Danish Ace Becomes Youngest Poker Champ

22-Year-Old Rakes In $9 Million At World Series Of Poker's Main Event

(AP)  A 22-year-old Danish poker professional won the World Series of Poker early Tuesday, turning a wheel straight on the last hand to become the youngest champion in the history of the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event.

Peter Eastgate hit an ace-to-five straight on the turn and instantly called an all-in bet from Ivan Demidov on the river to win the title and $9,152,416. Demidov held two pair, twos and fours.

The previous youngest champion was 11-time gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who was 24 when he won the tournament in 1989.

"It feels good to beat Phil's record," Eastgate said after taking pictures with stacks of $100 bills and his new gold bracelet. "I was not focused on the record that I could break, I was just focused on the game."

Eastgate said he got a call from Hellmuth wishing him luck before the more than three-hour session.

Eastgate built a 7-to-1 chip advantage before the decisive hand by sniffing out two bluffs by Demidov for big pots.

Eastgate, of Odense, Denmark, put Demidov on his heels by stopping the 27-year-old from bluffing a pot worth roughly 44 million chips with an ace high. Eastgate called with a diamond flush.

He won a significant pot four hands later with a full house and immediately began putting pressure on the final opponent standing between him and the title.

"My motivation was $9 million and a bracelet," Eastgate said. "That's what kept me focused."

Demidov, a 27-year-old semiprofessional poker player from Moscow, took home $5,809,595 for second place, some $3.3 million less than Eastgate.

"I'm someone who's not going to cry," Demidov said. "I'm disappointed, but I'm going to be happy. That's the way it turned out."

Demidov erased Eastgate's initial 24 million chip advantage in their quest for the gold bracelet in less than 30 minutes to start the night.

But Eastgate regained his chips and then some by the first break in play - taking a 35.8 million chip lead after hitting two pair, aces and queens.

Eastgate took a nearly 2-to-1 chip advantage after calling a 7 million chip river bet with a pair of jacks. A queen was on the board, but Demidov turned over an ace high. The call indicated that Eastgate sensed his hand was good despite the large bet and plenty of cards that could have beaten him.

"He was playing me very aggressively so I was kind of looking to kind of trap him," said Eastgate, who said he felt Demidov was not helped in the hand by the river queen. "It worked out in different spots."

Eastgate had to collect all the chips in play - some 137 million

to win the tournament. Chips have no monetary value and each player started the no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament in July with 20,000 chips.

The players were deliberate in their decisions, not rushing to shove their chips in the middle early on. As Eastgate distanced himself from Demidov, it became apparent that Demidov would need to double his stack to keep his options unhindered.

"I learned that I need to improve my hands-on game," Demidov said.

Demidov's finish concluded a dream tournament run that included final table finishes at the series' main events in Europe and the United States. The Russian said he hoped his performances would help poker grow in his native country, and said he planned to play in more high-stakes live tournaments.

"A few years ago it was mostly U.S. players," Demidov said. "Now you see more European, South American and Asian players. Poker is growing in the world."

Eastgate eliminated five players, including Demidov, at the final table to take the title. The nine players met Sunday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to settle the title after taking a 117-day break to build hype for the tournament.

Eastgate started fourth in chips on Sunday with 19.7 million chips, more than 4 million away from Dennis Phillips, the chip leader at the time. Phillips finished in third and won $4,517,773.

The final grouping emerged from a field of 6,844 players that whittled down to nine over 11 days in July.

[inketolstoy]

"There is no way America can ever match the Republican spending spree of the last 8 years" Posted by prometheus41

I am no great poker player but I''ll all the money I''ll touch in the next 20 years that prometheus41 is wrong here. Any campaign that spends 600 million on a job that pays less than 2 million over four years can not be expected to be fiscally responsible. Government is like these gamblers. A 40 mill bet is not real money to them, and a 700 bill buyout is not real money to our politicians. Remember when 100 million was a crazy amount of money to spend on a campaign? Yeah, about three elections ago. It is inflation, government style.

[rags6243]

If you believe poker is all about luck then you can play with me! I''ll be glad to take your money.

[mjm117]

When everyone is playing at the same skill level and not making any mistakes, then it''''s all about luck.


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Posted by shanev137 at 02:31 PM : Nov 11, 2008


Hardly shanev137...it goes well beyond luck. To know that your jacks are good when the board is showing a queen is not luck...

[shanev137]

When everyone is playing at the same skill level and not making any mistakes, then it''s all about luck.

[dbstevens]

::sigh:: Makes my hardworking salaried life seem sorta pathetic. Except for the wonderful family and friends I have. Wait a minute! I''m richer than this guy because of those family and friends. Okay, congratulations on your win.

[usclimey]

10% skill---90% luck
And Phil Hellmuth believes it is just the opposite, when in fact it is not.

Posted by gl84685

I agree - if it were the other way round Phil and his buddies would win 99% of the time, amateurs would be wasting their time (and money).

[gl84685]

10% skill---90% luck
And Phil Hellmuth believes it is just the opposite, when in fact it is not.