2008 World Series of Poker

Day 2 completed

Posted 07-02-2008 05:13 GMT-7

Official Final Table Chip Counts

The nine finalists have been determined in Event 52, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. The nine will be led by Corwin Cole, but Matt Matros, Jeff Courtney and David Daneshgar are all close behind. The complete standings:

Corwin Cole (San Diego, California) -- 1,668,000
Matt Matros (Brooklyn, New York) -- 1,472,000
Jeff Courtney (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) -- 1,443,000
David Daneshgar (Westlake Village, California) -- 1,178,000
Voitto Rintala (Helsinki, Finland) -- 553,000
Dan Heimiller (Plymouth, Michigan) -- 544,000
Andrey Zaichenko (Moscow, Russia) -- 521,000
Scott Sitron (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) -- 504,000
Farzad Rouhani (Germantown, Maryland) -- 212,000

Tags: Corwin Cole.

So....That IS It

It looked for a time like we might play deep into the night before our final table was set, but as so often happens the final knockouts came back-to-back and we're down to our final nine. The players will reconvene at 2pm tomorrow at the ESPN Final Table and we'll see who wins the $625,443 first prize and the coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.

Final Table Seat Assigments and Chip Counts

Following the elimination of Gary Biggar, the players redrew for seats for tomorrow's final table. Here is how the lineup will look.

Seat 1: Dan Heimiller - 545,000
Seat 2: Matt Matros - 1,447,000
Seat 3: Farzad Rouhani 212,000
Seat 4: Andrey Zaichenko - 495,000
Seat 5: Scott Sitron - 503,000
Seat 6: Voitto Rintala - 553,000
Seat 7: Jeffery Courtney - 1,430,000
Seat 8: David Daneshgar - 1,070,000
Seat 9: Corwin Cole - 1,625,000

Please not that while these are not the official chip counts, they should be very accurate.

Gary Biggar Eliminated in 10th Place ($36,391)

Gary Biggar moved all in from under the gun for 168,000. Action folded around to David Daneshgar on the button and he called. The blinds passed and the players showed:

Biggar:
Daneshgar:

Biggar was in a decent spot to double up but was speechless when the flop came . He needed runner-runner for the full house but didn't was drawing dead when the turn fell the .

Biggar was halfway to the payout table when the hit the river. Biggar missed the final table by one spot but will take home $36,391 to ease the pain.

Todd Hanks Eliminated in 11th Place ($36,391)

Seriously short stacked Todd Hanks moved all in holding after Matt Matros raised it up. Matros made the call with pocket aces and when Hanks couldn't make a miracle comeback he was eliminated in 11th place.

Voitto Rintala Doubles Through Farzad Rouhani

Action folded to Farzad Rouhani on the button and he raised to 80,000. Voitto Rintala moved all in from the big blind for 275,000 and Rouhani called. The players showed:

Rouhani:
Rintala:

Rouhani got no help from the board and Rintala doubled up to 628,000. Rouhani was left with just shy of 590,000 after the hand.

What Do I Know Anyway?

A couple of hours ago I waxed poetic about how the World Series was drawing to a close as I watched workmen breaking down tables and moving them out. I then said this would be the last event in the Brasilia Room. Ah, no. They're clearing space in the room for tomorrow's Ante Up for Africa tournament--they'll have a special tournament area set up, hold that gala event tomorrow, and then when it's over they'll bring the tables back and get ready to host Main Event participants here.

Which, come to think of it, I should've realized from the start. Just goes to show that sleep deprivation can play tricks on the mind.

Slow and Steady

With just two eliminations to go before the final table is set, the play has slowed down a bit. Very few hands are going past a flop and we haven't seen a showdown in a while. It's obvious that all 11 of these players have their eyes set on a final table appearance.

Level 21 started

Posted 07-02-2008 02:50 GMT-7