Michel Molenaar was in the cutoff when he raised to 40,000 and was called by Travis Darroch on the button and the player in the big blind. The three players went to a flop of 10♦3♣K♥ and action checked to the 3♠ turn.
They all checked the turn and went to the J♥ river where Molenaar bet 125,000 and both his opponents folded.
Down to mere crumbs, Aaron Thivyanathan was all in on a J♥6♦4♥ flop holding J♣4♣. Across the dealer, Steffen Grove flicked in the few extra chips to call it off with K♠7♠.
To Thivyanathan's dismay, the dealer dropped a picture-perfect 8♣ turn and 5♣ river to hand Grove the unlikely straight and the elimination.
Imagine finding A♥K♥ in the big blind and someone pushes all in. That's what happened to Rick Marting as James Keller went all in with his last few chips on the button with A♠9♦.
The board ran out 5♣K♣3♠6♠Q♥, offering no help to Keller. Marting easily sent him to the rail, adding a significant portion to his growing stack.
Nguyen Tung kicked off the action with a raise to 40,000 from under the gun. Nicholas Yezzo, sitting in the hijack, responded with a three-bet to 60,000. Tung then pushed all in, and Yezzo called.
Nicholas Yezzo: A♥A♣
Nguyen Tung: A♦10♣
The board 2♠4♣Q♠6♣4♠ offered no assistance to Tung, and Yezzo celebrated a successful double-up.
Level: 23
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 30,000
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
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!
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