One of the few achievements in poker that have eluded popular poker pro Daniel Negreanu – a seat at a World Series of Poker main event final table – was again denied him in Las Vegas Tuesday night when he was eliminated at 11th for $526,778 by the seemingly unstoppable Joe McKeehen from Pennsylvania.
Hall of Famer Negreanu experienced a similarly and frustratingly deep run back in 2001, but his reward this time is much greater than the $64,000 he collected 14 years ago.
Negreanu’s departure sent McKeehen’s chip count above 60 million as he continued to dominate the action leading up to the last elimination before the 2015 final table is set.
The day started with 27 survivors from the original 6,240-strong field gathering for the tenth and last day of main event play before the final table is formed. Although Americans dominated the field, there were players from Israel, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Canada on the list, which was headed by chip leader Thomas Kearney, holding 14.4 million in chips.
Alas, Kearney did not survive the day, exiting at 15th, along with David Stefanski (16th), German player Kilian Kramer (18th) and Erasmus Morfe (19th).
Notable eliminations during Day 7 additionally included the hoodie and mask-wearing Justin “Stealthmunk” Schwartz, a garrulous and ego-driven player who irritated some players with his constant barrage of chatter. He reportedly stormed off the stage after being busted by chip leader McKeehen, whose massive chip advantage allowed him to largely control the closing stages Tuesday night.
This year’s final table will have no previous main event champions, or for that matter any previous November Niners.
The tenth and last elimination leading to the final table was Alex Turyansky, who was sent to the exit, again by McKeehen, setting the final table which will play out in November this year as:
Joe McKeehen (chip leader) 63.1 million
Zvi Stern 29.8 million
Neil Blumenfield 22 million
Pierre Neuville 21.07 million
Max Steinberg 20.2 million
Thomas Cannuli 12.25 million
Joshua Beckley 11.8 million
Patrick Chan 6.22 million
Federico Butteroni 6.20 million.
Oldest man at the table is Pierre Neuville, a retired Belgian businessman who has enjoyed a remarkable main event run this year, repeatedly achieving chip leader status.
Each of these players will receive a pay-out of at least a million dollars.