When play resumes on Sunday, November 9th in the World Series of Poker Main Event, PocketFiver Scott r_a_y Montgomery will have the third largest chip stack at the final table, holding 19.7 million. He’ll be trailing chip leader Dennis Phillips’ stack of 26.3 million and second place Ivan Demidov’s 24.4 million. Montgomery and the other eight players at the final table have already each pocketed $900,670. At stake next month is a shot at the $9.1 million first place prize and the title of World Series of Poker Main Event Champion. PocketFives.com sat down with Montgomery to learn about his final table preparations and also get his thoughts on watching the final table unfold every Tuesday night on ESPN.
Montgomery told PocketFives.com that he, like millions of other viewers, has enjoyed watching the action weekly on television. He describes what he took away from the broadcasts so far: “It's been fun watching it all unfold and seeing how everybody made it to the final table. It’s good to see that I'm not the only one who needed to get lucky a few times. Craig Marquis’ insta-call of Brandon Cantu's all in on the river [on the October 21st broadcast] was pretty impressive. Most of the other plays have seemed to be pretty standard. I'll re-watch it all again closer to the final table to see if I can pick up on anything else.”
One can only imagine the pressure that comes with being a member of the WSOP “November Nine” and the envy of the entire poker world. After all, the move of the Main Event final table from July until November was made, in part, to allow its players increased media exposure and additional sponsorship opportunities. When asked about his own game in comparison to others’, Montgomery commented, “My main concern lately has just been about how badly I've been playing during the break. Hopefully, I can get it together soon. I’d mainly say it's been due to a lack of concentration. I’ve been having a hard time getting back into the zone with the Main Event final table looming over my head.”
Up for grabs at the Rio will be paydays ranging between $900,000 and $9.1 million. Regardless of the outcome, Montgomery has already made life-changing money. However, he is anxious to play the tournament out: “I’m looking forward to getting the weight off my shoulders and being able to plan for the future. My life will be so different come November 11th depending on if I win or blow up and bust out in ninth. I'd say both of those situations are equally likely.”
During the 100 day break, it’s conceivable that players may elect to change their entire strategy based on being able to see how others have played throughout the course of the event. However, Montgomery does not see that as a probable outcome: “With a four month break, I realize that it's quite possible to change your game entirely, but it's not that likely. I assume most of my competition will be playing in a similar way to how they made the final table. Of course, every playing style has its weaknesses.”
The $9.1 million first place prize will be the second largest ever awarded to a winner of a WSOP Main Event, second only to Jamie Gold’s $12 million payday in 2006. On whether he’s contemplated what he could do with the enormous addition to his bank account, he responded, “No, not really. Well, maybe a few times. Okay, maybe about every minute of every day since the break started. It's a lot of money, but I think I could find something to do with it all. Are the Detroit Red Wings for sale?”
Montgomery expects many family members and friends to be in attendance at the Rio on November 9th. The tournament will be played on Sunday and Monday and then air on ESPN Tuesday night. The formal payouts are as follows:
1st Place: $9,119,517
2nd Place: $5,790,024
3rd Place: $4,503,352
4th Place: $3,763,515
5th Place: $3,088,012
6th Place: $2,412,510
7th Place: $1,769,174
8th Place: $1,286,672
9th Place: $900,670
Joining Montgomery at the final table will be fellow PocketFiver Darus bejomas Suharto. Here’s how the group stands in chips:
Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
David 'Chino' Rheem - 10,230,000
Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
PocketFives.com would like to wish Scott r_a_y Montgomery and Darus bejomas Suharto the best of luck at the WSOP Main Event final table.
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