Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Ben Collins raised to 6,000,000 from the button. Stavros Petychakis then three-bet to 18,000,000 from this big blind and Collins made the call.
Petychakis led out for 10,000,000 on a A♠10♠4♦ flop. Collins made the fold after some deliberation. Petychakis has been trying his best to get this heads up match on an equal playing field but he will need to acquire some more chips from Collins to do so.
Level 43
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
David Sklansky
Earlier this year on an ordinary Monday afternoon, a bespectacled man walked into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Blvd. Tucked under his arm was an uninteresting box that only he knew contained something rather interesting – a pair of gold watches dating back more than 40 years.
These were not your run-of-the-mill wristwear, but rather evidence of a unique and often overlooked time of poker history, a year when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet, now the game’s highest accolade, was replaced in favor of watches.
1982 WSOP watches
The man holding the box was David Sklansky, who in 1978 forever changed poker by advocating a mathematical approach to the game in his groundbreaking book The Theory of Poker. Nicknamed “The Mathematician,” he proved his prowess just four years later when he won two WSOP tournaments in five days.
First, he won the 1982 WSOP Event #7: $800 Mixed Doubles Limit Seven Card Stud, a tournament that paired one man with one woman, alongside Dani Kelly, and followed that up by taking down Event #12: $1,000 Limit 5-Card Draw High. A year later, the Binions reverted back to the beloved bracelets players know today, and Sklansky captured his third piece of WSOP hardware by winning Event #11: $1,000 Limit Omaha.
It was a remarkable accomplishment, and for more than four decades he’s kept safe the evidence of his victories, both of which still worked. So, why was Sklansky carrying his 1982 WSOP gold watches, two of only 15 ever awarded, into a pawn shop? Well, he was looking to sell them of course, but not to just any of the dozens of pawn shops spread across Las Vegas. Oh no, he was walking into arguably the most famous pawn shop in the world, the home to the wildly popular television show Pawn Stars, and he was there to do it with cameras rolling.
Level 42
: Blinds 1,200,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Ben Collins
Ben Collins raised to 5,000,000 from the button and was called by Stavros Petychakis in the big blind.
Action checked through on a 4♦6♥5♥ flop.
The turn was the K♦, Petychakis checked, Collins bet 8,000,000 and Petychakis called.
The river was the 2♣, Petychakis checked once again. Collins decided to wager 24,000,000, after some deliberation Petychakis made the call. Collins tabled K♣6♦ and Petychakis quickly mucked his hand
Ben Collins raised to 4,500,000 from the button. Tolga Gesli then three-bet from the small blind to 12,000,000. Collins decided to go all in. Gesli quickly called and was at risk.
Tolga Gesli: K♣K♠
Ben Collins: 7♠7♥
Gesli had a lock on the hand as the dealer fanned a A♦9♠J♠ flop. An icey cold 7♣ on the turn quickly changed things as Gesli couldn't believe what he just saw. The 5♠ river card ended an impressive run for Gesli in Event #67. We can only hope he will use some of his new found wealth to celebrate his birthday in style.
