WSOP 2009: Players to Watch

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It’s hard to believe, but the World Series of Poker is upon us once again. Seven weeks of poker madness is about to commence in the Amazon ballroom of the Rio, spilling out into the rest of the convention center as hundreds of tournaments, satellites and cash games take place in Las Vegas this summer.

As always thousands of poker players will be seeking their piece of the pie, but only 57 bracelets will be awarded to the lucky and skillful winners. Here at Part Time Poker we thought we would take a look at who is hot in the first few months of 2009, as well as those players who are due for some success in the WSOP. Below are the ten players to watch this summer in Sin City:

Michael Binger

This one-time WSOP main event third-place finisher has been on fire in 2009, with seven final tables in just a few months, including a victory in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the Crowne Aussie Millions. Last November he won the WSOP Circuit Event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. In 2007, he set a then record by cashing eight times at the WSOP; in 2008, he cashed a mere four times. Obviously, Binger puts a lot of his focus into the WSOP and 2009 should be no different. He doesn’t have a bracelet yet despite his success otherwise so you know he is determined to get that monkey off his back.

Andy Bloch

He’s definitely on the short list of players who have never won a bracelet and he has come oh-so-close. He had the best of Chip Reese in the inaugural $50,000 HORSE event in 2006, but Reese managed to win four all-in confrontations and take down that title. The former member of the famous M.I.T. blackjack team had five cashes in 2008, including another very close call for a bracelet when Nenad Medic beat him heads-up in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship event. Bloch is hungry and plans to play plenty of WSOP events in 2009 to give himself a good shot at a bracelet.

Matt Brady

This could be a name you haven’t heard, but the 28-year-old has had a monster 2009 so far, including wins in a $5,000 Five Diamond World Poker Classic event and another in a $1,375 Foxwoods Poker Classic tournament. In all, he has made six final tables in 2009 and is on many top 10 tournament player lists. Can he continue his hot run in the WSOP? Only time will tell.

Michael DeMichele

He came out of practically nowhere to have a big WSOP in 2008. He only had two cashes, but they were huge ones, including a runner-up finish in the star-studded $50,000 HORSE event and a fourth-place finish in the $10,000 Mixed Event. He hasn’t been heard from in 2009, but it will be interesting to see if he can duplicate or improve upon the $1.4 million he won in the Rio in 2008.

Tom “Durrrr” Dwan

The creator of the famous Durrrr Challenge, Dwan is probably itching to hit the WSOP felt. He hasn’t fared that well so far against Patrick Antonius in the Durrrr Challenge as he is down about $425,000 through 14,249 hands of the 50,000 that will be played when all is said and done. Despite that setback, Dwan is still one of the best young players in the game. Since he is proficient in Pot-Limit Omaha in addition to No-Limit Hold’em he stands a better chance of winning a bracelet than many of his peers.

Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier

The Team PokerStars Pro has been on fire over the last 12 months with wins in the main event of the Fiesta al Lago Classic and the $25,000 high rollers event of the Caribbean PokerStars Adventure. He also finished third in the World Poker Tour televised Five Star World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $776,000. The Frenchman has six cashes over the last three WSOPs, including one final table, but no wins yet. As hot as Elky has been in 2009 this may be the year he makes some noise in the WSOP.

Gus Hansen

As he holds three World Poker Tour titles, the Aussie Millions Championship and close to $6 million in tournament winnings it is hard to believe Hansen has never been victorious in the WSOP. Can you say due? Although he has struggled at the Rio, Hansen probably had his best WSOP yet last year with a tenth-place finish in the $10,000 Mixed Event and a fairly deep 160th place run in the main event. We will see if he can build on that this year.

Jeff Madsen

Madsen has been relatively quiet in the WSOP since winning two bracelets within a week of each other during his first trip there as a 21-year-old in 2006. He has had a good year in 2009, however, with a win in a $1,500 event at the L.A. Poker Classic and several final tables at other tournament stops. Expect Madsen to turn that hot start into a nice run in the 2009 WSOP.

Scotty Nguyen

The “Prince of Poker” famously said earlier this year that he would quit poker if he didn’t win $4 million at this year’s WSOP. That will be a tall order barring a very deep main event run, but we don’t actually expect Nguyen to follow through with his threat. After all, he’s had a heck of a year otherwise with five final tables in big events including a win in the $10,000 HORSE tournament at the L.A. Poker Classic. The five-time bracelet winner has had his share of success (and shame) at the WSOP. Last year he won the $50,000 HORSE event while berating opponents, and Harrah’s officials have tightened the rules of player conduct this year – some speculate because of Nguyen’s actions in 2008. Nguyen won the WSOP main event in 1998 and finished 11th in 2007. He is always a threat at the granddaddy of poker tournaments.

Gavin Smith

The affable Canadian is a fixture at the Rio at WSOP time. If he’s not playing in one of the numerous events he enters he can be found in the PokerRoad radio booth trading barbs with Joe Sebok and the crew. Smith amazingly did not have a single cash in 2008. Our interest will be piqued by Smith this year to see if he can finally get off the schneid and win a bracelet or crash and burn as he did last year. For that matter, will Sebok and Smith have another of their highly entertaining prop bets?

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