Greg "Fossilman" Raymer won the World Series of Poker tournament Friday, winning a head-to-head showdown on the final hand worth $5 million.
Raymer, 39, had built up a $14.4 million stack of chips during the tournament's finale, making him the chip leader when he began the final table at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino. He then went to work toppling four of his eight competitors using solid pairs and a hand of three tens.
A young college student from Dallas was responsible for knocking out two other players, including a former World Series of Poker champion.
By mid-evening, the field was whittled down to three -- the college student, "Fossilman" and a 29-year-old professional poker player from Atlanta. The game is No-Limit Texas Hold'Em, in which a player can risk all his chips with every draw of a card, guaranteeing high-stakes action and big losers.
The final table of the wildly popular poker tournament got underway at the downtown casino about 1:30 p.m., after players spent six days battling each other for a chance to be crowned poker king and take home a $5 million first-place prize.
Friday's nine-person final saw unprecedented action as players repeatedly moved in all their chips, trying to gain the upper hand. But the players were little match for Raymer's enormous pile of chips, which he wielded like a schoolyard bully.
The first to fall was Mike McLain, 39, of Lemoore, Calif. Minutes later, Mattias Andersson, a 24-year-old Swede and the only foreigner in the final, also was knocked out by Raymer, whose nickname comes from his hobby of collecting fossils.
McClain and Andersson went home with $470,400 and $575,000, respectively.
It was then David Anthony Williams' turn to be the poker slayer. A 23-year-old college student from Dallas, Williams was the youngest player at the table and used a full house to send home Matt Dean, 25, of Woodlands, Texas. One of four 20-somethings at the final table, Dean finished in seventh place with a $675,000 prize.
Raymer then went to work on Al Krux, a professional poker player from New York state, and Glenn Hughes, a 38-year-old married father of two from Scottsdale, Ariz. Krux left with $800,000, while Hughes walked away with $1.1 million.
The last to leave before a dinner break Friday was 1995 World Series of Poker Champion Dan Harrington, who earned a $1.5 million prize. Williams, the college student, used a second, improbable full house to take out Harrington.
Harrington's fourth-place finish falls just short of his third-place showing last year.
It was the 2003 tournament that forever changed the world of poker when an accountant named Chris Moneymaker won the event after first qualifying in an online tournament.
Moneymaker was knocked out May 22 -- the first day of the tournament, which saw a recorded 2,576 entrants.
AP News
Raymer, 39, had built up a $14.4 million stack of chips during the tournament's finale, making him the chip leader when he began the final table at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino. He then went to work toppling four of his eight competitors using solid pairs and a hand of three tens.
A young college student from Dallas was responsible for knocking out two other players, including a former World Series of Poker champion.
By mid-evening, the field was whittled down to three -- the college student, "Fossilman" and a 29-year-old professional poker player from Atlanta. The game is No-Limit Texas Hold'Em, in which a player can risk all his chips with every draw of a card, guaranteeing high-stakes action and big losers.
The final table of the wildly popular poker tournament got underway at the downtown casino about 1:30 p.m., after players spent six days battling each other for a chance to be crowned poker king and take home a $5 million first-place prize.
Friday's nine-person final saw unprecedented action as players repeatedly moved in all their chips, trying to gain the upper hand. But the players were little match for Raymer's enormous pile of chips, which he wielded like a schoolyard bully.
The first to fall was Mike McLain, 39, of Lemoore, Calif. Minutes later, Mattias Andersson, a 24-year-old Swede and the only foreigner in the final, also was knocked out by Raymer, whose nickname comes from his hobby of collecting fossils.
McClain and Andersson went home with $470,400 and $575,000, respectively.
It was then David Anthony Williams' turn to be the poker slayer. A 23-year-old college student from Dallas, Williams was the youngest player at the table and used a full house to send home Matt Dean, 25, of Woodlands, Texas. One of four 20-somethings at the final table, Dean finished in seventh place with a $675,000 prize.
Raymer then went to work on Al Krux, a professional poker player from New York state, and Glenn Hughes, a 38-year-old married father of two from Scottsdale, Ariz. Krux left with $800,000, while Hughes walked away with $1.1 million.
The last to leave before a dinner break Friday was 1995 World Series of Poker Champion Dan Harrington, who earned a $1.5 million prize. Williams, the college student, used a second, improbable full house to take out Harrington.
Harrington's fourth-place finish falls just short of his third-place showing last year.
It was the 2003 tournament that forever changed the world of poker when an accountant named Chris Moneymaker won the event after first qualifying in an online tournament.
Moneymaker was knocked out May 22 -- the first day of the tournament, which saw a recorded 2,576 entrants.
AP News
