Abolfathi Wins Limit Event

Gone were the bright lights illuminating the room for the television cameras. Gone were the boom mics hovering over the players' heads so the audience could hear every word. And gone were many of the fans straining to see some of the most recognizable players in the poker world. The final table of the WSOP's first limit event of the year didn't have the normal pomp and circumstance of a World Series of Poker final table. But make no mistake about it - the nine players competing at the final table played for something with more meaning than anything else in poker. They played for a World Series of Poker bracelet, not to mention a whole lot of cash.

The chip count going into the days action were as followed:

The short stack, Matthew Elsby, was the first casualty of the day when Abolfathi cracked his pocket Aces with K-Q after hitting his third King

Lars Hansen ($36,446), Patrick Maloney ($43,735), Hank Sparks ($51,029), and Vipol Kathavi ($58,313) were the next four eliminations.

The final four consisted of Lewis, Abolfathi, Schlein, and Buchman, with each having enough chips to contend. Lewis, the last woman in the field, went on a roll, but soon started losing chips. Schlein eliminated her when he cracked her Aces by catching a flush on the river.

Lewis says she will donate part of her winnings to a cancer charity because her son was diagnosed with cancer a few years back, but thanks to cancer research her son was cured. Lewis says she probably wouldn't donate the bracelet if she won because, as a woman, she's still not allowed to play in some cash games in Houston. Bringing a WSOP bracelet to the game may have changed that, she said.

While Lewis will have to try again for a bracelet, Schlein was in great shape to get his. Schlein acted like he had ice water in his veins and showed no fear at the table. Inside, however, he was anything but frozen. "I'm extremely nervous because I want the bracelet that bad," he said to a dealer during a break.

But just like Lewis, Schlein will have to wait. Schlein lost many pots three-handed and his stack wilted away. He would often battle with Buchman while Abolfathi sat on the sidelines, patiently waiting for hands. Abolfathi's strategy worked as he won the vast majority of pots he entered. Finally, Abolfathi eliminated Schlein when his set of Two's beat Schlein's King high.

Going into heads up, Abolfathi ($1,350,000) enjoyed a huge chip advantage over Buchman ($390,000). Abolfathi said after the tournament, "I was extremely confident headed into heads-up. I had a big chip lead and unlike in no-limit, it's really hard to lose that." Buchman also thought he was in trouble. "I didn't think I was going to win when we got heads up," he said. "He had such a big lead."

Abolfathi soon extended that lead and put Buchman all in for his last $85,000 pre-flop. Abolfathi turned over 66 and Buchman showed AJ. The flop came QQ3 and Abolfathi was two cards away from his bracelet. The turn was the 4 and now Abolfathi was one card away. But winning a WSOP bracelet is never easy, and Abolfathi had more work cut out for him when the A hit on the river. "I was gutted. I wanted it to be over," said Abolfathi after the tournament.

But while he may have been upset, he still had a monster chip lead, something Buchman knew all to well. "I still thought I was going to lose even after the Ace hit," the native of Valley Stream, New York said.

As it turned out, Buchman was right. Though he made a small comeback, made it to the next break, and survived two more all-ins, the fourth time was the charm for Abolfathi. Abolfathi had the advantage with 106 over Buchman's 98. A 10 hit on the flop and Buchman was drawing dead by the river.

After shaking Buchman's hand, Abolfathi pumped his fist and immediately grabbed the beautiful bracelet sitting on the corner of the table. It fit perfectly when he put it on. Abolfathi was elated. "Fantastic. Amazing," Abolfathi said. "You don't know what it means until you put it on."

Buchman will have to wait to try on a WSOP bracelet, but he's not sure it will ever happen. "It would have meant a lot," he said. "I really wanted to win. I don't know how many chances I'm going to get." Buchman did see the silver lining. "It was the best $1,500 investment I've ever made," he said. After all, he turned the $1,500 entry fee into $174,938 - a good amount, though not as much as the $335,289 Abolfathi earned, along with his nice, shiny new bracelet.

One person who has one of those bracelets is an Australian named Joseph Hachem. Hachem, the winner of the 2005 WSOP Main Event, will vie for his second bracelet later today. Hachem was part of a star studded No-Limit six-handed tournament with many of the poker world's other most recognizable faces.

Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith were the chip leaders going into day two of the tournament. Other stars included Mike Matusow, Gavin Griffin, Erick Lindgren, Kassem "Freddy" Deeb, Kathy Liebert, Karina Jett, and Russ "Dutch" Boyd. Only Hachem, Boyd, and Negreanu survived to the final eight.

Negreanu was cruising with $390,000 when he was dealt AA. Kid Poker raised $20,000 and Dutch Boyd called. The flop came 732 and Negreanu bet $28,000. Boyd smooth called. The turn was the 6 and Negreanu slowed down and checked. Boyd bet $75,000 and Negreanu called. The river was the J and Negreanu moved all-in. But Negreanu, his many fans on the rail, and the crew from ESPN were dismayed when Boyd called. He turned over pocket 7's for a set and eliminated Negreanu.

While Kid Poker is gone, today's final table should have plenty of star power and excitement. Hachem is thrilled to have made it past the massive field. "Every result that you get validates what I did in the past," he said. "Coming into the WSOP, the only thing on my mind was to hopefully win a bracelet, or more."

But in order to win the bracelet, he'll have to get past five other men, including a man on a mission: Dutch Boyd. Boyd lost to T.J. Cloutier heads-up in a 2004 Razz tournament and is eager for another shot at a bracelet. "Redemption," the former Crew member said. "I've been in this position before, and I didn't make it there. And you never know if you'll have a chance at it again." Later today, he'll get that second chance.

While the limit event was ending and the short-handed tournament was in full swing, today's $2,000 No-Limit event was underway. The second day promises fast paced action, with such stars remaining as Juan Carlos Mortensen, Alfredo "Toto" Leonidas, Johnny Chan, Scott Fischman, Minh Nguyen, Tony Ma, Jennifer Harmon, Nam Le, Jean-Robert Bellande, and Cyndy Violette, amongst others.

As the players converge on the Rio's Amazon Room later today, perhaps Boyd summed up the quest for the bracelet best when he said, "I'm playing for history."

Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for live updates, chip counts, photos, videos, a new episode of "The Circuit" radio show and new videos from "The Series," with Scott Huff and Rich Belsky.

By Rich Glanzer