2008 World Series of Poker

Series of poker tournaments June 2025 2008 World Series of Poker Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada May 30 – July 15 DNK Peter Eastgate 2007 2009 The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold 'em Main Event, the most prestigious of the WSOP events, ended by July 15.http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/news/article.asp?newsID=1855 2008 World Series of Poker Set for May 30 through July 15 in Las Vegas WorldSeriesofPoker.com September 15, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080916221056/http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/news/article.asp?newsID=1855 September 16, 2008 live As has been the WSOP custom since 1976, each of the event winners received a championship bracelet in addition to that event's prize money, which (after the casino's rake) ranged from $87,929 to $9,119,517. Highlights of the 2008 series include the selection of Erick Lindgren, who won a bracelet and made three final tables, as recipient of the "Player of the Year Award". Nikolay Evdakov led all players with a record 10 money finishes, and Phil Hellmuth set a WSOP record of 41 career final tables. The Main Event, which began with 6,844 participants (a level exceeded only by the number of participants at the 2006 event), was suspended once the event was down to the 9 players needed for the final table; the Main Event was resumed on November 9, and concluded with the heads-up final between Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov the next day. This year was the first in which the Main Event was suspended in this fashion, a change introduced at ESPN's request to allow the TV network to do a same-day Main Event broadcast. In a stunning statistical improbability, Justin Phillips knocked out Motoyuki Mabuchi in the Main Event. Phillips held a Royal Flush, while Mabuchi held quad aces. One of the broadcasters, Lon McEachern, mentioned on air that the chances of such a showdown occurring were 1:2.7 billion. Ray Romano had just sat down at the table when this hand played itself out.August 2017http://www.pokerpages.com/pokerinfo/wsop/2008-wsop-espn-coverage.htm ESPN to Televise Seventeen Consecutive Tuesday-Night Shows... pokerpages.com September 15, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080920115640/http://www.pokerpages.com/pokerinfo/wsop/2008-wsop-espn-coverage.htm September 20, 2008 dead Schwartz Nick Poker pro's stunning all-in loss is every player's worst nightmare For The Win USA Today December 6, 2017 https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/12/poker-stunning-wsop-bad-beat-quad-aces-royal-flush March 7, 2025 Event schedule # Event Entrants Winner Prize Runner-up Resultshttp://www.pokernews.com/poker-tournaments/2008/05/2008-world-series-poker.html 2008 World Series of Poker Events Schedule June 10, 2008 PokerNews.com 1$10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold'em352Nenad Medic (1/1)$794,112Andy BlochResults 2$1,500 No Limit Hold'em3,929Grant Hinkle (1/1)$831,462James AkenheadResults 3$1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em713David Singer (1/1)$214,131Jacobo FernandezResults 4$5,000 Mixed Hold'em332Erick Lindgren (1/1)$374,505Justin BonomoResults 5$1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/rebuys766Michael Banducci (1/1)$636,736Jeff WilliamsResults 6$1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better833Thang Luu (1/1)$243,356Spencer LawrenceResults 7$2,000 No Limit Hold'em1,592Matt Keikoan (1/1)$550,601Shannon ShorrResults 8$10,000 World Championship Mixed Event192Anthony Rivera (1/1)$483,688James Mackey (0/1)Results 9$1,500 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed1,236Rep Porter (1/1)$372,929Nathan TempletonResults 10$2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better388Freddy Rouhani (1/1)$232,911Tom ChambersResults 11$5,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout360Phil Tom (1/1)$477,990Greg MuellerResults 12$1,500 Limit Hold'em880Jimmy Shultz (1/1)$257,105Zac FellowsResults 13$2,500 No Limit Hold'em1,397Duncan Bell (1/1)$666,777Steve MerrifieldResults 14$10,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud158Eric Brooks (1/1)$415,856Fu WongResults 15$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em World Championship1,190Svetlana Gromenkova (1/1)$244,702Anh LeResults 16$2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better553Andrew Brown (1/1)$226,483Ted Forrest (0/5)Results 17$1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout1,000Jason Young (1/1)$335,565Mike SchwartzResults 18$5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/rebuys85Mike Matusow (1/3)$537,862Jeff Lisandro (0/1)Results 19$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha759Vanessa Selbst (1/1)$227,965Jamie PickeringResults 20$2,000 Limit Hold'em480Daniel Negreanu (1/4)$204,874Ugur MarangozResults 21$5,000 No Limit Hold'em731Scott Seiver (1/1)$755,891Dave SeidmanResults 22$3,000 H.O.R.S.E.414Jens Vortmann (1/1)$298,253Doug GangerResults 23$2,000 No Limit Hold'em1,344Blair Hinkle (1/1)$507,563Mark BrockingtonResults 24$2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha457Max Pescatori (1/2)$246,471Kyle KloecknerResults 25$10,000 World Championship Heads Up No Limit Hold'em256Kenny Tran (1/1)$539,056Alec TorelliResults 26$1,500 Razz453Barry Greenstein (1/3)$157,619Chris KlodnickiResults 27$1,500 No Limit Hold'em2,706Vitaly Lunkin (1/1)$628,417Brett KimesResults 28$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys152Phil Galfond (1/1)$817,781Adam HouraniResults 29$3,000 No Limit Hold'em716John Phan (1/1)$434,789Johnny NeckarResults 30$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em218Rob Hollink (1/1)$496,931Jerrod AnkenmanResults 31$2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed1,012Dario Minieri (1/1)$528,418Seth FischerResults 32$1,500 No Limit Hold'em2,304Luis Velador (1/1)$574,734Chris SignoreResults 33$5,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better261Sebastian Ruthenberg (1/1)$328,756Chris Ferguson (0/5)Results 34$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys320Layne Flack (1/6)$577,725Daniel MakowskyResults 35$1,500 Seven Card Stud381Michael Rocco (1/1)$135,753Al BarbieriResults 36$1,500 No Limit Hold'em2,447Jesper Hougaard (1/1)$610,304Cody SlaubaughResults 37$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better235David Benyamine (1/1)$535,687Greg JamisonResults 38$2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em605Davidi Kitai (1/1)$244,583Chris BellResults 39$1,500 No Limit Hold'em2,720David Woo (1/1)$631,656Matt Wood Results 40$2,500 2-7 Limit Triple Draw Lowball238John Phan (2/2)$151,896Shun UchidaResults 41$1,500 Mixed Hold'em731Frank Gary (1/1)$219,508Jonathan TamayoResults 42$1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold'em World Championship2,218Dan Lacourse (1/1)$368,832Dale EberleResults 43$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better720Martin Klaser (1/1)$216,249Casey KastleResults 44$1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/rebuys879Max Greenwood (1/1)$693,444Rene MouritsenResults 45$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E.148Scotty Nguyen (1/5)$1,989,120Michael DeMicheleResults 46$5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six Handed805Joe Commisso (1/1)$911,855Richard LyndakerResults 47$1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better544Ryan Hughes (1/2)$183,368Ron LongResults 48$2,000 No Limit Hold'em2,317Alexandre Gomes (1/1)$770,540Marco JohnsonResults 49$1,500 No Limit Hold'em2,718J.C. Tran (1/1)$631,170Rasmus NielsenResults 50$10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha381Marty Smyth (1/1)$859,549Peter JettenResults 51$1,500 H.O.R.S.E.803James Schaaf (1/1)$256,412Tommy HangResults 52$1,500 No Limit Hold'em2,693David Daneshgar (1/1)$625,443Scott SitronResults 53$1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout823Matt Graham (1/1)$278,180Jean-Robert BellandeResults 54$10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold'em Main Event6,844Peter Eastgate (1/1)$9,119,517Ivan DemidovResults 55$500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em930Jonathan Kotula (1/1)$87,929Kevin O'HarraResults 2008 records Nikolay Evdakov set a WSOP record for most cashes at a single World Series with 10. The previous record of 8 was held by 5 players: Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Humberto Brenes, Michael Binger, and Chad Brown. Evdakov's achievement also represents the most cashes by a player at one WSOP without reaching a single final table. Hellmuth, who made two final tables, established a new WSOP career record of 41 final tables, two more than T. J. Cloutier. Scotty Nguyen became the first player to hold both a Main Event and a $50,000 H.O.R.S.E World Championship bracelet. Several nationals were the first from their country to win bracelets. Brazilian Alexandre Gomes won Event 48 to become the first South American player to win a WSOP bracelet since Ecuadorian-born Carlos Mortensen won the 2001 Main Event.http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=47446 Alexandre Gomes Player Profile WorldSeriesOfPoker.com July 5, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080705025104/http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerid=47446 July 5, 2008 live Rob Hollink won Event 30, becoming the first Dutch WSOP bracelet winner, and Davidi Kitai won Event 38, becoming the first Belgian player to win a bracelet. The 2008 Main Event final table took 15 hours and 28 minutes to play, beating the previous record of 14 hours and 2 minutes in 2005.Milhoces Gary November 11, 2008 Eastgate calm as he wins World Series of Poker https://www.usatoday.com/sports/poker/2008-11-11-WSOP-final-eastgate_N.htm November 12, 2008 USA Today Main Event thumb|200px|The 2008 World Series of Poker Championship Bracelet The $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas Hold 'em Main Event began on July 3 with the first of four starting days. After reaching the final table of nine players on July 14, the final table was delayed until November 9. This change in schedule was made to allow ESPN to broadcast the final table on November 11, shortly after it was played. All final table players were paid ninth place prize money ($900,670) in July, with the remaining prize pool distributed in November. Instead of the Amazon Room, aka "the Poker Room," where all of the events were held, the final table would be held in the Penn and Teller Theatre. On November 9, players played down from nine to two and the winner was decided the next night. The final table consisted of 274 hands in total. After a large decrease in Main Event participants in 2007 (6358) compared to 2006 (8773), the number increased slightly in 2008 (6844) but was still far from the 2006 number.Lee Bernard The WSOP legacy of the November Nine ESPN.com July 11, 2018 https://www.espn.com/poker/story/_/id/24068246/world-series-poker-legacy-november-nine-which-started-2008-world-series-poker-main-event November 12, 2024 As in 2007, the payout structure is flatter than in 2006 and before, with the lowest payouts at $21,230 (more than double the buy-in), as compared to $10,616 in 2006. The "last woman standing" in the 2008 Main Event was Tiffany Michelle, who finished in 17th place. Celebrities best known from television, music, and professional sports, among other areas, also participated, with two placing in the money. The list includes:September 2008 Out in Day 1: Jason Alexander, Nick Cannon, José Canseco, Jeff Fenech, Larry Flynt, Forrest Griffin, Orel Hershiser, Chuck Liddell, Brad May, Mekhi Phifer, Sam Simon, Jennifer Tilly, David Wells. Out in Day 2: Paul Azinger, Bruce Buffer, Shannon Elizabeth, Sully Erna, Ray Romano. Out in Day 3: Andy Griggs, Shane Warne. Out in Day 4: Steve Davis (389th place, $28,950). Out in Day 5: Kara Scott (104th place, $41,816). November Nine NameNumber of chips(percentage of total)WSOPBraceletsWSOPCashes*WSOPEarnings* USA Dennis Phillips 26,295,000 (19.2%) 0 0 0 RUS Ivan Demidov 24,400,000 (17.8%) 0 1 $39,854 CAN Scott Montgomery 19,690,000 (14.4%) 0 3 $73,700 DEN Peter Eastgate 18,375,000 (13.4%) 0 0 0 USA Ylon Schwartz 12,525,000 (9.2%) 0 11 $124,580 CAN Darus Suharto 12,520,000 (9.1%) 0 1 $26,389 USA David Rheem 10,230,000 (7.5%) 0 5 $474,843 USA Craig Marquis 10,210,000 (7.5%) 0 3 $35,759 USA Kelly Kim 2,620,000 (1.9%) 0 3 $38,750*Career statistics prior to the beginning of the 2008 Main Event Final table Place NamePrize 1st Peter Eastgate $9,152,416 2nd Ivan Demidov $5,790,024 3rd Dennis Phillips $4,503,352 4th Ylon Schwartz $3,763,515 5th Scott Montgomery $3,088,012 6th Darus Suharto $2,412,510 7th David Rheem $1,769,174 8th Kelly Kim $1,286,672 9th Craig Marquis $900,670 At the age of 22, Peter Eastgate became the youngest Main Event winner, surpassing Phil Hellmuth who was 24 when he won in 1989 and became the first European to capture the title since Carlos Mortensen won in 2001.Lee Bernard The forgotten champion: Why Peter Eastgate left poker and the WSOP behind ESPN.com July 3, 2018 https://www.espn.com/poker/story/_/id/23979504/2018-world-series-poker-peter-eastgate-forgotten-wsop-main-event-champion-why-happy-living-simple-life March 7, 2025 His winning hand was a 5 high straight known as a "wheel", made from his hole cards Ad 5s and 3 of the community cards which were 2d ks 3h 4c 7s, while his opponent Ivan Demidov lost with 4h 2h for two pair. Other notable high finishes NB: This list is restricted to top 100 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry. Place Name Prize15thOwen Crowe$436,20117thTiffany Michelle$334,53420thBrandon Cantu$257,33426thPhi Nguyen $257,33430thMike Matusow$193,00045thPhil Hellmuth$154,40071stJames McManus$96,50073rdDavid Benefield$77,20080thMark Vos$77,200 Performance of past champions Name ChampionshipYear(s) Day ofElimination Doyle Brunson 1976, 19771D Bobby Baldwin 19781A Tom McEvoy 19831B Berry Johnston 19861A Johnny Chan 1987, 19884 (329th) Phil Hellmuth 19896 (45th) Brad Daugherty 19912B Jim Bechtel 19931C Dan Harrington 19951A Huck Seed 19961C Scotty Nguyen 19982A Noel Furlong 19991D Chris Ferguson 20001D Carlos Mortensen 20012B Robert Varkonyi 20022A Chris Moneymaker 20033 Greg Raymer 20041B Joe Hachem 20052B Jamie Gold 20061B Jerry Yang 20072B References External links Tournament results at the World Series of Poker Category:World Series of Poker World Series of Poker Category:2008 in Nevada