World Series of Poker nearing end

LAS VEGAS – Former champion Scotty Nguyen stayed alive Sunday as the seesaw battle for the chip lead and a spot at the final table at the World Series of Poker was down to its final two tables.

“It’s rough, baby,” said the 1998 main event winner, who had 5.4 million in chips by the dinner break. “It’s rough, but I’m still here. Skill takes you here, but now you need a little luck to go deeper.”

Nguyen was as low as 17th of 18 players left when he got involved in a large pot with Philip Hilm, a 31-year-old Dane making a living playing poker online in England.

Hilm bet enough to put Nguyen all-in when the board showed two 5s, and a 10 and 9. Nguyen counted out the last of his 1.9 million in chips and said, “You think I’m laying this down?”

Nguyen called and Hilm revealed a semi-bluff with a king and queen and needing a jack for a straight, while Nguyen flipped over pocket 9s for a full house and the lock on the hand.

“Yeah, baby!” Nguyen shouted.

Lee Childs, a 35-year-old software engineer who quit his job a month ago to play poker, vaulted into the chip lead with 16 million when his ace of clubs and queen of spades hit a miracle four clubs for a flush.

Tuan Lam, a 40-year-old professional poker player from Toronto, was second with about 15 million in chips.

Two tables of players were all that was left from a field of 6,358 who began to play in stages on July 6 for $10,000 apiece. Everyone remaining was gunning for the top prize of $8.25 million.

The remaining players were to play down for as long as it took to get nine final table participants. Unlike previous years, when getting there meant becoming an instant millionaire, ninth place this year paid $525,934.

The U.S. crackdown on online gambling, which is believed to have shrunk the field from last year’s record 8,773, is seen as contributing to the more modest payouts.