For the poker purist, the event is the World Championship and most of the 147 players who make up the field in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship consider it to be the player’s championship. The final table features three-time bracelet winner Barry Greenstein, 1996 World Champion Huck Seed, 1998 World Champion Scotty Nguyen, French pro Patrick Bueno, World Poker Tour co-founder and Big Game regular Lyle Berman and 2008 World Series of Poker Player-of-the-Year Erick Lindgren. There’s also two newcomers, Matt Glantz and Michael DeMichele at the table, giving viewers a little bit of everything. The table is star-studded for two reasons. The first is the $50,000 buy-in guarantees that only the best of the best of the best will be in the field. The second is that H.O.R.S.E. requires proficiency at the five fixed limit games played from start to finish; Hold’em, Omaha Eight-or-better, Razz, Seven-card Stud, Seven-card Stud Eight-or-better. The storylines entering final table play are seemingly endless. Lindgren was chasing his second bracelet only days after winning his first after years of chasing it and was in a dog fight for Player-of-the-Year Greenstein at the time. Seed was looking for his first bracelet since 2003 in hopes of regaining the respect of the poker world. And then there was Nguyen, who famously busted out of the 2007 Main Event in 11th spot after blowing up and relinquishing his chips in four hands. The 2008 event is also special for another reason. After Chip Reese, who won the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event in 2006, passed away last December WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack moved to create the Chip Reese Trophy, which would be awarded to the winner of the event every year and stay with that player until the following year’s event.

Norman Chad

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Lon McEachern

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