Neil Blumenfield was eliminated from the 2015 World Series of Poker main event, clinching 3rdplace in the final playoff that netted him a cool $3.4 million. Runaway chip leader Joseph McKeehen was too forceful and Neil ran pocket deuces into McKeehen’s pocket queens. McKeehen went to the wire at the final table to earn the $7.7 million purse by riding his enormous chip lead to the win.
As the third and last day of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event finals table, Blumenfield held second position in chips. McKeehen had 128.825 million to Blumenfield’s 40.125 million while Josh Beckley rounded off the trio with 23.7 million. On the fifth hand of the day, Blumenfield, the 61-year-old former software executive, found himself at the bottom when he failed a triple-barrel bluff on McKeehen off top pair on Hand #148 of the final table. And even though Blumenfield’s bluff was unsuccessful, his nifty maneuver clearly showed the man from San Francisco wasn’t just going to sit tight waiting for the goods but was intent on grabbing the title.
The Blumenfield Bluff
With the blinds at 500,000/1,000,000 and an ante of 150,000, Josh Beckley folded on the button, pushing the action to McKeehen in the small blind. After the bet was complete, Blumenfield upped to 3 million from the big blind. It was McKeehen’s call and the two 888 poker sponsored players saw the flop come {10-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}{3-Clubs}. Blumenfield bet 2.2 million as McKeehen checked to the aggressor and called.
At the next turn and McKeehen checked again with Blumenfield firing 3.5 million at the pot, but he failed to shake McKeehen who called to see the {5-Clubs} land home. Blumenfield fired 7 million at the pot and McKeehen went into the tank. He counted out the chips to make a call but then tanked a bit more. McKeehen even tried to read Blumenfield by talking to him but the man’s poker face was too hard to read. McKeehen he eventually stuck the chips in and called, then watched Blumenfield who tabled the {Q-Hearts}{8-Diamonds} for just queen high. McKeehen tabled the {K-Clubs}{10-Spades} for top pair and the chips went his way, with the hand pushing McKeehen to almost 144 million in chips while Blumenfield slipped to under 20 million that he’d never recover from. Blumenfield’s bluff had failed and it’d be hard to argue that he wasn’t rattled.
After the failed bluff attempt, he picked up more chips by three-bet shoving on the next hand, before adding some more with back-to-back pots a few deals later. And then on Hand #160, Beckley four-bet jammed on Blumenfield, a move that knocked him back under 20 big blinds. Blumenfield was never able to get things back on track from there and 12 hands later, it was all over.
Final Play
Beckley would open with a min-raise on the button to 2 million on Hand #172 as McKeehen re-raised from the small blind to 5.4 million. Blumenfield would then play all in from the big blind for nearly 12 million. McKeehen swiftly called with the {Q-Hearts}{Q-Spades} when Beckley folded, while Blumenfield held the {2-Diamonds}{2-Hearts}. But the {10-Hearts}{7-Hearts}{4-Clubs} flop didn’t do much for himfor when the {4-Spades} hit the turn, Blumenfield was clearly down to two outs with just one card to come.
One final burn card was peeled off by Shaun “The Dealer” Harris who then slapped the {K-Spades} on the river. That was the last card Blumenfield saw in his run at the finals and he set up heads-up play between Beckley and McKeehen. McKeehen had 155.65 million in chips to start heads-up play, while Beckley had 37 million which was all good for more than a 4.2-1 advantage.
For more updates from the 2015 WSOP Main Event, stay tuned right here on Poker News.
Joe McKeehen, the 24yr old poker player who went into the final leg of the WSOP with a commanding lead in chips, has taken the 2015 WSOP championship. He has, therefore, taken home a whopping $7,683,346 in cash and the gold bracelet that every poker competitor yearns to have. He came into the last leg with 128,825,000 chips while his fellow competitors, Neil Blumenfield and Joshua Beckley, came with 40,125,000and 23,700,000 respectively. The new WSOP champion hails from North Wales, Pennysylvania.
While this young poker player may wish to take a break and relax after the challenging WSOP series, his love for the betting game may not keep him away from the poker tables for long. And even if he decides not to grace casinos for a couple of weeks, there is always online poker that is just as thrilling and which he can access from the comfort of his home.
How McKeehen Led From Start
From Day 1 of the November Nine, McKeehen had great advantage over everyone else as no other player was close to him in the chips count. His stack was almost a whole third of the total chips held by all the nine finalists. In poker, you have an edge when you have a bigger pile of poker chips as you can afford to lose a sizeable number to competitors and still make a comeback. So McKeehen began to fight for fame and riches in Las Vegas this week with a stack of 63,100,000 chips.
And he has made it to the top and indelibly written his name, not just within the precincts of Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater and LasVegas, the unofficial home of poker, but in the history books of world poker. His name will always come up as the champion of the 46th Annual World Series of Poker.
His rival in the very last leg of the poker tournament, Joshua Beckley, had come to November Nine with just 11,800,000 chips and he managed to clinch second position and qualifying for the 2nd position cash prize of $4,470,896. This goes to show the unpredictability of poker.
There were others who fell on the wayside and had come into November Nine with higher piles of chips, including Zvi Stern who brought with him 29.8 million chips; Pierre Neuville who came with 21 million, Max Steinberg who had 20.2 million, 23yr old Thomas Cannuli who came in with 12.3 million and third position holder, Neil Blumenfield, who had entered with 22 million chips.
Elderly WSOP Contenders
2015 has seen two elderly poker players reach the last leg. There was Neil Blumenfield, the 61yr old who hails from San Francisco and who ended up in a respectable third position. Then there was Pierre Neuville, the 71yr old poker player of Belgian descent. This resilient septuagenarian was the last to be eliminated in the first day of the finals and he secured himself a respectable 7th position. The competitors who entered the WSOP tournament were over six thousand.
Blumenfield has taken away the 3rd position cash prize of $3,398,298 while Neuville took away the 7th position cash prize of $1,203,293. That is impressive, especially considering the massive number of entrants there were. This year’s prize pool for the poker series was $60,355,857 and the Buy-in was $10,000. The poker tournament cash prizes graduated upwards is ranges from $15,000 for the players ranking 649th to 1,000th position.
The WSOP series has many other beneficiaries besides the poker players. This year’s beneficiaries include ESPN the official broadcaster who transmitted the final leg of the poker series live, thanks to the Nevada’s friendly state poker law.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2015: With support from poker legend and 14-time gold bracelet winner Phil Helmut Jr., Dan Shak and WPT Anchor Lynn Gilmartin, the WPT Foundation’s “All In” Poker Tournament for Kids and the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][CHOP] recently raised about $700,000 that will go to benefit the children of CHOP. The money was raised in support of the hospital’s Division of Nutrition, Gastroenterology, and Hepatology, which is not only one of the largest but is also the most active pediatric programs of its kind in the region.
The program is sponsored by The Gitlin Family Foundation and provides comprehensive state-of-the-art care to childrenwith a wide range of complexand common conditions that include celiac disease, liver diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, chronic nutritional disorders as well as feeding and swallowing disorders. The program’s division faculty are actively involved in undertaking numerous research projectsand innovative clinical trials that have changed the course of treatment for thousands of children.
Said Madeline Bell, the president and CEO of The Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, “Each year, we are proud to partner with the World Poker Tour Foundation on this important and exciting event.We especially thank the Gitlin Family Foundation for their support, as well as all of the physicians and staff in CHOP’s Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, who work tirelessly every day to provide our patients with excellent care.”
“In 3 years with The Children’s Hospital, WPT Foundation has proudly helped raise more than $2.3 million to help CHOP provide the most advanced child healthcare available, “Adam Pilska,the President and CEO of WPT added. “CHOP remains the pre-eminent pediatric hospital in the world, nurturing many of the nation’s pioneers and innovators in pediatric medicine, and WPT Foundation is honored to support such a devoted group of doctors, nurses and researchers that are fully dedicated to finding cures and treating illnesses and injuries specific to children.”
The “All In” For Kids Poker tournament which hosted more than 275 guests was held on Friday, Nov. 6at Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Alongside the doctors, grateful patient families, athletes, celebrities, and other CHOP supporters who attended were professional poker players Scott Baumstein, Jamie Kerstetter, Brian Hastings, Andy Frankenberger and Angel Guillen who turned out to support the initiative. The winner of the “All In” For Kids Poker tournament was Antonio Rodriguez who is a co-founder of the financial consultancy, Cibeles Capital Advisors. Other dignitaries present at the event included Phillies Broadcaster Gregg Murphyand New York Giants Offensive Guard Justin Pugh.
About The World Poker Tour Foundation
The World Poker Tour Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to utilizing its international platform for influencing positive change on a worldwide scale. At its core, the WPT Foundation’s efforts in fundraising are to be found in the series of charitable poker events that are titled “WPT Playing for a Better World”.
The Foundation and its associated philanthropic events aid in igniting awareness while raisingfunds which are critical for programs of excellence. These efforts are dedicated towards improving our planet through supporting key charities in regards to health, education, human rights, the environment and ending world hunger.
About Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1855, the Hospital was the first national pediatric hospital and its research program is among the largest in the country. The Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefitted children globally through its long-standing commitment to pioneer major research initiatives, train new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and to provide exceptional patient care. Its unique family-centered public service and care programs have brought recognition to the 535-bed hospital as one of the leading advocates for children and adolescents.
What a great start it was for Joe McKeehen, eliminating three of his fellow November Niners on Day One! Poker fans all over the world have been waiting to see how this year’s November Nine was going to unfold on Sunday. McKeehen who came to the finals with the highest stack of chips, 63.1 million of them, kept piling more chips and elevating his advantage. He elbowed out the competitive German poker player, Alexander Turyansky, last July at the close of the WSOP main event. Alexander Turyansky ranked number 10 overall, one step to qualifying for the November Nine.
McKeehen’s Hopes
Joe McKeehen is only 24 yrs old and is close in age to his fellow finalist, Thomas Cannuli from New Jersey. He looks forward to another great day of play on Monday when the remaining six players proceed with the poker finals. The games begin at 4:30pm and the venue is the Penn & Teller Theater. As usual, ESPN will air the poker tournament live and hope to increase its viewership, thanks to the accommodating poker law in Nevada.
McKeehen who came into the poker finals with a stack of 63.1 million chips now has a whopping 91.1 million of them. This means that out of all the chips to be utilized at the final table this year, McKeehen is controlling 57% of them at this stage. The competitor closest to him in the chips count is Zvi Stern from Israel, who came into the finals with a stack of 29.8 million chips and now has 32.4 million of them.
Sunday’s Order of Exit
First to exit the finals of the WSOP tournament on Sunday, November 8th, was Patrick Chan. This poker player, who became McKeehen’s first victim, ranked 8th in the number of chips he brought with him to the poker tournament finals. By the end of the main event last July, he had accumulated 6,225,000 in chips. At the time he had managed to marginally beat number nine in the race, Federico Butteroni.
The next poker player McKeehen beat on Sunday was Italian Federico Butteroni, who entered the WSOP finals with 6,200,000 chips. The third victim of the poker finals on that same day was Pierre Neuville, the Belgian poker veteran who is over 70yrs old. It was a feat for McKeehen, beating this elderly but formidable poker player, who has been an inspiration to many players particularly because of his advanced age. This time, however, he has ranked number 7 in the finals.
McKeehen’s Past
Joe McKeehen has a good education and graduated with a math major from the Arcadia University. Evidently, though young in age, he is wise in handling himself in public. At this juncture, he has decided to avoid media interviews until the November Nine poker finals are over.
Unlike his fellow contestant, Cannuli, whose early play was dominated by online poker, McKeehen made his first memorable poker debut in 2010 at the Turning Casino which is in the city of New York. He was then 19yrs old. From then on, he returned for more poker games in the same casino and continued to earn more cash. He even played in the state of Florida as a side trip before he was 21yrs, after great performances in poker tournaments at the Turning Stone.
In 2012, McKeehen came top in the Turbo Event of the Caribbean Adventure hosted by PokerStars and his takeaway was $2,000. In the poker SixMax High Roller event, he came 10th. Of course, he has won many more cash prizes since then, but the highest so far was last year in WSOP’s “Monster Stack”, where he bagged $820,863. That amount now dwarfs in the face of the possible winning of $7.7 million this week.
The long awaited November Nine is underway and each of the WSOP finalists is hoping to clinch the championship this year. Some of the poker competitors have their hopes even higher. 23yr old Tom Cannuli, for example, has expressed his dream of one day becoming an inductee to the WSOP hall of fame.
Cannuli’s Poker Life
It may sound amusing to purport to discuss the poker life of a 23yr old in a tournament where there are veterans like 71yr old Pierre Neuville, but this young poker player from New Jersey has experienced a lot that many older poker players have not. He has seen the good fortunes of poker and the bad is his young life. He got fascinated with online poker after a friend to his father, Joey Scarlotta, introduced him to it at the age of 15yrs. And before his debut into the world of online poker, Cannuli was already a sporty boy. He played basketball and shooting hoops; video games, particularly, halo 2; and even paintball. However, what fascinated him most about poker is the thrill of outdoing somebody else’s brain.
As a beginner in online poker, Cannuli tried his hand playing freerolls. After his first win, he embarked on consolidating a bankroll and soon became a regular online poker player. He began lowly at $10 sit-n-go’s, and then proceeded to play cash games. That is how he developed his poker skills. While still a high school student, Cannuli managed to build himself a 6-figure bankroll and began his way to becoming a formidable poker player.
He did not proceed to college after high school. Instead, he chose to pursue a career in poker, sharpening his skills and aiming to be the best player the poker arena has ever seen. Then came a sad day in April 2011 when the federal authorities clamped the activities at three of the most significant online poker sites – PokerStars; Full Tilt Poker; as well as Absolute Poker. The authorities used provisions of the Illegal Gambling Business Act of 1955 and those of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) to ban poker activity on those sites and the freeze went on for a whole year.
Cannuli was devastated as poker was the only life he knew as far as career was concerned. Not surprisingly, many more avid poker players were adversely affected as well. That day when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the online site owners came to be known in the poker scene as Black Friday.
Cannuli Is Focused On Poker Heights
Not only does Cannuli want to enter the poker hall of fame. He also wants to win as many bracelets as is possible in the competitive poker arena. And deriving motivation from elderly November Nine finalists like Neil Blumenfield and Pierre Neuville who have crossed the age of 60 and 70 years respectively, Tom Cannuli looks forward to playing competitive poker till he is 80 or even 90 years old.
However, right now his focus is on the ongoing WSOP finals where he is recognized as a serious contender for the championship. He came onto the final table with 12.25 million in chips, and he aims to clinch the biggestprize of the poker tournament – $7.7 million in cash! However, he cherishes the bracelet more. And when the curtain comes down after three days of intense poker play, the world will know if young Cannuli’s dream of wearing a poker bracelet will have been realized. His hopes are high despite the fact that his stack of chips is nowhere near the top. Zvi Stern has the chips lead with 29.8 million.
November 8th began with excitement in Las Vegas, not because its casinos were busy, but because the long awaited November Nine had come. Online poker players and poker players who frequent brick and mortar casinos switched their focus from their usual tables to Las Vegas where the finals of the WSOP tournament had begun. They were not disappointed. Even for the hundreds of thousands of poker fans who could not make it to Las Vegas, ESPN has been at hand to broadcast the tournament live. As the poker tournament approaches the end, only three out of the group of nine formidable poker players are still in the game.
Sequence of Elimination
On the tournament’s first day, three players were eliminated. They included Patrick Chan, the 26yr old poker player who is American; Federico Butteroni, the 25yr old Italian; and Pierre Neuville, the septuagenarian poker player who is Belgian. Luckily, in the US states that have legalized online poker and other conventional betting games, there is no maximum age limit. That is why poker tables have interesting combinations of players of diverse ages and experience.
On this second day of the WSOP tournament, three other poker players have fallen on the wayside. They include the baby of the tournament whose sharpening ground was online poker, 23yr old Thomas Cannuli who entered the finals with 12,250,000 chips, Zvi Stern, who made it to the November Nine with 29,800,000 chips, and Max Steinberg, who started off on Day 1 with 20,200,000 chips. Cannuli is American, Stern, Israeli, and Steinberg, American.
Prize Money
None of the six poker finalists was to go home empty handed. Thomas Cannuli who took Position 6 received $1,426,283 in prize money; Zvi Stern who took Position 5received $1,911,423; and Max Steinberg who took Position 4 received $2,615,361. Those who were eliminated on the first day had also made their mark in the books of the WSOP. Every poker fan now knows their name. As such, they also did not leave the poker table empty handed. Pierre Neuville, who left in Position 7 received prize money totaling $1,203,293; Federico Butteroni who took Position 8received $1,097,056; while Patrick Chan who took Position 9 received $1,001,020.
A million in US dollars is not small money whether it is won through online poker, conventional poker tournament or any other game. Yet, every competitor in the finals of the WSOP series has had his eyes on the winner’s prize – $7,683,346. Now the contenders for that big prize are only three: Joe McKeehen, Neil Blumenfield & Josh Beckley. At this stage, any one of these impressive poker players can win the tournament.
However, taking into consideration the stack of chips that each of them has, Joe McKeehen seems to have an edge over his colleagues. He has 128,825,000 chipswhile his competitors, Neil Blumenfield and Joshua Beckley have 40,125,000and 23,700,000 respectively. Incidentally, the three finalists in this poker tournament are all Americans. That means there is still a great viewership of the WSOP finals on ESPN due to the home fan base.
The three lucky poker giants – McKeehen, Blumenfield and Beckley – will wrestle at the poker tables at 6pm, Tuesday the 10th. ESPN is expected to air the games live till the WSOP champion of the year is known. The star of the night will not only bag a lovely sum of $7,683,346 but will also receive a precious gold bracelet. It will be interesting to see how Blumenfield, the Sexagenarian will use his experience against the two young poker players.
