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 he Guardian Poker Column |
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| Barry Glendenning in
Las Vegas writes for the Guardian News Group |
| Wednesday July 13, 2005
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| Email :
TheEditor on any
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As
the field narrows to just 58, Londoner Tiffany Williamson is sitting pretty in
seventh place
With last night's Quentin Tarantino-directed CSI
season finale having been postponed, the climax of the World Series of Poker
remains the hottest ticket in Vegas.
Forensic examination of the figures
reveals that the number of players remaining in the No-Limit Hold 'Em World
Championship at close of play in the fourth round was 58, with each guaranteed
winnings of at least $77,100.
However only one will emerge victorious
from Binion's Horseshoe this weekend, their bank balance having been swelled by
the $7.5m first prize and their wrist weighed down with the gold-and-diamond
bracelet presented to each year's winner. As Duke Ellington might say: It don't
mean a thing if you ain't got that bling.
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 One
man who, er, does got it is defending champion Greg Raymer, whose shimmering
wrist adornment was no defence against a series of heavy blows that saw him
ship over half of the $1.5m stack that had him in pole position at the end of
round three. With $700,000 left, Raymer will need a change in fortune if he is
to survive through the next round of the Big One and have any chance of joining
the elite band of back-to-back title winners.
With only nine chairs
available at the final table that convenes on Friday, competition is
understandably fierce and tense. Many of those vying for a seat are among the
most respected and feared poker players in the world. Tim Phan leads the field
with $3.2m in chips in his war-chest, followed by Mike "The Mouth" Matusow,
with $2.6m. Phil Ivey and Farzad Bonyadi will also be sleeping easily,
featuring prominently as they do on the leaderboard with enviable artillery
behind them. But round four belonged to Phan, who having sat down with
$746,000, more than quadrupled his stack during the course of the day.
Of the remaining
contenders, just one is a woman: Tiffany Williamson from London, currently
seventh in the money list with $1,992,000 in with a great shout of pulling off
an unprecedented double: first woman and first Briton to take the
title.
Indeed, Great Britain is well represented in the final 58, with
Nick Givson ($811,000), John McGrane ($780,000), Radu Butan ($762,000), Bryant
King ($702,000) and Mark Forrester ($628,000) all sitting tight, while Dubliner
Andrew Black ($371,000) will need the every ounce of the fabled luck of the
Irish if he is to continuing flying the flag for his home country.
The
Top 10 After Day Seven/Round Four Tim Phan $3,244,000 Mike Matusow $2,561,000
Farzad Bonyadi $2,402,000 Steve Danaman $2,143,000 Phil Ivey $2,027,000 Tex
Barch McKinney $2,025,000 Tiffany Williamson $1,992,000 Johnny Howard
$1,806,000 Scott Lazar $1,629,000 Tuan Vu $1,571,000 |
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