By
Dan
It’s hard to believe that we are already writing about Event #52 of the 2008 World Series of Poker. The tournament series has been going on since May 30th and Wednesday, July 2nd marked the conclusion of the 52nd event. Scott stsitron Sitron (pictured)captured second place in this $1,500 buy-in no limit tournament, pocketing $385,974. Sitron wasn’t the only one making waves in this tournament. Cody thugmoneymkr Slaubaugh finished 15th, taking home a healthy $29,039. With the Main Event upon us, let’s take a look at the action from the Amazon Room inside the Rio in Las Vegas. Event #52 was covered on PocketFivesLive.com, the best source for WSOP coverage.
I was fortunate enough to get to be in the Amazon Room this afternoon and watched the start of the final table of Event #52. With Ante Up for Africa going on just down the hall and attracting throngs of spectators, the crowd in the Amazon Room was uncharacteristically calm. On the final hand of play, Scott stsitron Sitron moved in over the top of a raise by David Daneshgar with A-8. Daneshgar held pocket tens. A 4-6-6-9-J board was no help and the tournament concluded on the 50th hand of heads up play.
Sitron has made a name for himself on the World Series of Poker Circuit. He made the final table of a $700 buy-in Circuit Event at the Grand Casino Tunica in January. In that tournament, he cashed for $14,929. He logged a 20th place finish in Event #32 for $15,095 and finished 97th in Event #7 for $4,636. Both were $1,500-$2,000 buy-in no limit tournaments. Online, this rising star is ranked 90th on PocketFives.com. He took first in a $530 buy-in $75K Guaranteed tournament on UltimateBet in February, pocketing $21,295. He also took down a $109 buy-in Sniper tournament on UB a few weeks ago for $10,400.
Cody thugmoneymkr Slaubaugh (pictured) finished 15th. His chip stack was crippled when he lost a coin flip to Farzad Rouhani, holding A-K against Rouhani’s pocket queens. Shortly afterwards, he pushed with 9-2 and was knocked out by Sitron, who flipped over pocket rockets. PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Adam Johnson commented, “Slaubaugh is having one of the better WSOPs for NL tournament players. Slaubaugh's made five cashes, three of which were top 20 finishes. Although he's got a background in online tournaments, he's shown an ability to go with his instincts at key points in tournaments. The night before his runner-up finish, he made a real gutsy move for all his chips with 7-7 on a 9-6-5 board when his opponent led into him for about a third of his stack with play down to the final two tables. If Slaubaugh continues this run of success he's on, people might start calling Shannon Shorr Slaubaugh's roommate and not the other way around.”
Slaubaugh made his fifth cash of the 2008 WSOP. He’s already finished second in Event #36 this year, taking home $389,128. In January of 2007, he won a $300 buy-in Circuit Event in Council Bluffs for $35,243. Lifetime, he’s taken home $545,000 from WSOP play. In April, Slaubaugh took home first in a $109 buy-in tournament on PokerStars for over $17,000. On June 8th, he finished sixth in the Second Chance for $11,067.
Also cashing in Event #52 were Curt FatCurt Wells (118th for $4,043) and Joseph Dirtychum Baldwin (125th for $4,043). PocketFivers have grabbed over $15.5 million from the World Series of Poker this year. There have also been seven bracelet winners. Last year, PocketFivers grabbed 15,048,060 and six bracelets, making the 2008 WSOP the most successful tournament series yet for members of the site.
PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Court Harrington quipped, “Both Scott and Cody have had solid series and look to be carrying their hot streaks into the Main Event. They have been dominant in the smaller buy-in events, going deep on a regular basis. Each has finished as the runner up in an event so far With both having success in large field tournaments this year, including final table experience for both, a good run of cards could easily put both deep in the biggest tournament of the year.”
Thursday marks the first day of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Play starts at 12:00 noon PT (3:00pm ET). Day Ones will also be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Follow all of the online poker players on PocketFivesLive.com, your home for WSOP coverage.