Mark Newhouse was just eliminated from the 2014 Main Event. He finished in 9th place, earning $730,725.
Mark Newhouse also made the final table last year, finishing in 9th place. He is the only player ever to make the November Nine in back-to-back years since the concept was first adopted in 2008. In itself, this stands as an incredible poker accomplishment. Over the past few months, there's been much debate within the poker community about whether it's the greatest achievement in World Series of Poker history. That might be the case, given the huge field sizes during both years, more than 13,000 players total combined.
Before the inception of the November Nine, the last person to make the Main Event final table in consecutive years was "Action Dan" Harrington, who accomplished the feat in 2003 and 2004. Harrington also won the Main Event in 1995. So, Newhouse remains in good company.
Unfortunately for Newhouse, he was unable to improve upon his 9th place finish from last year. He famously said in interviews leading up to the championship, even before making the November Nine, that his goal was not to finish 9th again. He said he'd rather finish 10th than 9th.
Moments after busting out, Newhouse was understandably disappointed with the results. When asked what the legacy the back-to-back finishes will leave upon poker history, he said curtly, "nothing."
When a reporter asked what's next for the 29-year-old high-stakes cash game pro, he said, "I don't know, I'll go back to my (hotel) room, I guess....I'll figure that out in about an hour."
When pressed for more details, Newhouse diverted his attention back to what he's done successfully for many years, focusing on cash games in Los Angeles. "It's back the grind again," Newhouse said.
Newhouse entered the final table ranked third in chips. He hovered near the middle of the pack most of the night. On his final hand, the board was double-paired with jacks and fours. On the river, William Tonking checked to Newhouse, and he moved all in with pocket tens. Tonking called with pocket queens, ending Newhouse's amazing two-year run.
Here are the final table results so far:
1st - - $10,000,000
2nd - - $5,147,911
3rd - - $3,807,753
4th - - $2,849,763
5th - - $2,143,794
6th - - $1,622,471
7th - - $1,236,084
8th - - $947,172
9th - Mark Newhouse - $730,725