Saturday, June 23, 2007 10:30 PM Local Time
Robert Stevanovski was down to almost nothing when he limped into the last pot of the day. Guth checked and the flop came
. Robert bet . . . and Guth re-raised him all in. Stevanovski had no choice but to call, and when he did he found that Guth had flopped a set of Nines. When John saw the cards he shouted, "Please, once in my life don't let me lose to a gutshot!" That's what Stevanovski needed, a Jack to make his straight.
But we'd had enough drama for the day -- the turn was the
, giving Guth a full house, the pot, and the title.
You won't see a happier champion the rest of the Series. He jumped up and down and screamed almost incoherently. He said, incredulous, "This is my bracelet!!?? This is my money??!! Are these my bricks??"" He hugged and high-fived his friends and picked up the bracelet. "Can I put this on?" he asked, forgetting that the bracelet was, in fact, all his.
Guth took time to shake hands one last time with Robert Stevanovski, who played magnificently and never lost his cool as the match see-sawed back and forth. Stevanovski won $218,456 as our runner-up.
And in addition to the bracelet he couldn't believe was his, John "Sir Scoopalot" Guth won $363,216. That's a lotta bricks.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 10:14 PM Local Time
Guth scooped another big pot when he rivered a Queen to give him Kings and Queens, which trumped the two pair (threes and fives) Stevanovski hit on the flop. Guth now leads by 2.5 million to 315,000.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 10:09 PM Local Time
With the board reading
and nearly 500,000 in the pot, Guth bet 120K and Stevanovski thought it over before making the call. "I have nut-nut" Guth said as he spread his cards, showing Q-J for the nut straight and 2-4 for the nut low. Stevanovski looked at his cards and tossed them aside as Guth thrust his arms in the air and scooped a massive pot. He now has a 2.4 million to 400K chip lead.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 10:03 PM Local Time
After scooping that huge pot and building up his lead to 2.3 million to 500K, John Guth did something almost unimaginable -- he reached out and touched the World Series of Poker bracelet sitting on the pile of cash at the end of the table. His fingers barely brushed it . . . and it slipped off its stand and fell on the felt. He tried putting it back but it wouldn't stay.
"Don't jinx yourself!" one of his female supporters yelled from the stands. We'll have to wait and see to find out if he did.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 10:00 PM Local Time
John raised to 120K before the flop and Robert called. The flop came
and Stevanovski check-called Guth's 60K bet. He check-called again when the
hit on the turn, but when the
fell on the river Stevanovski led out for 120K. Undaunted, Guth raised to 240K and Stevanovski called. Both players had 9-8 for the straight but Guth had A-2 for the low and quartered Stevanovski.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:55 PM Local Time
Guth raised to 120K before the flop and Stevanovski called. The flop came
and Stevanovski check-called Guth's 60K bet. Robert did the same when the
turned and the
fell on the river. Guth turned over his hand and was looking for his low draw . . . and seemed not to notice that he'd made a flush with the
to beat Stevanovski Aces and Jacks. There was no qualifiying low and the pot Guth scooped put him back into the lead, 1.8 million to 1 million.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:48 PM Local Time
"They're gonna chop this pot."
We've heard that a fair few times over the last two hours. The game is Omaha Hi-Lo, it's the nature of the beast. The players build a big 'ol pile of pink chips in the middle of the table . . . and then they divvy 'em up fifty-fifty. And then we start all over again.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:40 PM Local Time
The length of the match hasn't dimmed the enthusiasm of either player's supporters. In fact Robert Stevanovski's fans have taken to shouting, "That's what I'm TALKIN' ABOUT" when he does something exciting like, oh, limping into a pot. Though I think that's a bit tongue-in-cheek. A bit.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:34 PM Local Time
And it was a big one. Stevanovski raised to 120K, Guth called and they saw a flop of
. Guth check-called Stevanovski's 60K bet, and also called his 120K bet when the
hit on the turn. Both players checked the
on the river and Stevanovski's K-10 gave him two pair and the scoop when Guth didn't have a low hand.
We've been playing heads up for over 2 hours now and Robert has a 1.8 million to 1 million lead.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:24 PM Local Time
After Guth raised on the flop Stevanovski called and they saw a flop of
. Both players checked, and when the
turned Stevanovski bet 120K and Guth called. They checked the
on the river and Robert showed 9-2 for two pair, and that was good enough to scoop the pot when Guth didn't have a low hand. That put Stevanovski in the chip lead by 1.8 million to 1 million.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:16 PM Local Time
During the break John Guth put on his iPod and said, "I've got to listen Kenny Rogers." He sang along to "The Gambler" and did a sort of funkified strut in front of our tables to put himself in the right frame of mind.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:12 PM Local Time
This heads-up match is shaping up as a marathon, so the players are taking a very brief break before the next level.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:11 PM Local Time
On hand # 188, Guth raised before the flop and Stevanovski called. The flop came
and when Guth bet Stevanovski raised. Guth called and when the
Guth again led out, this time for 100K. Stevanovski just called, and when Guth bet again when the
hit on the river Robert thought it over before making the call. Guth had 6-4 for a straight and the low, Stevanovski had only 3-5 for two pair and no low, and Guth scooped a pot that put him back in the lead.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:05 PM Local Time
One person rooting for Robert Stevanovski is WSOP bracelet winner Michael Gracz. After Guth conceded a pot Stevanovski turned over his cards and showed that he'd flopped a set of deuces. From his seat Gracz barked, "Stop showing your cards! Keep it in your pants!"
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:59 PM Local Time
Robert Stevanovski just scooped two small pots, one when his pair of Sevens and 3-7 for a low beat Guth's A-Q-J-10, and once where his pocket Nines gave him two pair and the pot. Those small pots gave him the chip lead again, 1.6 million to 1.3 million
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:53 PM Local Time
Each player has run out to more than a 2-1 chip lead, and each player has fought back to square the match. This time it's Robert Stevanovski who has brought things back to nearly par, thanks to a few pots won before the flop and a hand where he called Guth's preflop raise, checked the flop, and then check-raised the turn. Guth called that bet but folded to Stevanovski's 100K bet on the river. That brought the chip counts back to nearly even -- 1.5 million for Guth, 1.3 million for Stevanovski
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:50 PM Local Time
Both players have rather vocal groups of supporters cheering them on . . . and occasionally verbally jousting with each other. But the players themselves have chatted pleasantly back and forth. Stevanovski in particular looks completely unflappable, even after making that mistake he seems relaxed and utterly in control
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:44 PM Local Time
Guth now leads 2,020,000 to 780,000.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:37 PM Local Time
We should point out that Guth's fortunes abruptly changed once the waiter brought him a Grey Goose and Pineapple Juice.
Saturday, June 23, 2007 8:36 PM Local Time
Stevanovski raised to 100K, Guth called, and they saw a
flop. Guth called Robert's bet, then check-raised him when the
turned. Stevanovski called and also called a 100K bet on the river. Guth turned over the 2-4 for the flopped wheel that scooped the pot and put him back in the chip lead, 1.95 million to 1.05 million.