Favorite Memories from the 2011 WSOP

The 2011 WSOP is finally in the books.  All I can say to start with is thank God.  While I am happy to have brought all of you coverage of the events, it is a very grueling process and requires a lot of hours.  I’ll be glad for a bit of a break.  With that said, I thought I would take a few minutes and talk about the moments I will remember most from the 2011 WSOP.

When Kessler can figure out how to run good heads-up, he will win a bracelet.

Friends / Acquaintances Doing Well at the Series

A few people I know personally or are acquainted with did well at this year’s WSOP.  The one that comes to mind the most if Bryan Devonshire.  While I wouldn’t say we are good friends, we were friendly in my early days on the circuit in 2006.  His deep run in the Main Event was great to see.  While he didn’t make the November Nine, it was still great to see him do so well.

Allen Kessler is someone I follow quite a bit.  He is another acquaintance from my live reporting rounds.  He finished 2nd in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em Event and 9th in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Event.  This comes after finishing 2nd last year in the Stud 8 or Better World Championship.  Chainsaw is just some heads-up run good away from taking his first bracelet, and I hope I am there to see it.

There are a few other players and friends that I have railed during the series, including Matt Stout that made a final table in the final days.  It was fun railing them and hopefully I will get to rail them to a bracelet next year.

Phil Hellmuth Proving He Can Play More than Hold’em

Phil has been saying for a while that he could play non-Hold’em games, but I never believed it.  I’ve even won prop bets on his futility in Stud games.  He changed that this year with his three runner-up finishes.  He should have received at least two bracelets out of those three finishes, but luck does play a factor in the game.  What it did prove is that Phil Hellmuth can play more than Hold’em and that I need to find a new player to prop bet on.

There are other memories that I will take away from this year, but those above are the ones that stick out the most.  With any luck, next year will provide as many great memories and hopefully more.  Of course, the November Nine final table is still to come as well as the WSOP Europe, so there are still more WSOP memories to come this year.