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Kevin Schaffel finishes eighth at World Series of Poker; Ivey knocked out


If you're planning on watching World Series of Poker Tuesday night and not know what happened, click away quickly.

Otherwise, Kevin Schaffel of Coral Springs finished eighth in the WSOP at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas.

The final two are Joe Cada and Darvin Moon and it went until about 5 a.m. Vegas time after starting at around noon. They go at it around midnight Monday for the title. Click on the links below for more.

Back to Schaffel: He had entered Saturday's play in sixth place and had made a little bit of a run. Then he ran into some bad luck on his final had. He was dealt pocket aces, and went all-in.

Eric Buchman called with pocket kings. But then a king came on the flop, and another on the turn -- giving Buchman four of a kind and eliminating Schaffel.

It was the second time Schaffel got pocket aces in less than an hour and he also got pocket nines -- which eliminated James Akenhead. His stack had grown to 19 million before he got knocked out.

"Bad luck," said his brother Jordan, Saturday night. "There was 38 million in the pot. If his aces hold up, he's sitting in second place.

"All the poker players here just keep telling him he played great. We're very proud of him."

A note to stats freaks: They say the best all-in you get is when you have pair-over-pair. You're an 80 percent favorite.

He earned $1.3 million, but he had been guaranteed $1.2 million after making the World Series final table of nine in July. So that's a disappointment.

Schaffel had a contingent of about 100 friends and family watching, most of whom wore shirts created by his brother Jordan that said "Schaffel up and deal," a play on words on the opening phrase at most poker tournaments.

Jordan called me just before the cards flew today. He said he couldn't sleep, so he got up at 5 a.m. Las Vegas time. He texted Kevin, who wasn't asleep, either. So they came downstairs and played Texas Hold 'em Bonus poker, a gimmicky kind of game that's at the Hard Rock and other places, where players try to beat the dealer, not each other.

Who else shows up? Darvin Moon, the chip leader. Moon, a logger from West Virginia, and Schaffel yukked it up, playing $10 a hand, and drew a crowd, Jordan said.

For more updates go to ESPN's Andrew Feldman's Poker Blog. Not to turn away business, but most of the stuff I'm getting is coming from there so if you really want to follow it, read his blog tonight. Or join http://twitter.com/WSOP

Think they should have sent me to cover Schaffel?

Categories: World Series of Poker (56)


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About the author
Maybe you've made the right play, maybe you haven't. Your heart speeds up, your stomach rumbles.

That's why it's called gambling.

ACTION is a view of the numbers, the psychology and the flavor of gambling here in South Florida, through our lens.

We do have one sure bet. There's something here for you.

NICK SORTAL began playing 3-card "gut" and "Indian poker" on high school band trips, moved on to "night baseball" and "pass the trash" during a Dr. Pepper-infused midnight game in the 1980s at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and now play in a regular neighborhood Hold 'Em game in Plantation. I have been given the assignment of writing about the gambling life in South Florida casinos for the Sun-Sentinel...which means sitting around watching poker on TV now counts as research.
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