Brasparts, France - Druids, or priests in the ancient Celtic tradition, began on Sunday their annual meeting in the northern French region of Brittany by re-enacting the legend of King Arthur’s magic …

Complete 2007 WSOP stats at the Poker Prof’s World Series of Poker 2007 Information Page. Poker from behind the WSOP Curtain only available from Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
On the tournament floor Day 5

112 players started on Day 5 of the WSOP Main Event. By the time the day ended, 36 remained with David Tran as the chipleader. The plan was to play at least five levels or until they got down to 27 players…. whichever came first. If there were more than 36 players at the end of five levels, they would play until 36 players remained.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the WSOP, watching the play late on Day 5

The Buzz

The field got smaller and smaller as the crowd of spectators, staff, ESPN’s crew, and media got bigger and bigger as Day 5 progressed. The once jam packed Amazon ballroom (and don’t forget about the poker tent) had the majority of people watching in one corner of the vast room. The big story focused on the shrinking field as the final four tables were set. This is when ESPN starts to pick out the player(s) who will be the focus of their cameras and the next big star in poker. The big pros continued to fall. Kirk Morrison, Gus Hansen, Julian Gardner, Brandon Adams, Huckleberry Seed, Humberto Brenes, and Chad Brown all failed to advance.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Maria Ho, the last remaining female left in 38th place

The Backstory

Everyone kept their eyes on the last two women in the field and the three remaining WSOP champions. Kelly Jo McGlothin busted out in 95th place, leaving the distinction of “Last Female” in the field to Maria Ho from California. She joined Sabyl Cohen (2006) and Tiffany Williamson (2005) as members of that elite group. Ho would end up busting out in 38th place.

Two former champions began the day. Huckleberry Seed busted out in 73rd place. He said that finish and $106K score was not enough to break him even for the 2007 WSOP. Scotty Nguyen advanced to Day 6 and is among the final four tables. He’s trying to win his second WSOP championship.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Steven Garfinkle with a large stack of confusingly colored chips

Sight of the Day

The orange chips. The 5K, 25K, and 50K chips were all a variation of orange. That was confusing to the players, media, and even staff. Players had been complaining about the chips for several weeks now, yet the staff continued to use the “peach” colored chips when coloring up the yellow 1K chips and introducing a higher denomination chip into play.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Scotty Nguyen, the sole surviving WSOP World Champion, survives Day 5

Quote of the Day

“Why’d you move all in? You think you’re playing with a kid?” Scotty Nguyen asked Paul Kershaw after he shoved with a flush draw. Kershaw missed and was eliminated in 55th place.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Philip Hilm was the first player past the 8M and 9M chip mark

Noteworthy Stacks

Dag Martin Mikkelsen , Lee Watkinson, Markus Gonsalves, and Philip Hilm were the first players to pass the 4M mark. Dag was the first players past the 5M. Ray Henson was the first player past the 6M mark. By Midnight, Ray Henson jumped out to over 8M followed by Hevad “Rain” Khan and Scott Freeman who both had 6.5M a piece. Philip Hilm was the first player past the 8M and 9M mark. David Tran came out of nowhere and passed the 10M chip mark around 1:30am.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
David Tran was the first player past the 10M chip mark and finished the day as the chip leader with a slim 30K more than Hilm’s 10M

Noteworthy Bustouts

Players busting out on Day 5 included… Ayaz Mahmood, Maria Ho, Dag Martin Mikkelsen, Jeff “Mr. Rain” Banghart, Mickey Seagle, Kirk Morrison, John Spadavecchia, Gus Hansen, Matt Keikoan, Julian Gardner, Brandon Adams, Josh Evans, Willie Tann, Warren Karp, Huckleberry Seed, Humberto Brenes, Jared “WacoKidd” Hamby, Francois Safieddine, Cory Carroll, Isaac Haxton, Dario Minieri, Chad Brown, and Andreas Krause.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Dag Martin Mikkelsen plotting strategy with backers at the rail

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Scott Freeman

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Alex Kravchenko looking for second WSOP bracelet of the 2007 meet

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Gavin Smith checks out Nolan Dalla’s socks

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Ayaz Mahmood was the 36th and final player elimination of Day 5

Concerts:

• Eric Burdon & Animals with Rare Earth at the Cannery Casino - Tickets: $18
• Deana Carter at the South Point Hotel & Casino - Tickets: $35, $45 and $55
• Doug Kershaw at Suncoast Hotel - Tickets: $22, $33 and $44

Special Events:

• “ABA Las Vegas Nationals of BMX” at Southpoint Hotel Arena - Tickets: Free

Comedy:

• Howie Mandel at MGM Grand […]
  
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