David Solomon was the first player out. The yoga instructor from Austin, Texas got short-stacked and moved-in with his last 25,000 in chips holding king-six. He lost to Mike Goodman’s king-queen suited. Solomon’s poker wisdom earned him $68,227.
Next, Pete Hassett went out with king-queen against Joe Hachem’s ace-jack. Hachem caught an ace, good for a pair, and Hassett went bust. Peter Hassett, a video game tester from Chicago was unplugged from the final table but did receive $91,917 in prize money.
Mike Goodman was eliminated as the fourth-place finisher. The New York City-based poker player who recently graduated from college was making his first-ever WSOP final table appearance. Goodman arrived at the final table second in the chip count, and ended up falling down a few spots to fourth place, which paid $115,607.
Jeff Knight said "goodnight" a short time later when he was caught bluffing on his final hand and was bankrupted by Dutch Boyd. Knight, a professional gambler (non-poker) from Las Vegas, cashed for $153,511.
That left the blood-match that many, if not most, had been anticipating. In so many ways, this was a complete contrast of style and character. Dutch Boyd – brazen, bold, and some would say "brilliant." Joe Hachem – gracious, gallant, and good-natured.
There were several notable hands during the final confrontation. But none was more momentous as – the hand with the five.
"You walk into this room, you look around, and everybody is so good," Dutch Boyd said in a post-tournament interview with ESPN’s Norman Chad. "I have been coming here for four years, and three years I have played in it. This room is so full of great players that I really never knew if I would be able to get one of these (gold bracelets)."
"It’s not like they give these away. I look at the names of players who have won a gold bracelet, players like Doyle (Brunson), T.J. (Cloutier), and Joe (Hachem)....and it’s just amazing to be sitting here. It’s an incredible feeling."
Back atop of the rafters taking it in and watching it all end -- the picture was perfectly clear. Boyd continued his interview perched in front of bundles of tightly bound hundred-dollar bills, his right tattooed wrist glimmering in wrapped gold from the battle fought and won. There were photographs taken. There were more interviews. There was loud celebration.
On the horizon, just over the massive crowd swarming around the latest WSOP winner, the reigning world poker champion from Australia shuffled away slowly in dead silence, consoled by his wife – most certainly the only person on earth who could share and empathize with the pain of the moment. Hachem tottered passed the scattered tables and players of an ongoing tournament over in the next section looking for an exit. Slowly, they began to stand. They began to clap. They began to cheer. They knew a champion when they saw one.
