If you flipped on ESPN on Tuesday night, you noticed Event #2 of the 2008 World Series of Poker going on in full swing. The tournament attracted a blistering 3,929 players, the largest non-Main Event field ever at the WSOP. The first $1,500 buy-in event offered this year, Event #2 was taken down by Grant Hinkle from Kansas City, Missouri. Hinkle grew up in a competitive family, with card games as a central part of family life. He was one-half of just the second set of brothers ever to win World Series of Poker bracelets (the others being the Pearson brothers). His brother Blair also took down a bracelet this year, making the large Midwestern metropolis very proud. Also at the final table was poker pro Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, who finished third, barely missing out on his sixth bracelet.
Jeff Wiedenhoeft was the first player ousted from the final table when he pushed on a flop of 6-7-8 of hearts holding K-10. However, he held no hearts, instead remarking to his cheering section that he misplayed the hand altogether. Even if he held the king of diamonds, he was suit-dominated. Despite the mistake, the real talk of the tournament was Ferguson, who cashed for $388,287. The Full Tilt Poker pro also made a colossal cash in Event #33, the $5,000 buy-in World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better tournament. Ferguson finished second, cashing for $202,406. Jesus was the winner of the 2000 WSOP Main Event, when he fought through a 500 player field to earn $1.5 million. The game has since exploded. The winner of this year’s Main Event will pocket just over $9 million.
David Bach was sent packing in eighth place by Theo Tran, who made his third WSOP final table. His career WSOP and Circuit Event tournament earnings are just over $1 million. Tran made eight cashes during the 2008 WSOP. He finished fourth in Event #2, taking home $327,148 in the process. He had a pair of fourth place cashes as well as a ninth place finish. Tran also finished second in last year’s lower-limit buy-in no limit tournament, cashing for $387,193 for second place in Event #2.
Mike Ngo bluffed all in with pocket fours on a board of 6-10-3-J-Q against Tran, who folded pocket aces, claiming Ngo had A-K. Ngo victoriously slammed his fours on the table, yelling “Let’s play some poker.” Hinkle was the only one playing poker at this final table, winning a bracelet after entering the final table ninth in chips.
Here were the top ten finishers in Event #2:
1. Grant Hinkle - $831,462
2. James Akenhead - $520,219
3. Chris Ferguson - $388,287
4. Theo Tran - $327,148
5. Mike Ngo - $268,154
6. Aaron Coulthard - $211,841
7. Melvin Jones - $158,211
8. David Bach - $117,987
9. Joe Rutledge - $83,127
10. Jeff Wiedenhoeft - $52,021
The WSOP airs every Tuesday night on ESPN at 9:00pm ET. Last week’s Pot Limit Hold’em Championship saw Nenad Medic capture his first WSOP bracelet, outlasting Andy Bloch, World Poker Tour Mike Sexton, and Kathy Liebert.