Las Vegas – Poker pro Lee Watkinson and computer engineer Lee Childs became the second and third players eliminated Tuesday from the final table of the World Series of Poker, falling to a surging Jerry Yang in the tournament’s main event.
Both Watkinson, a 40-year-old animal rights activist from Cheney, Wash., and Childs lost head-to-head, all-in bets against Yang, a 39-year-old psychologist from Temecula, Calif., who vaulted to first with 62.5 million chips before a mid-afternoon break.
“I was playing for the bracelet,” Watkinson said after his hand of ace and seven lost to Yang’s ace-nine. “I wasn’t going for third, fourth or even second. I wanted to make a play and be a contender.” Childs, a 35-year-old computer engineer from Reston, Va., won $705,229 for his seventh-place finish, and Watkinson earned $585,699 finishing eighth. Six continued playing for an $8.25 million top prize.
First to fall was Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane who lives in England. Hilm won $525,934 for his ninth-place finish after the day’s 15th hand.
Childs, who quit his job a month ago to play poker for a living, said he thought his choice to go all-in against Yang was the right decision.
“My goal when I came in to the tournament was to trust my instincts, make the right decision and hopefully not get unlucky,” he said. “I was that close to doubling up.” Childs needed a king or a club on the last card to match his king of hearts and jack of clubs, with the flop showing two clubs.
Yang won when an eight of clubs came up on the turn to give him a pair of eights and Childs got no help when the river card was a nine of diamonds.
Yang, a Hmong psychologist who says he uses his read on players as a weapon, was among an eclectic group of finalists that included a grandfather from South Africa who vowed not to be bullied, and a Vietnamese Canadian who once couldn’t get hired as a dishwasher. He read through a bluff by former champ Scotty Nguyen on his way to the final table.
Play began shortly after noon and was expected to continue well into the night. The finalists ranged in age from 22 to 62, and hailed from five nations: the U.S., Canada, Russia, England and South Africa. By birthplace, players also were from Laos, Vietnam and Denmark.
“The final table says a lot about the globality of poker and the globality of our fans,” said Jeffrey Pollack, World Series of Poker commissioner for event owner Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.
Hilm’s collapse was dramatic. He needed a win to stay in the game, and bet his pot on a straight draw. With the king and jack of diamonds showing, Hilm needed a diamond to match his eight and five. The final, or river, card turned out to be a six of clubs.
Hilm had held a narrow lead as play began, with 22.1 million, followed by Tuan Lam, a 40-year-old online player from Mississauga, Ontario, with 21.3 million. Also near the top was Jon Kalmar, a 34-year-old pro from Chorly, England, with 20.3 million.
With the blinds and antes adding 630,000 in chips to the pot before every hand, however, one hand could change the order very quickly.
After an interview a confident Hilm gave three weeks ago, Danish newspaper, BT, published a headline on its rising star: “Philip Hilm: ‘I’m going to win the main event.”‘ After busting out Tuesday, he said he was satisfied with his play.
“Of course I’m disappointed,” he said. “But I feel I played the cards right. If I’d won that hand, it would have been him down, instead of me.” The nine players who began the day were all that remained from a field of 6,358 players that began to play down in stages July 6.
Everyone paid or won $10,000 to enter the main event, the biggest poker tournament of the year.
The millionaire’s club begins at fifth place, which pays $1.26 million. The winner will walk away with $8.25 million.
Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
