Daniel Negreanu takes second places in 2007 World Poker Open, and cool half million

The 2007 World Poker Open came to a close on Thursday in Tunica, with six players returning to the World Poker Tour’s feature final table. The Gold Strike Casino Resort served up more than its usual southern hospitality, awarding the WPO champion nearly $1 million in prize money.

Though Mississippians claim that poker originated somewhere along the majestic river, the WPT can officially credit the state for topping two of its circuit records. Daniel Negreanu, previously tied with Barry Greenstein*, broke the record for WPT consecutive cashes; while Young Cho, Kido Pham, Bryan Sumner, Gary Kainer, J.C. Tran, and “The Kid” engaged in the longest-ever WPT final table battle before an elimination.

It wasn’t until the 93rd hand, when the tournament was deep into its fourth level, that a sixth-place finisher was determined. Of those hands, only 16 produced a flop and even fewer made it to the river. There were 60 other hands, in which players either gave the big blind a “walk,” or forfeited the pot to a raiser before the community cards went out. Yet there was plenty of action, with multiple raises, double-ups, and players trading chip leads.

Hand No. 44 of the final table saw Kido Pham raising $80,000 in late position, with Young Cho and Gary Kainer calling. All three saw a flop of K Q 4. Kainer and Pham checked and Cho made it $150,000. Kainer folded, but Pham moved all in for around $504,000. Cho called, turning over 7 5 for a flush draw, but Pham had 10 8 for an even higher one. The turn was the 2, and the 10 paired Pham on the river, awarding him a pot worth nearly $1,250,000.

On the next hand, Pham made it $80,000 in late position, and the action was folded to Kainer who moved all in with an additional $377,000. It was folded back to Pham. While chatting across the table with his opponent, Pham was overheard saying, “I call that one,” but tried to explain his way out. “I didn’t mean this one,” he said, “I meant that one,” and two tournament directors were summoned. It was ruled that Pham had made a verbal declaration that was binding. Therefore, Pham’s only option was to call the monster raise. Pham did so reluctantly, turning over K 7. Kainer had A Q. The flop came A 6 4 and though Kainer had paired his ace, Pham was still in the running with a flush draw. The turn was the 6 and the river the 7. The pot was shipped to Kainer, leaving the good-natured Pham with less than $200,000 going into the next hand. “Sometimes I mean what I don’t say,” he said smiling, not quite able to articulate his exact thoughts. The audience understood and laughed along with him.

A few hands later, with Cho on the button, Pham used both hands to sweep his last $170,000 into the middle, and then declared, “I raise one-point-five million,” sparking another round of laughter from the audience. Next to act was the usually stone-faced Cho, who cracked a smile and said, “I call that.” Cho turned over A 7, and Pham showed K J. The crowd cheered for their sentimental favorite, “king, king, king!” Pham made trips on the flop of K K 9, and the 5 on the turn had Cho drawing dead to the river, doubling Pham up.

Sixty-three hands into the day, Negreanu raised it to $120,000 from the button. Kainer made it $350,000 and the action was folded around to Negreanu who pressed with another $385,000. Kainer called with A K, and Negreanu was behind with A Q. The players’ aces paired when A Q 6 came on the flop, but Negreanu had spiked his kicker. The turn, 8, and river, 3, sealed the win for Negreanu and awarded him a monster pot worth nearly $1,600,000.

When the blinds were $40,000-$80,000 with a $10,000 ante, J.C. Tran (WCOOP Main Event Winner) moved all in from the button for $240,000. Kido Pham called with pocket deuces (2 2). Tran turned over 8 5, eliciting a groan from the crowd. But when 9 7 6 hit the board, the audience cheered for Tran, who’d made a straight on the flop. The 7 on the turn and 6 on the river sealed the win for Tran, doubling him up to nearly $500,000.

Players collected blinds and antes over the next nine hands, with few raises, and no flops. Negreanu described the moment later. “No one wanted to be the first player out,” he said. “And with everyone playing so tight, it really changed the dynamic of the game.”

Things were about to change, as Negreanu sat behind the button for a 15th time. From the cutoff, Cho raised to $270,000 and the action was folded to Tran, who called. The flop came 10 7 3 and Tran moved all in for $230,000. Cho called with 9 7, for middle pair. Tran had K J. The turn, a K, snatched the advantage away from Cho and brought Tran to his feet. But the 9 on the river gave Cho a second pair, sending J.C. Tran out in sixth place with $142,810.

The marathon run was over, and the Grand Casino Resort bested Commerce Casino’s previous record of 86 WPT final table hands played before determining a sixth-place finisher. Down to five-handed, the action picked up considerably.

Young Cho maintained the chip lead with around $2 million, while Gary Kainer, Bryan Sumner, and Kido Pham hovered around the $1 million mark. Negreanu was far behind with around $400,000.

Negreanu came back to collect a few pots, enough to increase his stack to $1 million. From the big blind, he called Kainer’s $250,000, who raised from under the gun. The flop came J 10 5. Negreanu checked to Kainer who fired $350,000 into the pot and then Negreanu moved all in. Kainer called with A J for top pair, but Negreanu had 10 9 for middle pair and a flush draw. The turn was the 2, completing Negreanu’s hand. The meaningless card on the river assured his win and doubled him up to around $2 million.

Two hands later, Kainer doubled through Pham when they both were all in before the flop. The two missed the board and Kainer’s higher card won the hand and the pot. Pham was crippled going into the next level. With the blinds at $60,000-$120,000 with a $15,000 ante, Sumner went all in and Pham made his move. With his last $205,000 he called with 8 6. Sumner turned over J 9. The board came K 4 3 9 6, sending Pham out in fifth place with $171,372.

On the very next hand, Kainer went all in for $630,000 before the flop and Sumner called, showing pocket nines (9 9). Kainer had A 2. With a board of Q J 10 5 5, Sumner eliminated the second player in a row, sending Kainer out in fourth place with $199,934.

Negreanu went into three-way action with $2.2 million in chips, but Sumner and Cho were close behind with around $1.8 million.

Six hands later, Negreanu checked on the button and Cho moved all in. His timing couldn’t have been worse as Sumner had woken up with aces and immediately called. Cho turned over 6 3. The flop came J 5 2, giving Cho some hope with a straight draw, but the Q on the turn and K on the river put a third notch in Sumner’s belt and Cho exited the tournament in third place with $257,058.

At 8:30 p.m., the money was presented and WPT staff prettied up the table for heads-up action. Ten minutes later it was over. Negreanu pushed from the button with A 3 and Sumner called with pocket eights (8 8). The flop gave Sumner a set with 8 5 4, and Negreanu was drawing to a deuce for a straight. But the turn, 3, and river, Q, won the hand and the championship for Sumner.

Runner-up Daniel Negreanu went out with $502,691. “I was really happy with how this turned out,” he said during the awards presentation. “This was a really great final table with some very tough competition. And with everyone playing so tight in the beginning, it took luck and skill to get this far.” When asked if he’d thought the six-way action was ever going to end, he replied, "That was one of the most unique situations I’ve ever seen, with six guys playing for four hours at a World Poker Tour final table and nobody going broke.”

This was Sumner’s first WPT event, qualifying in the very first $1,000 satellite he’d entered. After lying low during four days of main event competition, the soft-spoken southern boy admitted being nervous coming into the final table. “I was worried about Daniel Negreanu and the chip leader,” referring to Young Cho. “My focus was on just playing the very best game I could.”

The humble Sumner was presented with the gold and diamond WPO championship bracelet and $913,986 in first-place prize money. We can also look forward to seeing him at the Bellagio in April. Included in the prize package was a $25,000 entry into this year’s WPT Championship.