Abe Mosseri Wins Event #55! ($165,521)
Our event began three days ago with 257 runners trying to outdraw each other to the worst hands in this Deuce to Seven Lowball funfest. As the only Triple Draw event this year, Event #55 attracted a pro-heavy field full of gamblers and math wizards. Seventy-three of them would survive the first day, while some big names like Greg Raymer, Mike Sexton, Erick Lindgren, Barry Greenstein, and Robert Williamson III were left by the wayside early on.
Those 73 runners were back on Tuesday to make their run toward the final table. The money bubble hit at 24, and it came quickly and without much drama. There was another huge contingent of notable faces who would fall just short of the money, including Jimmy Fricke, Victor Ramdin, Shawn Sheikhan, Greg Mueller, Steve Sung, Allen Kessler, and John Phan. Justin "Boosted J" Smith squeaked into the payouts, and Hasan Habib and Daniel Negreanu were in there as small cashers as well.
Fast forward twelve hours to the dawn of Day 3. Nine players returned, and it was clear from the start that Abe Mosseri was going to be hard to beat. Despite having Nam Le, John Juanda, and Blair Rodman to get through, there was no doubt that he could pull out the win. Within a one-hour span early in the day, Mosseri showed down Number One and Number Two twice each, along with a whole slew of good eights. Although a few players would find themselves in the top spot on the board, nobody could hold the lead for any length of time with Mosseri breathing down their necks. Eventually, after about six hours of poker, Mosseri triumphed over Masayoshi Tanaka in a quick and decisive heads-up battle to take the title.
That wraps it up for Event #55. There are just two more tournaments to finish up before the Main Event arrives in all its glory on July 3rd. You can bet Abe Mosseri will be there, possibly even sporting his shiny new gold bracelet.
One more time, Congratulations to Abe Mosseri, Event #55 Champion!