After being eliminated from the 2012 WSOP Main Event, Michael Esposito (pictured) sat down with PocketFives to walk through the final three hands of his tournament run, a stretch that saw him shove all-in three times in a row, ultimately running A-J into A-K.PocketFives: Did you come out after the break with the intent of being aggressive? You had A-Q, 10-10, and A-J in the three hands you pushed with.
Michael Esposito: I knew I would have to make a play. At the end of the day, I didn't get too many hands. With the A-J hand, Greg Merson's range is so big. You're playing seven-handed and I couldn’t survive another two hours of not picking up a hand. I didn't think it was the worst spot to shove again.
I was comfortable with my position and didn’t want to put it in bad at any point. I played in situations where I had a lot of patience. I was going to look for a good spot like a multi-way pot. I wanted a spot where I could accumulate chips. It just didn’t work out.
PocketFives: We saw a Tweet from Bluff that said, "If you win the $8 million and you’re alone at the strip club, blowing lines with the strippers, is that really a good life? - Michael Esposito." What's the story with that?
Michael Esposito: We were talking about the hurricane and they were asking me how I felt about having support out here. I said I had love and support. I was saying you could be the winner and get $8.5 million and be at the Spearmint Rhino doing blow lines with the strippers. I would rather be where I am with my support.
PocketFives: Who was seated nearest to the table supporting you at the Penn and Teller Theater tonight?
Michael Esposito: I had my mother, aunt, girlfriend, son, stepfather, and two good friends. I had two people who backed me for 5% each and they were pretty excited.
PocketFives: What was going through your head during the Rob Salaburu (pictured) and Steven Gee bust outs?Michael Esposito: Everyone is happy to move up the pay ladder. I was happy about that too. Rob played good and it seemed to me he had a lot of big hands. He came in with an attitude that he didn’t want to gamble and that was a rough way for him to go out. I would feel bad for anyone in that position.
I had a feeling that Russell had aces or queens in Gee's bust out hand. I thought that Russell took so long to call because he put himself in a position where Gee could have a monster hand. I didn’t think Gee had a hand; I thought Russell would win the hand.
PocketFives: Who do you think will win the Main Event now?
Michael Esposito: I don’t think there was any hand that made you say anyone played better than anyone else. I played terrible against Merson, but what happened was the dealer said he raised to 2.7 million and I said, "I call" when it was actually raised to 3.9 million. I played the hand terribly and should have check-called the river and let him bet out or raise. It was a stupid call when I called in that hand because what hand could have been good there?
PocketFives: Tell us how you're feeling winning over a million bucks, but departing early from the Main Event?
Michael Esposito: I'll be disappointed. I'm going to go chill out with my girlfriend tonight and tomorrow I'll have a nice dinner. I'll play again next year. You can go out on Day 1 and have played great or you can make it to the end. I was all-in three times the whole tournament. I was happy with how I played. It made me very optimistic. Hopefully this is the start of something good in my poker career.
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