A rather sinister 666 players made the money this week in the World Series of Poker Main Event, of which included former Irish Open winner James Mitchell and Blue Belt Kevin Williams.
James and Kevin were participants in the Vegas Prize Fund promotion, in which 2% of any Main Event winnings would be spread equally among our Orange, Purple and Green Belts.
Heading into Day 4, they had 95,000 and 260,000 in chips respectively with just 720 of the initial 6,598 field remaining. Whilst James was expected to sail into the money, Kevin was required to survive a coin flip early in the day when his A-K improved against 8-8 to bring his stack up to 178,000.
"After the bubble burst," he explained, "I played in the weirdest pot ever where the short-stack moved all in with K-K, another player called with A-K, and I re-shoved with J-J. I lost the main pot, but won the side meaning I dropped from 124,000 down to 90,000, but there was some confusion as to the position of the button before the hand and if it had been in the correct place I would had the A-K and been knocked out."
The bubble itself also presented an unusual set of circumstances as four players were eliminated simultaneously with 669 players remaining. As it was hand-for-hand, the first cash prize was split equally, whilst the bubble prize - which is traditionally free entry into next year's event - went to David Kelley, who spared the tournament directors a headache when he offered to purchase the seat from the other players.
The fun didn't end there - with players evading the splash of the bubble and securing a minimum payday of $19,227, the subsequent level witnessed more all-ins than the Hokey Cokey and led to an early dinner break so Harrah's could ensure that the departed were receiving the correct pay.
Despite making the money, Kevin was unable to survive another day as he hit the rail in 558th for $21,707 when his 9-9 failed to hold against A-K. "One flip too many," he confessed. "Farewell Vegas. Someone please give me an excuse to come back in October."
One man who hoped to meet the request was James, but not long after Kevin's exit, he followed suit with Ks-Qh running into Ac-Kh. The 4h-3d-8s-8h-3s board was of no use and he collected $24,808 for 508th.
With Andrew Miles kindly donating 5% of his winnings from his 46th place finish in event #59, the Vegas Prize Fund finished on $1,470.35. This means that all eligible Black Belt Poker players will receive a minimum of $10.73 - free money credited into their account.
Although expectations were high for a Black Belt Poker player to make the final table, all hopes now lie with the UK's sole representative Sam Holden, who is currently one of 97 players still battling for a return visit in October. Sam is struggling with 765,000, but was in a similar position last year when he turned a short stack into a November Nine appearance, and a ninth place finish for $782,115.
Joining Sam in the fight for poker's ultimate title are the likes of Amnon Filippi, Gavin Smith, Vanessa Selbst, and Jason Somerville. Chip leader moving into Day 6 is Kyle Keranen of the United States, who possesses more chips than Harry Ramsden's with a whopping 6,935,000.
A number of big names made the money, including Marcel Luke (102nd), Daniel Negreanu (160th), Freddy Deeb (211st), John Juanda (237th), Johnny Chan (353rd), Antonio Esfandiari (501st) and Huck Seed (527nd), whilst notable UK players like Craig McCorkell (172nd), JP Kelly (203rd), Chris Moorman (358th), and Liv Boeree (631st) also took their place in the payout queue.
Results from the Black Belt Poker players:
Greg Moore - eliminated on Day 2ab
James Mitchell - eliminated on Day 4 (508th - $24,808)
Jamie Burland - eliminated on Day 1b
Jerome Bradpiece - eliminated on Day 1b
Kevin Williams - eliminated on Day 4 (558th - $21,707)
Neil Channing - eliminated on Day 2ab
Sam Razavi - eliminated on Day 2ab
Tristan McDonald - eliminated on Day 3
Chris Nicol - eliminated on Day 2ab
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