Picking up the action partway through the hand, Takumi Matsumoto in the small blind had his opponent in late position all in for their last 105,000.
Late Position Player: A♥J♠
Takumi Matsumoto: 10♣10♥
The at risk player would need to win a flip to double while Matsumoto was left hoping for a clean runout. The flop came 7♦9♠J♥ followed by the K♣ turn and A♣ river to improve the late position player to aces up, putting a small dent in Matsumoto's stack.
Ethan "Rampage" Yau busted to Pawel Brzeski shortly after returning from break, and Brzeski filled in the details.
According to Brzeski, he opened, Yau moved all in for around 250,000 with AxJx, and Brzeski called with a dominating AxKx. No help arrived for Yau on the board and he was sent to the rail.
In 2003, the game of poker changed forever after Chris Moneymaker topped a field of 839 players to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $2.5 million. By doing so, the Moneymaker effect ignited the “Poker Boom,” which saw the tournament field triple the following year.
The 2004 Main Event was the last to be held at the birthplace of the WSOP – Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. The venue was packed to the rafters with 2,576 players entering that year’s tournament, and with the ESPN cameras capturing all the action several poker players made a name for themselves that year including young guns David Williams and Josh Arieh, while 1995 WSOP Main Event champ Dan Harrington made history by following up his third-place finish in the 2003 WSOP Main Event by placing fourth in 2004 for $1.5 million.
However, when the dust settled it was a patent attorney from Connecticut by the name of Greg Raymer winning the whole thing for a smooth $5 million and a gold bracelet. While attempting to defend his title in 2005, which doubled from the year prior by attracting 5,619 players, Raymer proved his win was no fluke by making another deep run, ultimately falling in 25th place for $304,680.
It’s been 20 years since Raymer’s victory, but he hasn’t slowed down as he’s continued to play poker all across the globe. In recognition of Raymer’s anniversary, PokerNews caught up with the champ, who will be at the 2024 WSOP!
Action was joined on the flop with the board reading A♣K♠10♠. From the hijack, Alex Keating bet 70,000. Roberto Perez raised to 170,000 from middle position, Keating called, with each action taking at least two minutes.
The turn was the 4♥. Both players checked.
The river came the 8♠. Perez thought for a full minute before leading for 275,000. Keating thought for a couple of minutes himself before jamming all in.
Perez leaned back and prepared for a long tank as his remaining amount of about 875,000 was at stake. He shifted in his chair a few times as the table around watched as well with their table also in the midst of a big river decision hand. With the cameras on him, Perez finally laid it down after a 5 minute and 22 second tank (per the tourney clock at start of decision).
Keating held on to his cards for a while as he contemplated whether to show or not, and eventually slid them into the muck face down as his holding remained a mystery.
An already seizable pot had built to the J♠10♥8♠ flop on which Anthony Marsico bet 230,000 out of the big blind. Shundan Xiao then moved all-in for around 470,000 and she sunk into her chair and tried to hide her entire face.
The dealer counted the shove but before she was done, Marsico sent his cards into the muck.
"You win," another player at the table remarked and Xiao woke up from her pose to start stacking the chips.
