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Winners and Losers in the 2008 WSOP

Sunday, January 13th, 2008 by Phil

After watching the WSOP on ESPN, I was rather disappointed with their production values. For the most part all ESPN showed were brutal beats and crazy suckouts. Where were the bold bluffs> Where were the huge make or break calls? Where was the sophisticated moves that we always hear about? I saw very little of what makes poker fun. The game within the game type of stuff. Sure it’s entertainment and ESPN is probably doing this for the casual viewer but for hard core poker players, I think that there wasn’t a lot of interesting play nor any nice moves that I can think of.

The 4 month wait was anti-climatic and did nothing to ratchet up the excitement factor.

Well enough of this ranting. Here’s what who I thought were the biggest winners and losers of this year’s WSOP:

Losers:

Phil Hellmuth. Not because of his behavior during his run at the WSOP but because of Eastgate. It used to be that whenever they showed Hellmuth, they always prefaced it with a few blurbs about how he’s won the most bracelets and the fact that he was the youngest player to ever win the Main Event. Well Peter Eastgate took care of that. That’s a lot of publicity lost for Phil because of Eastgates feat. How much you wanna bet that Phil is seething and hating Eastgate right about now.

American players. From what I saw, I felt that the players representing America were just out played. I’m sure the luck factor had something to do with it but still it seemed like the foreign players were just better overall.

The old guard of poker. This year a lot of young guns made it deep in the tourney. There’s a lot of new talent out there and they’ve cut their teeth online rather than at casinos. This year, I really felt that the internet players really made a big dent in the WSOP (all events, not just the $10k event). Internet players are pretty good and they just might be better than the old school 10 hour grinders that play live exclusively.

ESPN and the WSOP. I don’t know about you guys, but I think that this year’s WSOP coverage was weak and the 4 month wait for the November 9, didn’t really do much to make it more exciting. Was it me or did they skip the hand that Kelly Kim got knocked out with? Where were all the interesting plays, the meta game theory and the slick moves that the pros make. All we got were all-in bad beats for the most part. I just wish they’d show more solid poker plays rather than the suckouts.

The true amatuer poker player. With the internet poker boom, are there any real amatuers left anymore?

Parents of college age kids. How many kids are going to try their luck now that Eastgate, a college drop out, won it all this year? I can hear it now. “Mom, Dad, I’m giving up College to become a poker player” will become the centerpiece of Thanksgiving Day dinner conversations all across America.

The guys who knocked out Tiffany Michelle and Kara Scott. Not only did they play well, they were easy on the eyes as well. I’d much rather watch these gals go all in than a unshaven, moppy haired college drop out any day of the week.

Winners:

Dennis Phillips. Here’s a blue collar guy who made it all the way to the final table. I was rooting hard for him to win it all. He was down to earth and seemed like a nice guy. I think it’s cool to see a hard working normal type guy go that far. Before all we had were lawyers and accountants. Talk about a snooze fest.

European players. Was it me or am I the only one who thought the foreign players outclassed our country men. For the most part it seemed like the foreign players were just that much better this year. Poker is truly a global sport.

Young Guns. Many young players made it deep in the main event and many of them did very well overall in the WSOP this year. There’s a lot of young talent out there and I think we got a big glimpse of it this year. Soon, and very soon I suspect, that the final table will one day be populated by kids barely old enough to drink.

Peter Eastgate. He will now be forever known as the youngest player to win the main event (that is until another fresh faced kid beats him out). $9 million dollars doesn’t hurt either. Only time will tell if he’s a one hit wonder or if he’s the real deal. Poker needs an influx of young, personable talent to take over for the old school guys. Will he be the one??

Everybody who made it to the final table. With all the sponsorships it seemed like every player at the final table were walking billboards. These guys were getting paid big time for just wearing a patch or putting on a cap.

The poker economy. Every time after the WSOP is aired there seems to be more interest in poker, which is good if you’re a solid player. I mean this week alone I got invited to 4 poker games on Tuesday. There’s more on tap this weekend also. That’s fresh money that we can put in our pockets…if only we could prevent them from sucking out that would be real sweet!

Well that’s about it. Those are my thoughts on this year’s WSOP. I’m sure there will be many people agreeing with my assessment, while others think I’m out of my skull. Well at least we have re-runs to watch all over again until next year. Now if I can only make it to Vegas this time, perhaps I’ll be the one with the bracelet.