The back of his UB jersey said Poker Brat, but Phil Hellmuth was nothing but gracious as he lost to Jeff Cabanillas in front of a staggering crowd of friends, fans, and onlookers. Jeff who? People in the audience were talking about this event as Jeff's first tournament, while others started referring to him as The Kid.
"This is the best final table ever," said Ian McKenzie from BLUFF. But that was when it was still early. By 10pm the crowd was consumed with their own conversations and wondering when Phil would end this thing. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow came over to the final table stage, shook hands with Phil and took a seat. Phil made sure it was a hug not a handshake, and before we knew it, Mike was at the mic calling the plays. Did we know Mike wanted to be a Tournament Director? No doubt he makes more money playing tournaments.
Also in the audience was David Williams, Devil Fish, Marcel (who finished third in the same event).
The play seemed to go back and forth, back and forth, with the chips more even than not. But at a quarter to midnight when the ten bracelet holders Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan came over to shake Phil's hand and cheer him on from the front row, the action heated up.
Phil's chip stack dwindled as Jeff took pot after pot. Just before midnight Jeff took what must've been at least three in a row and Phil stood up, put his hand to his forehead in disbelief, and then raised his arms palms up towards the ceiling as if asking why. After play resumed it wasn't long before Phil went all in with a spade flush draw. He walked over to his wife who was sitting calmly in the front row wearing a denim outfit. He caught the spade on the river to double up. The count was still in Jeff's favor with 2.4 million chips to Phil's 700k. Phil stole some blinds and worked his stack up to a million, only to have Jeff take a pot for 300k when Phil's two pair (55,33) couldn't beat Jeff's two pair (JJ, 55). Before we knew it the crowd was chanting, "Phil's on Tilt! Phil's on Tilt!"
In the end it was Jeff who made a diamond flush on the river to grab the bracelet. Dressed in a striped collared button down shirt and long jean shorts, Jeff was solid at every turn. And the cards were with him. The audience couldn't believe that Phil had lost, but with not a tantrum in site, Phil saluted the crowd, and bowed to his fans.
World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack stepped to the mic and addressed both players, "Phil, you're a poker great...and you have a lot to be proud of tonight."
He then told Jeff he played beautifully but everyone knew that tonight's result was a disappointment.
As Doyle left the area I asked him if he was disappointed.
"A little bit, yeah." Doyle said. "I was pulling for Phil."
The winner of the $5,000 NL Hold'em event took the mic and thanked his friends and family for coming. Then he admitted, "I'm tired," before giving shout out to The Commerce Casino.
Phil took the mic and graciously gave Jeff some compliments.
"He played really well, he played tough down the stretch....I couldn't get rid of him." said Phil.
"He played some strong poker, lets give the man credit."
While the crowd was still in shock, and beginning to wonder who this Jeff kid was, Phil remained in a light mood.
"Honey, we've got $423,000 more."
And then he admitted to everyone that the money didn't matter and that he had only been playing for the bracelet.
"If I had to pay a million dollars for the bracelet, I would." The crowd yelled for Jeff to "Sell!"
But Phil stayed strong. He told everyone that they didn't make a deal, and that they were playing for the bracelet.
"I beat 608 players in this event, but not 609." And then he left to sign autographs in the Ultimate Bet lounge, and Jeff sat back down at the table for the rest of the press shoot.
Check in with Phil Hellmuth's blog for more of his story from the event.
For full coverage, read Pauly's blog, Tao of Poker.
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