Poker News

World Series of Poker

[Visit the Photo Gallery, 2005 World Series of Poker Results and the WSOP Top Money Finishers. Our WSOP writer is live blogging the WSOP on his poker blog, Tao of Poker]

After many tries, Quebec native Andre Boyer wins first WSOP gold bracelet and $682,810

Andre Boyer is someone you want to cheer for. In addition to being a nice guy, he has his priorities straight. Boyer has been playing in the World Series of Poker for ten years. He?s made several final table appearances, yet had never won poker?s most coveted prize ? a gold bracelet.

Cheered on by his wife Odette Tremblay, Boyer overcame an overwhelming chip disadvantage and earned a well-deserved victory in the $3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold?em championship.

?My wife loves poker even more than I do,? Boyer said afterward. ?It was really wonderful to have her here with me tonight. I think it is important that two people who are together share something like this that is really special.?

Boyer?s special moment came in an event that attracted a whopping 1,010 entries.After two days of play, the final table was set as follows:

The Final Table:

SEAT 1: John Duthie 186,000

SEAT 2: Ken Blanton 347,000

SEAT 3: Michael Carroll 421,000

SEAT 4: Dennis Perry 289,000

SEAT 5: Matt Glantz 660,000

SEAT 6: Robert Betts 315,000

SEAT 7: Andre Boyer 323,000

SEAT 8: Jerry Young 264,000

SEAT 9: Morten Jensen 257,000

Players were eliminated in the following order:

9th — The first player to exit was John Duthie, the TV Director for the European Poker Tour (EPT). Duthie also won the Poker Million (which actually paid $1.5 million). Duthie had a short and disappointing stay at the final table. Ninth place paid $55,750.

8th ? Morten Jensen was the shortest stack and moved his last 55,000 into the pot with A-6. Jerry Young had A-Q and called. The flop brought an ace, but Young had the higher kicker. Jensen, a casino dealer from Denmark, earned $83,630for 8th place.

7th ? Ken Blanton showed how dangerous it is to slowplay pocket aces. He started with rockets and let Dennis Perry see a cheap flop. The board didn?t look dangerous, J-8-4. Blanton raised ?all in? after Perry bet out 30,000 ? and Perry called instantly. Perry had 8-4, an ugly duckling of a hold?em hand that turned into a pretty swan. Fitting, Blanton works as an excavation contractor.

6th ? Robert Betts took a horrible beat (and lost a chance to take a huge chip lead) when he re-rasied ?all in? with Q-Q. Matt Glantz called a huge re-raise with K-Q and spiked a king on the river to take down the 900,000 pot. Betts was horrified and staggered away in 6th place. He received $139,380.

5th ? Mike Carroll then took the worst of hold?em beats when he was dealt K-K. That?s normally a good thing. But when your opponent is dealt A-A, the kings normally end up as a springboard to the rail. Jerry Young made it even more painful for Carroll when he flopped an ace. That essentially ripped the LA-based poker pro away in 5th place, good for $167,255.

4th ? Dennis Perry has proven to be quite a talented poker player. He has made it to several final tables on the WSOP Circuit this year, including the main even at the Rio in February. The Kentucky-based retired ironworker looked as if he might challenge Matt Glantz for the chip lead, but he melted down during the final stages of the tournament. Perry tried to steal a pot at the wrong time. He bet at the pot, was raised, and was forced to call his last 100,000 in chips with two overcards. Unfortunately, Andre Boyer had flopped a set of 3s and Perry was drawing dead. Perry collected $195,130 in prize money.

3rd ? When play became three-handed, Andre Boyer became very aggressive. He had been down by a 3 to 1 margin earlier and mastered the short-handed game. Boyer took the chip lead about an hour into the trio?s bout, and then busted Jerry Young. Boyer crushed Young with A-Q versus K-Q. An ace on the river sealed Young?s fate, a third place finish. Young, a Tiawan-born real estate investor who now lives in Diamond Bar, CA, received $223,010.

2nd Place ? When heads-up play began, Andre Boyer had a slight chip lead over Matt Glantz. Over the next two hours, both players made their move and seized away a decisive chip advantage. Then, the cards would turn and the other player would draw back to even. It was a poker tug of war that went past midnight, then way past 1:00 am. Nearing 2;00 am, both players finally decided to take a gamble. Glantz made a pre-flop raise of 100,000 with 2-2. Boyer re-raised 500,000 more with 7-7. Glantz moved ?all in? and Boyer called. The final board showed A-K-3-3-10. Boyer win with a lucky pair of sevens.

Matt Glantz is a 33-year-old poker pro from Pennsylvania. He made it to final tables at the United States Poker Championship in Atlantic City, and has now cashed four times at this year?s WSOP. Glantz, a.k.a. ?the Fiddler? was paid to the tune of $364,620.

1st Place ? Andre Boyer was born in Montreal, Quebec. He is 62-years-old. Prior to playing poker most of the time, he owned a successful company which produced warehousing materials. After retiring, Boyer and his wife moved to Las Vegas. Boyer, who speaks French, is also the television voice for the ESPN equivalent in Canada (RDS), which shows WSOP broadcasts.

Boyer?s best finish at the WSOP had been 6th place in the main event in 1996. But this victory was much more fulfilling. Not only did Boyer win his first gold bracelet, he also earned one of the largest prize payouts at this year?s tournament — $682,810.

Official Report by Nolan Dalla? World Series of Poker Media Director

World Series of Poker Circuit Director of Operations ? Ken Lambert

World Series of Poker Tournament Director ? John Grooms

Rio Poker Room Manager ? Michael Matts

Rio Poker Tournament Director ? Robert Daily

Filed under: Poker News