Canuck Goalie Luongo Knocked out of WSOP
Vancouver Canuck goalkeeper, Roberto Luongo saw his World Series of Poker dream end at the weekend, moments after he finished in the money.
Luongo, who was sponsored by the British Columbia, Lottery Corporation ( BCLC) in the tournament, finished among the top 665 players,guaranteeing themselves a pay check.
His 634th placing therefore saw him take home a check for $19,227. The BCLC paid the $10,000 buy in and said that Luongo would be able to keep his winnings. The goalie was representing the BCLC's online gambling site, PlayNow.com in the world's biggest poker tournament.
Interestingly, Luongo's brother, Fabio, is still in the tournament, with a non-too-shabby chip stack of 360,000.
The news that a government organization was subsidizing a professional athlete's off-season entertainment caused a minor controversy in British Columbia, but the winds soon died down when critics realized that, firstly, Luongo was doing quite well in the tournament and, secondly, the marketing attention he was drawing to the BCLC brand was worth much more than the $10,000 spent by the group.
Robert Luongo a Nervous Poker Player
Despite his cool demeanor on the ice, Luongo admits that he is a nervous poker player.
"When I get ready for a hockey game, the nerves are there, but once you start playing they go away," he said in an interview last week.
"But here [at the WSOP] you are feeling like the nerves are almost always there, especially when you are involved in a big hand. You try to stay calm, but the heart starts racing."
WSOP Main Event Table Set
Yesterday saw the last day of the $10,000 main event take place, with 27 hopefuls vying for the nine remaining spots to make up the final table, despite Luongo out of the WSOP.
By the end of the day, the final nine were introduced to the poker world, with all but one of them from the United States. The 2012 World Series of Poker final table will be played at the Rio hotel and casino from October 28th - 30th.
The players' seat draw and chip counts by the end of the competition were as follows:
1. Russell Thomas - 24.8 million
2. Jacob Balsiger - 13.115 million
3. Jeremy Ausmus - 9.8 million
4. Steven Gee - 16.86 millionn
6. Jesse Sylvia - 43.875 millionn
8. Andras Koroknai (Hungary) - 29.375 million
9. Michael Esposito - 16.26 million..
