With two players seeing a board of 8♦6♥6♣ and about 13,500 in the middle Fernando Habegger checked from the big blind and Isaac Haxton bet 5,000 from the button. Habegger raised to 12,000 and Haxton made the call.
Both players checked the 7♠ turn leading to the A♥ river. Habegger checked once more and Haxton checked behind.
Habegger tabled A♣A♠J♠Q♠ for top boat and Haxton's hand hit the muck.
Earlier this year on an ordinary Monday afternoon, a bespectacled man walked into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Blvd. Tucked under his arm was an uninteresting box that only he knew contained something rather interesting – a pair of gold watches dating back more than 40 years.
These were not your run-of-the-mill wristwear, but rather evidence of a unique and often overlooked time of poker history, a year when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet, now the game’s highest accolade, was replaced in favor of watches.
1982 WSOP watches
The man holding the box was David Sklansky, who in 1978 forever changed poker by advocating a mathematical approach to the game in his groundbreaking book The Theory of Poker. Nicknamed “The Mathematician,” he proved his prowess just four years later when he won two WSOP tournaments in five days.
First, he won the 1982 WSOP Event #7: $800 Mixed Doubles Limit Seven Card Stud, a tournament that paired one man with one woman, alongside Dani Kelly, and followed that up by taking down Event #12: $1,000 Limit 5-Card Draw High. A year later, the Binions reverted back to the beloved bracelets players know today, and Sklansky captured his third piece of WSOP hardware by winning Event #11: $1,000 Limit Omaha.
It was a remarkable accomplishment, and for more than four decades he’s kept safe the evidence of his victories, both of which still worked. So, why was Sklansky carrying his 1982 WSOP gold watches, two of only 15 ever awarded, into a pawn shop? Well, he was looking to sell them of course, but not to just any of the dozens of pawn shops spread across Las Vegas. Oh no, he was walking into arguably the most famous pawn shop in the world, the home to the wildly popular television show Pawn Stars, and he was there to do it with cameras rolling.
The cards were already on their backs with the board reading 10♠7♠5♣9♥9♣ and the small blind had tabled A♠5♦4♠3♣ for a busted flush draw & a pair of fives, but Taylor Wilson had the winner with K♦J♠8♠4♥ for a straight, which eliminated the small blind.
Jesse Lonis raised to 3,500 from early position, receiving calls from both the cutoff and the small blind.
The Q♦8♣3♦ flop saw the action check to Lonis, who bet out 8,300. Only the small blind called.
The 8♠ turn saw a repeat of the action, this time Lonis sized up to 13,200.
The 2♣ river saw the small blind check again. Lonis placed a pot-sized bet of 53,700 and the small blind moved all in. Lonis, the covering stack, snap-called as he announced "Quads".
Small Blind: K♦Q♥Q♣7♦
Jesse Lonis:8♦8♥6♥4♥
Lonis' quads bested the full house of his opponent, sending them to the rail.
A big pot developed between three players which resulted in them all committing their stacks. The board read 7♦10♠5♦4♥ with Taylor Wilson, Matthew Wantman, and the middle position all getting their their stacks in.
Middle Position: A♦10♥9♥8♦
Matthew Wantman: 9♣8♣7♠6♠
Taylor Wilson: 9♦9♠8♠3♦
Wantman had the lead with his turned straight and stayed there as the A♥ river changed nothing, which meant the middle position was eliminated. Wilson was left with 75,000 chips but Wantman jumped up the leaderboard and now has around 400,000.
David Williams opened to 2,500 from the hijack and Benny Glaser made it 9,000 on the button. Petko Tsakov raised pot from the small blind and Williams went all in for his last 90,000. Glaser also went all in and Tsakov called for a three-way showdown.
David Williams: K♦K♥Q♦8♥
Benny Glaser: A♠A♣10♥3♥
Petko Tsakov: A♥A♦J♥5♥
The board ran out 6♥10♠8♣6♠J♣ — leaving Glaser and Tsakov best with aces-up to send Williams to the rail.
Williams was seen reentering shortly after busting out.
With two players seeing a final board of 4♣9♠8♥Q♦2♣ and about 40,000 in the middle, Isaiah Goldman checked from the big blind and Lautaro Guerra bet 22,000 from the button. Goldman made the call and tabled Q♠10♥10♦6♦ for just top pair. Guerra turned over A♠K♥9♦9♣ for a set of nines which was good enough to take the pot.
The under-the-gun player raised to 2,500, receiving a call from Ka Kwan Lau in middle position and the hijack. Joni Jouhkimainen, in the big blind, three-bet to 13,500 and only Kwan Lau called.
The 3♣Q♠2♣ flop saw Jouhkimainen continue for 45,000. Kwan Lau moved all in and Jouhkimainen called.
Joni Jouhkimainen: A♥A♦K♠7♦
Ka Kwan Lau: A♣Q♣5♠3♦
The 3♥ turn and 7♠ river saw Kwan Lau come out best and Jouhkimainen was sent to the rail.
