Marathon session leads to series’ final nine

LAS VEGAS – Nine rounders plodded through the last of a field of 6,844 players to reach the pinnacle of poker Tuesday, the final table of the World Series of Poker main event.

Dean Hamrick, a 25-year-old poker player from East Lansing, Mich., was eliminated in the last hand when his ace-jack failed to beat the pocket queens of 23-year-old amateur Craig Marquis of Arlington, Texas.

Both players bet the last of their chips before seeing any community cards. Hamrick picked up an inside straight draw on the flop, giving him additional possibilities to win the hand, but he failed to pair his ace or make the straight and was eliminated in 10th place. He won $591,869.

“It’s the worst you’re ever going to feel to win half a million bucks,” Hamrick said. “I guess at least it’s a good story.”

The hand ended a marathon 11-hour, 38-minute session of play, excluding breaks.

The final nine players will have to wait four months for their chance at the top prize. Tournament officials changed the structure of the final table this year to coincide with the television airing of the event, giving the players extra time to study, promote themselves and generate hype.

“Now, I have nothing to lose,” said Kelly Kim, a 31-year-old professional poker player from Whittier, Calif., who ended the day with 2.62 million in chips, the lowest stack of any survivor.

The decisive hand echoed a previous hand that pitted Marquis against Hamrick with all the chips in the middle.

Marquis put his tournament life at risk with an ace-queen and was called by Hamrick holding pocket queens.

Marquis was a huge underdog before the community cards were dealt because Hamrick’s two queens made Marquis’ queen seem worthless. But Marquis’ queen was also a heart, which won him the hand when the fourth and fifth community cards gave him a flush. He doubled up to 11.2 million in chips while Hamrick dropped to 6 million, the second-shortest stack at the table.

Chips have no monetary value in the no-limit Texas Hold ’em main event, but they are used to indicate where players stand relative to one another in the tournament. One player will have to win all the chips in play to win the title.

Entry into the tournament cost $10,000 and each player sat down with 20,000 in chips.

The 27 players who began their final push Monday topped a field that began play July 3. Eight hours into play, 16 players had been eliminated, leaving 11 players at two tables.

That wasn’t lost on Chris Klodnicki, a 23-year-old poker player from Voorhees, N.J., who was eliminated in 12th place, winning $591,869.

“I just have the mentality to play to win,” said Klodnicki, shaking his head and sighing when asked about falling just short of the final nine.