John
Phan made big news on Day 26 at the World Series of Poker after becoming the
first double bracelet winner of 2008. The 33-year-old won a second bracelet in Event #40 on Tuesday,
less than a week after winning Event #29 to bag his first bracelet. The final
table of Event #41 also played on Day 26 and
Frank
Gary was the big winner after overcoming a huge chip deficit against
Nick
Binger. The Seniors
No Limit Hold 'em World Championship continued on Day 26
to play down to the final table, which took more than 14 hours. The Rio's Amazon Room also got
a bit of a makeover on Day 26 as some of the tables were spread out in
preparation for one of the most anticipated events of 2008, Wednesday's $50,000
H.O.R.S.E..
Here's a rundown of the day's news.
Event #43 - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low
Eight-or-better
The only event to start on Day 26 was the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha
Eight-or-better. The tournament began with 720 players and the breakneck action
saw only 69 survive Day 1. Notable players still remaining include
Shannon
Shorr,
Erik
Seidel,
Berry
Johnston,
Joe
Hachem,
Chris
Ferguson and
Chip
Jett.
Larry
Wright is the chip leader going into Wednesday's Day 2, when play will
continue until the final table is decided. All players are already in the money
and the top prize is $216,249.
Event #42 - Seniors $1,000 No Limit
Hold 'em World Championship
The Seniors No Limit Hold 'em World
Championship played down to the final table on Day 26, a process that lasted
until 4:30 on Wednesday morning. In the end it was Dale Eberle
and Daniel Lacourse rising to the top of the leaderboard. They
will bring the chip leads into Wednesday's final table, which will also feature
WSOP bracelet winner Fred
Berger and English poker pro "Mad"
Marty Wilson.
Event #42 Chip
Counts and Live
Updates. Watch the final table live on ESPN360.com.
Event #41 - $1,500 Mixed Hold 'em
The final table of Event #41 was played out at the Milwaukees Best
Light stage on Day 26. Frank
Gary, a 42-year-old former software engineer, was the last man standing,
collecting $219,217 and his first WSOP bracelet. Nick
Binger, brother of 2006 Main Event 3rd place finisher Michael
Binger, opened up an absurdly massive chip lead in the early stages of the
final table, at one point holding more chips than every other player combined
during five-handed play. Binger came crashing down and was eliminated in third
place, leaving Jonathan
Tamayo and Frank
Gary to play heads-up for the bracelet. The match lasted for two hours and
Gary came out on top, claiming the gold bracelet and the cash.
For a full recap of the final table of Event #41, check out Travellin'
Man Scoops Bracelet.
Event #40 - $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
John Phan won his second WSOP bracelet of 2008, making him the first double
bracelet winner of the year and continuing the nine year trend of double bracelet
winners. Phan beat a final table that included Robert
Mizrachi and David
Sklansky to collect his second bracelet and $151,896, bringing his 2008 WSOP
earnings to more than $600,000.
For more Phan's historic win read PHAN-demonium
Strikes Again.