really huge and it makes me really happy," said Michelle, who won $334,534.

Only one woman has made the tournament's final table. Barbara Enright finished fifth in 1995, winning $114,180.

Nguyen, who won tournaments at the world series playing no-limit Texas Hold 'em in 2003 and 2004, finished the main event in 26th place and won $257,334.

Cantu won a no-limit tournament at the series in 2006, and looked to be well-positioned for a run at the final table, but was eliminated in 20th place, winning $257,334.

Cantu, who started the day with 4.74 million in chips, lost most of his stack on one hand after calling an all-in bet with a 10 and a five. The call drew gasps from the crowd once the hands were turned over and Cantu found himself against Hamrick's pocket aces, the best starting hand in poker.

Joe Bishop, a 35-year-old salesman from Cincinnati, was eliminated in 11th place when his ace-three could not beat the pocket twos held by 28-year-old tournament pro David "Chino" Rheem. Bishop won $591,869.

Anthony Scherer won $334,534 for 16th place, while Nicholas Sliwinski, Gert Andersen and Owen Crowe each won $463,201 for finishing 13th through 15th.

Those eliminated Monday earned from $257,334 to $591,869 from the tournament's $64.3 million prize pool.

Tournament director Jack Effel said the nine players left after Monday's session would immediately be paid ninth-place money - $900,670 - and would earn the difference plus interest in November, depending on where they finish.

Last year, California psychologist Jerry Yang won $8.25 million for besting a field of 6,358 players. He finished out of the money this year.

Phil Hellmuth, who won the main event in 1989, finished highest in the tournament among previous winners. The 11-time bracelet winner was eliminated Sunday when his ace-queen couldn't crack the pocket jacks of Cleveland poker player Andrew Rosskamm.

Hellmuth finished 45th, winning $154,400.

News Added: 15 July, 2008

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